The OPW acquires historic estate lands at Castletown House, Celbridge, on behalf of the State
-
From: Office of Public Works
- Published on: 19 November 2025
- Last updated on: 19 November 2025
Mr. Kevin “Boxer” Moran, Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works (OPW), and John Conlon, Chairman of the Office of Public Works are delighted to confirm that some 235 acres of historic estate lands at Castletown House in Celbridge, Co. Kildare have been purchased by the Commissioners of Public Works (OPW) on behalf of the State.
The lands in question have been privately owned and, over the years, the OPW has sought to purchase them without success. Most recently, in 2022, the OPW was outbid in a commercial best bids process and the lands remained in private ownership.
Since then, issues around access to the Castletown Estate have arisen and as a result, Castletown House was closed to the public in September 2023. Despite engagement with the new landowner, elected representatives, local community groups and businesses, a solution had not been reached to fully resolve the access issues.
The newly acquired lands will be integrated with lands and property already in the ownership of the OPW, which includes the internationally significant Palladian mansion Castletown House, 227 acres of woodlands and designed landscape and Donaghcumper House, farmyard and walled garden to the south of the river Liffey.
Minister Moran stated: “When I became Minister for the OPW in February this year I had three objectives in relation to Castletown. The first was to get the OPW staff back to their place of work, this was achieved in April of this year. The second was to re-open the House and parklands again to the public, this was achieved in July this year and the house re-opened for tours over the summer. I was also committed to resolving the vehicular access issue. I am delighted to confirm today that this third objective has now been achieved through the purchase of the lands, which includes the access from the M4 motorway. In announcing this I would like to thank the OPW staff that work at Castletown for their dedication and resilience over the last couple of years. I look forward to continuing to work with the local elected representatives, Kildare County Council and the local community in the weeks and months ahead”.
Mr. John Conlon, Chairman of the OPW said: “It has been a long-term policy objective of the OPW to reunite the historic lands at Castletown and despite previous unsuccessful attempts to purchase these lands, we have now delivered an excellent long term outcome for the State. The benefits will accrue to the local community and visitors to the area for generations to come. I look forward to the OPW re-establishing Castletown House and Estate as a premier heritage attraction to be enjoyed by the people of North Kildare, as well as national and international visitors in the years ahead”.
The OPW is committed to restoring access to the Castletown Estate via the M4 access as soon as possible and in the coming week will assess what remedial works, if any, are required in order to facilitate this. Further details on reopening of this access will be provided in due course.
ENDS
Context Note
Purchase of Lands at the Castletown Estate by the Commissioners of Public Works (OPW)
Background
Castletown House is of national and international architectural significance as Ireland’s earliest and finest Palladian mansion. The wider state and designed landscape provides the setting for this important house. The house, parklands and wider demesne is one of Ireland’s most important historic country estates. Owned and managed by the Office of Public Works (OPW), the property is located in Celbridge, Co. Kildare. Prior to 2023, the OPW welcomed almost one million visitors per annum to the parklands.
In 1994, the OPW acquired Castletown House with 13 acres of land. It has long been the policy of the OPW to seek to reunite the historic estate at Castletown. In 1997, one hundred acres south of the house was acquired. The Farmyard adjacent to the house was acquired in 2001. In 2006, lands associated with the Batty Langley Lodge were acquired and in 2007, lands to the north and east of the house were acquired from Coillte. By 2008, the OPW had reassembled 227 acres of the original 580 acres of lands which formed the historic demesne.
Since 1994, the OPW has invested over €25 million euro in property acquisitions and an extensive programme of conservation of the built and natural heritage at Castletown. This gradual consolidation of, and investment in, the estate under the OPW has created what is now the premier tourist attraction in County Kildare and re-created a designed landscape and biodiversity hub of both national and international importance.
