Tech billionaire Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan have purchased the 200-year-old Strancally Castle in County Waterford, Ireland, in an off-market transaction.
A spokesperson for the Meta CEO confirmed the acquisition on Thursday, stating that Zuckerberg was "excited" about the historic property and that the couple looked "forward to spending time in Ireland, where Meta maintains its international headquarters."
The three-story Gothic Revival house, built around 1830 for Member of Parliament John Keily and designed by James and George Richard Pain, has a historical account that has drawn attention. According to English author William Howitt's 1847 book "Homes and Haunts of the Most Eminent British Poets," the original site of Strancally Castle, located about two miles from the present structure, was rumored to have been a place where individuals were lured and killed.
Howitt's account, which he noted was shared by "neighboring peasants," described a "murderous device" at the original site. He wrote that "the unwary, when decoyed within the castle, were tied hand and foot, and hung down the murder-hole." He added that the swift river nearby would carry away any sounds and that "the dead told no tales." However, Howitt also stated that he placed "no faith in the present horrible legend."
The current iteration of Strancally Castle was later sold to the Anglo-Irish Whitelocke-Lloyd family around 1855. The estate, which spans approximately 5,000 acres, was acquired by the Irish Land Commission in the mid-20th century. Zuckerberg purchased the castle from the Alen-Buckley family. Michael Alen-Buckley is a co-founder of the London-based private investment firm RAB Capital.
The castle has undergone extensive renovations over the past two decades by its previous owners. Zuckerberg and his family, who reside in the United States, plan to use the Irish property when conducting Meta business in Ireland. Meta employs around 1,500 people in Ireland, with its international headquarters located in Dublin, and operations including a virtual and augmented reality business in Cork and a data center outside the capital.