A Royal Treat : Overnight stays in Irish castles are expensive, but one proved to be a jewel of a find.

Bargain hunters are having a dismal time of it in Europe. With the devaluation of the U. S. dollar, accommodations and meals come very high, and gas is astronomical.

I just returned from a 10-day stay in Ireland, touring the exquisite countryside. It cost $48 just to fill the gas tank of a mid-size car.

To offset these high prices, I tried to stay at bed and breakfasts, and even slept at a hostel one night. Castles were much too dear--a room at the major castles for one night runs upward of $250 without breakfast. But I hungered for a castle, so in search of a bargain and a castle, I found a dream of a castle at a dream of a price.

Castle Matrix is a venerable 15th-Century Norman fortress built by the Earls of Desmond. It is a renovated castle, complete with a dungeon and a trip-step--an irregular step planned to trip up intruders. When I drove into the courtyard, I felt I had stepped through a time warp. A medieval atmosphere pervades the castle, officially listed as a museum. It is small by castle standards and has accommodations for 12 guests during the summer. Saunas are an unexpected luxury.

The great hall is lined with books collected by the late Col. Sean O’Driscoll, the Irish-American Air Force officer who bought the castle in 1961 as a sanctuary for his priceless library and antique collection. O’Driscoll died last year.

His widow, Elizabeth, and their 8-year-old son, Kieran, live at the castle along with a small staff, several ponies, five collie dogs and a herd of 35 Jacob sheep that wander through the grounds. Should someone forget to close the castle’s door, one occasionally wanders into the banquet hall. From my room, I looked down over a rippling brook to a pasture, and through a grove of birch trees I spotted a horse galloping through the woods. It was a pastoral setting many of us dream of.

There are no crystal chandeliers, no doormen. It is slightly dank (castles should be, don’t you think?) and not brightly lit. You may be awakened by cattle mooing or sheep bleating, children laughing or the wonderful fragrance of soda bread emanating from the kitchen. A full Irish breakfast feast is served in the banquet hall. Elizabeth O’Driscoll may share stories of the castle’s past with you, or red-haired Kieran might pop in to catch a collie that crept inside.

This is a castle that is alive and breathing, yet dense with the ghosts of the past five centuries. Sir Walter Raleigh supposedly met English poet Edmund Spenser here, and it is said that Raleigh planted the first potato in Ireland on the 30 acres surrounding Castle Matrix.

Bibliophiles will want to spend the day in the silence of the library, poring through O’Driscoll’s awesome collection. First editions are everywhere; Spenser’s “The Faerie Queen” is not even under glass but available to touch and relish.

This is a real, lived-in castle and the per-night charge is only 40 per person, or about $80 when I was there. Even if you can’t stay the night at Castle Matrix, enjoy a guided tour or high tea. Late suppers are available with advance notice, and medieval banquets with traditional music are arranged for parties of 25 or more.

You will not find the Matrix in most guidebooks. Guests can be picked up at Shannon Airport for $20, and a tour of the local countryside can be arranged. For reservations, direct dial 011-353-69-64284 or write Castle Matrix, Rathkeale, County Limerick, Ireland.

Where to Go

What: Castle Matrix, Rathkeale, County Limerick, Ireland.

Price: Per-night charge is 40 per person--recently about $80.

Call: 011-353-69-64284