Desmond and his stories were always charming and larger than life. He stumbled his way through his education and finally ended up in Trinity College, Dublin. He joined the air force where he admits did very little. However, as time went on, dinners would be filled with tall stories about his time as a dashing Spitfire pilot.
Desmond went on to marry an actress, Agnes Bernelle. They lived a thespian life in London and raised three children in between night clubbing with the likes of Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithful. At the same time, Desmond wrote many novels and an international best seller about flying saucers.
After marrying his second wife Helen, he moved back to Castle Leslie along with two new daughters Samantha and Camilla. Here he became the country squire and concentrated on turning the Estate into a heavenly place to ride horses. He retired with to the south of France but his heart always belonged to the green lake of Glaslough. He passed away in 2001.