Leafy village goes up for sale for £17million just three decades after being bought by Ryanair chief

Fintan Starkey
Thu, 09 Apr 2026 21:51:53 +0000

A complete Irish village has been placed on the market for £17.5million, offering a rare chance to acquire an entire historic settlement in County Kildare.

Lyons, situated along a tranquil canal down a secluded tree-lined avenue west of Dublin, encompasses 47 bedrooms distributed across 20 acres of property.

The sale includes stone cottages, a traditional pub, a schoolhouse, and an impressive four-storey watermill, alongside a lake, stables, and extensive gardens.

The village formed part of the Lyons Estate, whose mansion dates to 1797. The estate house remains in the hands of the Ryan family and is excluded from this transaction.

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Originally functioning as a mining settlement on the banks of the Grand Canal, Lyons has earned recognition from Country Life magazine as Ireland's "most significant estate".

During its heyday, the village supported a thriving community with a police barracks, boat repair facility, stables, and a Church of Ireland boarding school. Census records from its peak show 79 houses accommodating 102 families.

The water-powered flour mill was operated by Joseph P Shackleton, a relation of the renowned Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton. Following its conversion to a roller mill in 1887, the building was destroyed by an accidental fire.

This blaze marked the beginning of Lyons' decline, as shops gradually closed and structures deteriorated.

Ryanair co-founder Tony Ryan acquired and restored both the mansion and village during the 1990s.

His passion for Irish author Charles Kickham, whose novel Knocknagow portrayed an abandoned village resembling Lyons, drove the restoration project with careful attention to preserving Georgian character.

"The buildings are so beautiful they look like they have been there for hundreds of years despite being built in the Nineties," says Nicola Vance of Lisney Sotheby's International Realty.

"They were built with longevity in mind."

Following Ryan's death in 2007, businessman Barry O'Callaghan purchased the wider estate in 2016.

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It now operates as the five-star Cliff at Lyons hotel, with cottages serving as guest accommodation and the former mill transformed into a two-storey restaurant featuring a bar called the Lyons Den.

Estate agents anticipate the purchaser will come from the ultra-high-net-worth bracket.

David Byrne of Lisney Sotheby's International Realty says: "The buyer is likely to be an ultra-high-net-worth individual who sees this as a truly unique Irish estate.

"A hospitality destination or long-term heritage investment where there is further potential to develop the property [which includes the Cliff at Lyons Hotel] to its fullest potential."

The location offers considerable appeal, sitting just nine minutes from Celbridge and half an hour from Dublin.

Nearby amenities include the K Club golf course, popular with American visitors, and Weston Airport for private charter access.

County Kildare's equestrian heritage adds further prestige, with Kildangan Stud owned by Dubai's ruler located 40 minutes away.