Things are looking up in the country estates market following a couple of strong recent sales. First we had news just before Christmas that Castlemartin – the Kildare seat of Sir Anthony O'Reilly's Irish dynasty – was to be sold to US billionaire John Malone for €28 million, then we revealed that Tulira Castle in Galway had been sold to Irish millionaire Niall Turley for €5.8 million.
Now news reaches us that Dripsey Castle in Cork has been sold for €1.9 million.
Although it may be on a far more modest scale to Castlemartin and Tulira, Dripsey Castle, which dates from 1600, comes with a creeper-clad Georgian mansion on 110 acres in an idyllic setting above the Dripsey river in Cork.
It is understood contracts were exchanged in the last week before Christmas, no doubt to avail of capital gains tax relief before to its expiry on January 1st. The buyers are an “international” family originally from the UK, who, we are told, intend to live on the estate with their young children.
When Dripsey was brought to market in May last year, selling agent Joe McCarthy of Irish and European (with Ganly Walters) described the house as a refurbishment project for any buyer.
The new owners will need to invest at least the same amount they paid for the historic house, which comes with an array of outbuildings and cobbled courtyard. Given that €1.95 million was the second-highest price paid for a country home ( after the Palisades in Kinsale) last year, these recent strong sales reflect an uptick in the estates market.
Agents are also reporting that the domestic appetite for such properties is returning, making these lovely historic homes no longer the sole preserve of overseas millionaires.
