Mark Zuckerberg buys Waterford Castle

​The Meta boss and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have bought the property from Michael Alen-Buckley, co-founder of London-headquartered private investment firm RAB Capital, and Giancarla Alen-Buckley.

The purchase was made several weeks ago, as Zuckerberg had already had his eye on the land for some time.

Now the billionaire has publicly announced his new acquisition, which will make him a neighbour of another billionaire, James Dyson, who bought Ballynatray House in 2024.

​Lismore Castle and Salterbridge House, owned by magnate businessman Stephen Vernon, are also nearby.

​Zuckerberg said he is “looking forward to spending time in Ireland”.

​Although the sum of the purchase price remains unknown, it is estimated between €20 million and €30 million.

​Strancally Castle also underwent a full restoration over the past 20 years, around the time when the Buckleys acquired it.

Although Zuckerberg and his wife will continue to live in the United States, the couple intends to use Strancally Castle when visiting Ireland, especially taking into account that Meta’s European headquarters have been based in the country since 2009.

​A spokesperson for Zuckerberg said that “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”.

Meta’s operations employ around 1,500 employees across three Irish locations - Dublin, Cork, and Clonee.