Just 13 kilometres from the Dyson billionaire's pile, could Co Waterford’s Blackwater Valley become a second home centre for tycoons?
Facebook co-founder and Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan have bought Strancally Castle in Co Waterford.
They purchased the Gothic-revival style house and its 440-acre estate on the banks of the river Blackwater from owners Michael and Giancarla Alen-Buckley several weeks ago.
The transaction was an off-market transaction, and the price paid by Zuckerberg is unknown at this point.
The estate has undergone a full restoration over the past 20 years. It is understood that it could have achieved anywhere between €20 million and €30 million given the quality of the residence.
Giancarla ‘Gianni’ Alen-Buckley is a daughter of famous hotelier Charles Forte, and has been credited as a garden designer on some Grade II listed homes in the UK.
Last year her work featured in the pages of House and Garden magazine.
Strancally Castle was built to designs prepared by brothers James and George Richard Paine, who also did Blackrock Castle, Co. Cork.
The Cork property is considered their most renowned work. The commission came from George King, 3rd Earl of Kingston, to build a new castle at Mitchelstown, Co. Cork, larger than any other in Ireland.
The brothers also rebuilt Dromoland after 1826, utilising a similar interior plan to that of Mitchelstown.
The pair had apprenticed to prominent British architect John Nash, who at the time was the Prince Regent’s architect and contributed much to the remodelling of central London.
They moved to Ireland and were commissioned to design and build Lough Cutra Castle, Co. Galway, for Charles Vereker, 2nd Viscount Gort. Currently for sale in Kilkee, Co Clare, is a converted church attributed to the siblings.
Strancally Castle, a 30-minute drive from Youghal, is located in the heart of the Blackwater Valley and is about 13 kilometres to Ballynatray House, which billionaire British inventor James Dyson acquired the historic house and 850 acres of rich farmland for about €29 million in 2024 in one of Ireland's biggest ever private property deals.
Both homes are on the River Blackwater. Lismore Castle and Salterbridge House, which is owned by British-born property magnate Stephen Vernon, are also nearby.
