At a bend in the Blackwater River, amidst woods and meadows in County Waterford, Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan now own “Strankally“ Castle. The estate covers 440 acres and is estimated to be worth between €20 million and €30 million, although the exact price of the deal has not been made public. The acquisition was made outside the official property market.
The castle was built around 1830 for former MP John Keeley. The project was the work of architects James and George Richard Payne, who are also associated with other famous Irish buildings. The three-story mansion is neo-Gothic in style, with Gothic windows, spacious hallways, a marble fireplace and a cantilevered staircase.
440-acre, 11-bedroom mansion
The main building has 11 bedrooms, some with en suite bathrooms. The property also includes additional bedroom suites in the tower, reception rooms, a library and a dining room. The distance between the kitchen and dining room is so great that, according to the property description, moving between them takes about four and a half minutes at a brisk walk.
Previous owners Michael and Giancarla Allen-Buckley owned the castle for about 25 years and restored it in several stages. Michael Allen-Buckley is a co-founder of the investment company “RAB Capital“, and his wife is from the family associated with the “Rocco Forte“ hotel group.
The legend of the “murder hole“
However, the history of the place begins long before the construction of the current castle. About 4.5 kilometers away is the site of an older fortification, founded in the 12th century. It is associated with a legend about an opening cut in the rock above the river, through which prisoners were thrown into the water.
The writer William Howitt describes the legend in his 1847 book “Homes and Habitations of the Most Eminent British Poets“. According to the story, the victims were tied up and thrown through the so-called "a murder hole," and the bodies were swept away by the current. Howitt himself, however, is skeptical of the story, dismissing it as local folklore.
The new owner will use "Strankali" as an Irish residence when visiting with his family. A spokesperson for Zuckerberg said: "Mark and his family are excited to continue caring for this historic home and look forward to spending time in Ireland." Meta maintains its European headquarters in the country.
Sources: plovdiv24.bg, irishtimes.com, theguardian.com