Ballinacurra House, Michael Jackson’s Irish hideaway, back on the market with major price drop

They say the mix of 14-bed main manor-style period house and upmarket hospitality venue, with two further guest cottages with seven more bedrooms on 23 water-fronting acres a few miles upriver and west of Kinsale, has “immense potential for conversion to boutique hotel, a wellness centre, or a variety of other uses”.

Famously outed as the Irish retreat that pop megastar Michael Jackson and his children camped out at for three weeks in 2007, Ballinacurra has a range of facilities for private and exclusive functions, with a ballroom/function room, commercial kitchen and themed bedrooms in an expansive Georgian property mix spanning 18,000sq ft.

The price drop now is down to a market friendly €3.75m from an initial launch at €6.35m back in 2021, subsequently reduced to around €5m and then under that sum.

When owner Des McGahan confirmed sale terms had been very advanced to East Cork-based buyers with Hong Kong connections, in the hospitality business, it was understood it was at a c€5m sum, and had been negotiated by an agent, Henry Bilko, specialising in the hospitality sector. At the time, Mr Bilko did not respond to Irish Examiner queries regarding the sale he had confirmed being involved in.

Now, previously appointed agent Marcus Magnier of Colliers is reappointed as selling agent by Rory Cotter, receiver of Crowe Ireland, and says the new reduced price of €3.75m now includes the six-bed family home, Stone Lodge, on private grounds next to the Ballinacurra estate, adding to the bedrooms’ tally, overall accommodation, amount of land — and, again, privacy “enhancing its appeal to potential buyers”.

Rows over selling Ballinacurra had reached the High Court last year, and went to mediation between the McGahans and lenders Mars Capital Finance who took over loans from Pepper Finance, with the McGahans being granted carriage of sale until by Jan 31 2025. At the time, Mars said it was owed €2.2 m by the owners.

The return to the open market, with more property and for a lower sum than previously cited, is expected to fuel renewed interest as there had been several buyers in the €4-€5m price bracket last year, sources told the Irish Examiner.

It could be acquired as a hospitality venture once more, possibly along the lines of the upscale Lissard House near Skibbereen, with additional trump cards being its proximity to leading tourism town — and the start/end point of the Wild Atlantic Way — Kinsale (five minutes by road).

Cork city and airport are reached in 35 minutes, and there’s proximity to several golf courses, including the world-famous Old Head Golf Course, and to scenic routes to West Cork.

Ballinacurra might also have an appeal as a private compound or estate, with the area in favour with high-net worth individuals who have acquired properties in the €4m/€5m price bracket, such as US philanthropist James Berwind, who is understood to be developing an animal sanctuary on a farm purchased near the Georgian period Sprayfield on 40 acres in Sandycove.

Berwind has spent over €16m to date in Kinsale, spending €4.99m on a dormer bungalow by the water’s edge in scenic Sandycove.

Details: colliers.com