Mark Zuckerberg Buys 440-Acre Strancally Castle in Ireland for Estimated €20M to €30M

Acquisition of Strancally Castle

Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan have acquired Strancally Castle, a Gothic-revival estate situated along the River Blackwater in County Waterford. The property includes a 16,000-square-foot residence and 440 acres of land in southeastern Ireland. Although the transaction was not recorded on Ireland's property price register, estimates published by The Irish Times place the value between €20 million and €30 million ($23.2 million to $34.7 million). Constructed around 1830 for former member of Parliament John Keily, the building was designed by architect brothers James and George Richard Pain. Archival records note the lavish layout of the house, where walking between the kitchen and dining room takes four and a half minutes.

A spokesperson for Meta confirmed the purchase and stated the family's intentions.

Mark and his family are excited to continue caring for this historic home and look forward to spending time in Ireland, where Meta maintains its international headquarters.

Estate history and architecture

Strancally Castle stands on grounds first fortified by Raymond le Gros, positioned in front of the ruins of a Desmond fortress roughly thirty minutes from Youghal. In the 1850s, the surrounding estate covered 5,000 acres before the Irish Land Commission divided the property, leaving 160 acres when it left family ownership. University of Galway archives show the estate was valued at 61 pounds in the mid-19th century, containing an art collection and library. The previous owner, London investment firm co-founder Michael Alen-Buckley, sold the property after extensive renovations over the past twenty years.

Corporate footprint and tech real estate

The purchase aligns with Meta's corporate footprint in Ireland, where the company maintains its international headquarters in Dublin and employs approximately 1,500 workers. Ireland maintains a 15% corporate income tax rate for large multinationals. Zuckerberg adds Strancally Castle to a property collection that includes a 700-acre estate on Kauai in Hawaii, properties at Lake Tahoe, eleven homes in Palo Alto, and residences in Miami Beach and Washington. The acquisition reflects a wider pattern of technology executives buying Irish country properties, including Stripe co-founder John Collison's purchase of the 1,120-acre Abbey Leix Estate in 2021 and James Dyson's acquisition in 2024.

Maeve McCarthy, a director at Charles McCarthy Estate Agents, noted the narrow market for ultra-wealthy buyers seeking Irish residences.

There's a very small pool of billionaires in the world, so if I have an increase of one viewing that's an increase of activity in that market. It is a very narrow market.

Multidistrict litigation in California

The transaction came to light the same week Meta faced federal court proceedings in Oakland, California. On 18 August 2026, opening arguments began before US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in a lawsuit brought by attorneys general from California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey. The trial represents the first courtroom hearing in a multidistrict litigation consolidating 3,137 cases across 29 state attorneys general, alleging Meta engineered features such as algorithmic ranking and infinite scroll to create compulsive use among minors. While Zuckerberg remains based in the United States, the Waterford estate provides a private base during European visits.