Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan pay $57 million for 16,000-square-foot Gothic-style Strancally Castle in Ireland’s County Waterford

Meta CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, paid more than €51 million or $57 million for Strancally Castle in County Waterford, Ireland, in August, reported The Irish Times. An entry in Ireland’s Residential Property Price Register shows that the sale of Strancally Castle, located in Knockanore, County Waterford, was completed on August 17 for €51,171,155.

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The amount paid for the Gothic-style mansion and its 178-hectare (440-acre) estate is significantly higher than the estimated sale price of €20 million to €30 million reported when the deal first emerged in August.


The €51.17 million purchase is by far the highest price paid for a single residential property in Ireland this year. However, the amount represents a small fraction of Zuckerberg’s estimated fortune, which Forbes currently values at $248.7 billion.

The property is understood to serve as a base for Zuckerberg and his family during visits to Ireland for Meta-related business.

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Strancally Castle: History and previous owners

Built in 1830 for John Keily, a former Conservative MP, Strancally Castle was designed by architects James and George Richard Pain. The three-storey property spans approximately 16,000 square feet and sits within an expansive 440-acre estate.

Before the sale, the castle was owned by Michael Alen Buckley, co-founder of London-based private investment firm RAB Capital, and his wife, Giancarla, whose father was the late hotelier Charles Forte.

The couple acquired the estate 25 years ago and undertook an extensive restoration of the historic property.

Local community welcomes Zuckerberg family

The acquisition has also drawn a positive response from local representatives, who hope the high-profile owners will bring greater attention to the region.

Following the sale, Labour councillor John Pratt, who lives in Tallow and serves as Cathaoirleach of the Dungarvan and Lismore Municipal Committee, said he hoped the family’s arrival would help showcase the area’s attractions.

"I think it’s great news for the area. I’m sure that people will do everything they can to make Mr Zuckerberg and his family feel welcome to our beautiful community," he said.

The purchase has also been followed by a donation from Zuckerberg and Chan to three nearby Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) clubs. The couple have pledged a total of €150,000 to Shamrocks GAA in Knockanore, Tallow GAA in Tallow, and Lismore GAA in Lismore.

Each club will receive €50,000 over two years, with payments of €25,000 annually.

Meta’s presence in Ireland

Facebook opened its international headquarters in Dublin in 2009. Meta, which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, currently employs approximately 1,500 people in Ireland.

Zuckerberg founded Facebook in 2004, when he was 19, as a platform that allowed students to match names with photographs of their classmates.

Meta releases Muse Wonder AI models

Meta on Monday launched Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full, calling them its most capable AI models yet, as the social media firm looks to compete more forcefully with OpenAI and Anthropic.

Meta's shares rose about 4% in afternoon trading.

The launch comes after CEO Mark Zuckerberg pledged billions of dollars and aggressively poached researchers over the past year to catch up in Silicon Valley's intensifying AI race.

Meta said Muse Wonder would soon power its Muse personal AI agent, initially for subscribers, while the more powerful Muse Wonder Full model is available to subscribers of its AI coding tool Muse Code.

"Fourteen months ago, we began an overhaul of our AI efforts, and in that time we've gone from rebuilding our foundations to pushing the frontier," Meta said in a blog post.

Meta's successful rollout of its personal AI agent Muse last month could open a lucrative path to turn its heavy AI investments into new revenue streams with subscriptions, despite facing concerns over user privacy.