In 2024, the OPW acquired Donaghcumper House and ancillary lands from Kildare County Council. Located south of the river Liffey, opposite Castletown House, this purchase ensured the protection of the historic vistas to and from Castletown House and allows for future strategic development of a substantial heritage amenity offering for both local people and visitors alike.
These acquisitions over the years are informed by, and consistent with, the ‘Liffey Valley Park Strategic Plan’ which was developed some fifteen years ago. The objective of this strategic plan was to secure the historic lands of the Liffey Valley ensuring public access through parks and spaces, protecting, conserving and enhancing the natural resources of the Liffey Valley in the interests of maintaining biodiversity for the benefit of future generations and ensuring the preservation, enhancement and continued use of the Liffey Valley’s cultural heritage assets.
The OPW has continued to maintain a strategic policy objective to reunite the remaining historic demesne lands at Castletown with those already in State ownership. Some 235 acres have historically been privately owned and over the years the OPW has sought to purchase them without success.
Most recently in 2022, these private lands were purchased by a new owner. The OPW sought to reach agreement on access with the new owner but this was not possible, and as a result, access to the estate from the M4 motorway and to the car park was denied. Castletown House was closed to the public in September 2023. Since then, despite engagement with the landowner, elected representatives, local community groups and businesses, a solution had not been reached to fully resolve the access issues that have arisen.
However, in April 2025, a limited access arrangement allowed for staff to return to the workplace and the house reopened to the public in the summer for tours.
Acquisition of 235 acres of lands at Castletown Demesne
The purchase of 235 acres, previously under private ownership, at the Castletown Estate has now been completed by the OPW (19 November 2025).
These lands encompass the access to the estate at Barnhall Road (providing direct access from the M4 motorway) and the route which was widely used for vehicular access by both staff and visitors to the estate between 2007 and 2023. It also encompasses the car park previously developed by the OPW under license from a previous private landowner.
This purchase completes a long-standing policy objective of the OPW to see the historic lands at Castletown united in the title of the State.
Process of Acquisition
Earlier in 2025, the OPW embarked on a process to seek to acquire these lands. A revised Valuation Report and Business Case were prepared and Lisney was appointed as commercial agent to represent the OPW in seeking to purchase the lands. Following a period of intense and confidential negotiations, agreement was reached to purchase the lands for €11.25m. Sanction to proceed with this purchase was granted by the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation.
The agreed purchase price is supported by the Business Case, and by the report from Lisney who advised that the market of these Castletown lands was in the order of €7.25m - €7.50m in September 2025 and the purchase price reflects the strategic value of this acquisition to the State.
In instances of such strategic purchases the State will generally bid in excess of market value of an asset in order to secure ownership and such instances usually arise where the acquisition of a property may enhance the value of existing land or where the State has particular regard to the history and heritage of the subject property. The quantum of the additional amount paid reflects the relatively unique nature of the property and the particular circumstances surrounding the acquisition, as is the case with the Castletown lands. These lands are of strategic, long-term, importance to the State as they are of significant heritage amenity importance, they ensure the protection of the wider historic demesne at Castletown House, they allow for the provision of alternative vehicular access to the estate and they ensure increased access to parklands and heritage amenity space to the population of North Kildare.
Next Steps
This strategic purchase completes the assembly and reunification of the remaining historic demesne lands at Castletown House with those lands already in the ownership of the State. These lands will be conserved and managed as part of the overall heritage amenity offering at Castletown Estate. In total the area in State ownership and in the care of the OPW now encompasses some 462 acres of demesne lands and parklands at Castletown and 19 acres at Donaghcumper.
The OPW intends to now develop a Conservation Management Plan and Masterplan for the entire site of the Castletown House and Estate and Donaghacumper House and gardens. We look forward to continued positive engagement with Kildare County Council and the local community in this regard.
More immediately, the OPW is committed to restoring access to the Castletown Estate from the M4 as soon as possible and in the coming weeks will assess what remedial works, if any, need to be undertaken to facilitate this.
ENDS