META’S CHIEF EXECUTIVE and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, paid out more than €51 million for Strancally Castle in Co Waterford in August, new figures show.

A new entry on the Residential Property Price Register today shows that Strancally Castle at Knockanore, Co Waterford commanded a sales price of €51,171,155 when the sale was completed on 17 August.

The €51.17 million for the gothic-style mansion and its 178-hectare (440-acre) estate is far in excess of the estimated sale price of between €20 million and €30 million when first reported in August.

In the aftermath of the sale, a spokesperson for Zuckerberg said: “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.”

While the €51.1 million paid out is by some distance a record price paid for a single residential property here this year, it will not trouble Zuckerberg, who’s worth an estimated $248.7bn (€222.51 billion), according to Forbes.

It is understood that the billionaire social media company owner and his family will use the property in Waterford when carrying out Meta business in Ireland

The castle was built in 1830 for John Keily, a former Conservative MP, and designed on a grand scale by the architects James and George Richard Pain.

The castle was previously owned by Michael Alen Buckley, a 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 Strancally Castle 25 years ago and carried out an extensive restoration of the three-storey property, which extends to 16,000 sq ft.

In the aftermath of the sale last month, Councillor John Pratt (Labour) who lives in Tallow and is Cathaoirleach of Dungarvan and Lismore Municipal Committee, said he hopes Zuckerberg’s arrival will 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 Zuckerberg and his family feel welcome to our beautiful community,” he said.

Last week it emerged that Zuckerberg and Chan donated €150,000 to the three GAA clubs which are located closest to Strancally Castle in Co Waterford.

The three clubs – Shamrocks GAA in Knockanore, Tallow GAA in Tallow, and Lismore GAA in Lismore – will each receive €50,000.

The donations are to be paid to the clubs over a two-year period, with each club receiving €25,000 per year.

Facebook opened its international headquarters in Dublin in 2009 and Meta currently employs about 1,500 people in Ireland.

In 2004, a then 19-year-old Mark Zuckerberg started Facebook for students to match names with photos of classmates.

Zuckerberg – now aged 42 – took Facebook public in 2012; he now owns about 13% of the company’s stock.

Today Meta, which also owns WhatsApp and Instagram, has a market capitalisation of $1.85trn.