Name:Teddy Burns Address:Annaghmakerrig, Newbliss, Co Monaghan Dwelling: Gate lodge Here Since: Birth
My father was Tyrone Guthrie's chauffeur, and my mother was the cook, so we lived in Annaghmakerrig House, and I grew up there. It's a magnificent house, and I've lived here on the estate right through to this day.
Guthrie died in 1971. It was my father who found him. He was opening his post, sitting in his chair, and my father went in and shook him. He thought Guthrie was just sleeping, but he was dead.
Guthrie left the place to the State, to be an artists' retreat, and only for that the place would be derelict. The roof would be gone - nobody could afford to maintain it; it's bigger than any hotel.
The estate is 500 acres, mostly forestry. We took care of the house, kept fires going in it and so on, until it became an artists' retreat. Then I bought a house on the estate, one of the gate houses. I live in it with my wife, Doreen, only 300 yards from the main house.
In the main house there are 14 bedrooms and five self-catering houses. A big job was done on it. The stables and all the buildings were converted. We have darkrooms, music studios, a dance studio, everything. People come from all over the world. It's packed out all year round. Basically, I make sure they're all happy - any wants they have, I get it for them. I also do light maintenance on the estate.
There used to be a lot of visitors back in Tyrone Guthrie's day, too. Alec Guinness was a regular visitor here. I used to take him out on the boat to the picnic area on the far side of the lake. There were plenty of actors and writers here, but Guinness was the most famous. He used to come regularly. Lots of them used to come for holidays with their wives and families, and when I was growing up I used to play with them. I did a lot of fishing and galloping about with them.
This was only a holiday home for Guthrie. He'd only be here for a few months in the summer, and maybe over Christmas. Three or four of my aunts lived and worked here, too. It's great to have such a family link. I feel like it's just my own house.
I'm glad to see it still going. There's always a great sense of community. We look after everybody. We had the 25th anniversary of the centre a few weeks back, and it was a great success, plenty of wine and drink and reminiscing - lots of old memories came back, so they did. It's a very special place.
In conversation with Davin O'Dwyer