How the ‘death metal baron’ Randal Plunkett gave Dunsany Castle back to nature

How the ‘death metal baron’ Randal Plunkett gave Dunsany Castle back to nature

In Wild Thing, Plunkett charts how he faced down poachers and other challenges while turning his ancestral home into Ireland and the UK’s biggest private rewilding project

Ecosystem of a Down: Randal Plunkett, Baron of Dunsany, in the grounds of his ancestral home, Dunsany Castle in Co Meath. Photo: Fran Veale

Randal Plunkett’s path to becoming a rewilding advocate was far from smooth. In his new memoir, Wild Thing , the 21st Baron of Dunsany acknowledges that he is regarded by many as an unlikely figure to have championed the cause of nature. Often nicknamed ‘the Death Metal baron’ because of his love of metal music, Plunkett spent much of his youth struggling with his mental health and resenting the expec