2021 REWIND: €11.5m for a house in Irish countryside bought by man with Tipperary roots

The new billionaire resident of Heritage Town Abbeyleix is looking forward to life in the town for “years to come” at his new €11.5 million home.

The Leinster Express contacted John Collison, who is the co-founder and president of Stripe, after it emerged that he had purchased the property in July.

Understandably, he wasn't quite ready to talk about the purchase of the mansion but his spokesperson indicated to the Leinster Express that the young Limerick man with Tipperary roots is looking forward to life in Laois.

“He's looking forward to getting to know the Abbeyleix community in the years to come,” said a statement.

In asking for an interview the Leinster Express asked if the new owner would grant more access to the public to the grounds surrounding the house. Whatever he decides to do on that front, the former owner Sir David Davies gave the young man his seal of approval after Mr Collison also agreed to buy the majority of its contents.

“The selection of the buyer was made because of their ambition and interest in preserving the integrity of the estate, including buildings and importantly the trees, and their ability to invest in the estate,” he said in a statement issued by Sotheby's which sold the property.

Collison, who is aged just 30, is a native of Dromineer, Co Tipperary but grew up in Limerick. He co-founded Stripe in 2010 with his brother Patrick. According to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, his net worth was estimated at US$11.4 billion making him one of the wealthiest people from Ireland.

Stripe is an Irish-American financial services and software as a service company headquartered in San Francisco and Dublin. The company primarily offers payment processing software and application programming interfaces for e-commerce websites and mobile applications. Elon Musk was among those who backed Stripe.

Formerly in the ownership of the de Vesci family, the house was saved from dereliction and brought back to its former glory by Sir David Davies after he bought the 26,910 sqare foot property and 1,200 acres of the demesne from Viscount Tom De Vesci in 1995.

Sothebys describe Abbey Leix as one of the most venerable 18th-century houses in Ireland in its sales literature. “A splendid and most distinguished Irish 18th-century mansion positioned within a remarkable and ancient woodland demesne of over 1,000 acres.

“In any list of important Irish country houses Abbey Leix has a prominent place. The late-18th-century mansion, clothed in the Italianate manner in 1859-60, enjoys a remarkable position within a private estate comprising some 1,120 acres and includes some of Ireland’s most notable remaining ancient woodland and extensive frontage to the River Nore,” it says.\

The auction house told potential buyers that the accommodation is “grand and beautifully” augmented by 10 lodges and cottages on the estate.

Abbey Leix was designed in 1773 by the noted architect James Wyatt. The house is an elegant three-storey Classical mansion of seven bays, the three central bays under a triangular pediment. Sotheby's say the arrangement of rooms is elegant and simple, with three major rooms on the park front.

Apart from the importance of the house the estate is invaluable. Abbey Leix has one of the most important collections of trees in Ireland. Whereas elsewhere in Ireland the primeval forests of oak, birch, alder and willow have been almost entirely depleted, the woods on Park Hill across the river from the house are among the last surviving remnants of Ireland’s ancient woodland.

The property also contains a stud farm which includes an attractive range of cut-stone outbuildings. A beautiful principal yard, complete with a clock tower, was built of local limestone in 1822. The quadrangular yard contains 24 loose boxes. A separate farmyard has a range of farm sheds. To top it all, Sotheby's told potential buyers that the farmland provides good grazing

Apart from Sir David and the De Vesci family, Collison will join French Monks, O’More Princes, Ormonde Earls as the latest custodian of this gem of Laois.