Next Saturday and Sunday in Cork from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. Mr Richard Wood's gardens at Rockrohan, on the Carrigrohane Straight, will be opened to the public. He aims to get as many people as possible to help raise money for the city's two cathedrals.
He writes: "This is the first time that an event has been held for the benefit of the principal places of worship of the two main Christian churches in Cork, and it reflects the warm relations that exist between Bishop Buckley and Dean Jackson of St Fin Barre's which first became evident when the trumpets of St Fin Barre's famous `goldie angel' were restored to their rightful place in the presence of both jubilant clerics after recovery following their theft."
Bishop Buckley is more at home lofting a road bowl on the country lanes of his native west Cork.
Dean Jackson, because he is overseeing the restoration project at St Fin Barre's, is more at home on the scaffolding.
On the day I was there to watch them climb, the two clerics were enthused by the project, it is true to say, but as the dizzy heights became dizzier, it must be said that one was more jubilant than the other.
Back to terra firma. The gardens at Rockrohan were laid out by Mrs Kathleen Levie of Cork for Mr and Mrs John A. Wood in the mid-1940s. Richard Wood, the present owner of the house, and son of the family, says its design owes much to the arts and crafts movement and shows the influence of Lutyens, the architect of Lambay Castle, the Island bridge War Memorial and Heywood Garden.
He adds: "It features a fine pergola and the stonework is by Mr James Bradfield, a master mason who worked for Mr Wood." The pergola links the house with the walled garden, which is maintained as a working vegetable garden with fruit and flowers.
Of the fine trees in the grounds, a robinia - a member of the pea family - flowers in early June, and the peripheral vista is terminated by a Japanese Cedar which was a gift from the gardens at Fota Island.
Among other exotic material is a pair of banana trees, one of which is producing young, and a Chinese Magnolia Delavayi, propagated at Birr Castle and given by Lord Rosse in memory of Mrs Harriet Wood who developed and maintained the garden for almost 50 years, from 1946 until her death in 1995."
This should be enough to attract the enthusiasts and it's all in a good cause. The entry price will be a mere £3 for adults.
There will be no charge for children.
Mr Wood is chairman of John A. Wood Ltd, whose collection of landscape paintings, once at the Fota Island Estate, is now on view at the University of Limerick. He is also chairman of the Birr Estate Trustees. He has been chairman of Irish Heritage Properties and a governor of the European Union of Historic Houses Associations. He has lectured widely here and in the US.