Mary Robinson’s Mayo estate sells for €1.55m

Former president Mary Robinson and her husband Nick have sold their Victorian shooting and fishing estate on 113 acres on the shores of Lough Conn in Co Mayo for €1.55million. The buyer has been confirmed as Irish biotech entrepreneur Malcolm Bell, who co-founded Tipperary-based Technopath Clinical Diagnostics in Ballina, Co Tipperary in 2004 .

Massbrook in Pontoon, Co Mayo came on the market through Sherry FitzGerald Country Homes in June 2016 for €2.75million after the Robinsons decided to downsize from the estate they had purchased in 1994 during Mrs Robinson's tenure as president of Ireland. The price was reduced to €1.95million earlier this year.

Extending to 630sq m (6,781sq ft) Massbrook House, dates from 1890 and is located about a 20minute drive from Mrs Robinson’s childhood home in Ballina. The new owner, Mr Bell, also hails from Ballina – the one in Tipperary – and it’s understood he will use Massbrook as a holiday retreat.

The couple plan to purchase a home in Dublin to be closer to family, and they retain a parcel of about 10 acres of land close to the Mayo estate for their own use.

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The buyer Mr Bell has successfully co-founded, developed and exited a number of life science and healthcare businesses based on new technology. Technopath Clinical Diagnostics announced last year that it would expand its workforce to 180 and is currently investing €5million in its Ballina plant.

Selling agent Roseanne De Vere Hunt said “Massbrook House is a remarkable property in a relatively undiscovered part of Ireland. While we had strong international interest, we are pleased the house has been sold to a buyer closer to home.”