Art World
Mark Zuckerberg Just Bought an Irish Castle
The 200-year-old edifice sits not far from a site with a gruesome medieval past.
The 200-year-old edifice sits not far from a site with a gruesome medieval past.
Vittoria Benzine ShareShare This Article
Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg just acquired a 200-year-old Irish estate befitting a tech overlord.
Strancally Castle in County Waterford is the latest addition to Zuckerberg’s real estate holdings, which span mansions in Miami Beach; Washington, D.C.; Palo Alto and Lake Tahoe in California; and Kauai, Hawaii.
The 16,000-square-foot Gothic-style abode encompasses 440 acres of greenery, 11 bedrooms, a swimming pool, and even a haunting medieval origin story. Public records don’t yet indicate how much Zuckerberg paid for it. The Irish Times estimated that he forked out €20 million to €30 million ($23 million to $35 million).
The castle overlooks the River Blackwater. English architects James Pain and George Richard Pain designed it around 1830 for Tory MP John Kiely. It sits nearly three miles upstream from the site of the original Strancally Castle, which was built by Cambro-Norman commander Raymond “le Gros” FitzGerald in the late 12th century, during the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland.
The Earls of Desmond ruled from Strancally Castle until 1579, when James Fitzjohn FitzGerald rebelled against the crown. The English executed him and seized Strancally. It was subsequently demolished amid rumors that one earl had used it as a prison, complete with a hole leading to the river where bound inmates were purportedly cast and drowned. In his 18th-century survey of Irish history, English antiquarian Francis Grose wrote that Strancally Castle was exploded after “a person, who had the good fortune to escape from this dismal prison, related to Government the horrible practices committed here.”
The current Strancally Castle has changed hands several times. Manufacturing heir George Whitelocke-Lloyd bought the 5,000-acre estate from the Lloyds in 1856 for £10,000. His family owned it for several generations. The Irish Land Commission took over in the mid-20th century and parceled off the property until the castle stood atop just 160 acres.
Hotel heiress Giancarla Forte and financier Michael Alen-Buckley bought it in 2000. They spent the next 25 years restoring the property, even offering it as a venue for the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival. “We are delighted that Mark and his family intend to build on our stewardship,” Forte told the Irish Times.
Strancally Castle is located about 150 miles from Dublin, home of Meta’s international headquarters. In addition to using the building while in town, perhaps Zuckerberg will fill it with selections from his art collection. Daniel Arsham’s sculpture of his wife Priscilla Chan would surely hold its own amid these dense groves.