The Village at Lyons in Celbridge, Co Kildare, has been brought to market by Lisney Sotheby’s International Realty with an asking price of €20 million (€4,841 per sq m).
The 20-acre countryside scheme was purchased as part of the wider 600-acre Lyons estate in the 1990s by Ryanair cofounder, the late Tony Ryan, who reportedly spent millions restoring and furnishing the main house. He also showed the same flair and taste when he embarked on the redevelopment of the Lyons Village, then abandoned and in ruins, centred around a number of cut-stone buildings including an old flour mill destroyed by a fire in 1904.
“The village at that point was in a state of complete disrepair,” David Byrne, managing director of Lisney Sotheby’s International Realty, told Mansion Global. “It became [Ryan’s] life’s passion to restore the village.”
The village was later bought by financier Barry O’Callaghan in 2016 who further developed it, while the mansion remained, as it still does, in private ownership.
The Village at Lyons had been a milling village that was established alongside the Grand Canal in the late 18th century. It currently operates as a luxury boutique spa resort. “We’re selling the private estate village to an individual,” Byrne said. “It can be a flagship leisure destination, a creative retreat or for someone looking for a long-term heritage investment.”
The property includes 47 bedrooms within apartments, four lodges and 12 cottages. The recreational buildings include a dining hall that seats 120, an event space, bar, club room and coffee shop. There is also a garden room, a spa, a Victorian-style conservatory and landscaped gardens. The estate is about a 30-minute drive from Dublin city.
The Village at Lyons. Photograph: Lisney Sotheby’s International Realty 
The Village at Lyons. Photograph: Lisney Sotheby’s International Realty 
The Village at Lyons. Photograph: Lisney Sotheby’s International Realty 
The Village at Lyons. Photograph: Lisney Sotheby’s International Realty