Lavish home at centre of armed standoff on sale for half ‘€5.5m' it was bought for
Mansion's previous owner Brian McDonagh was later charged with producing a gun during the incident in February. He will appear in court next month
Dromin House in Delgany, Co Wicklow has seven bedrooms and is set in 10.9 acres of land
Businessman Brian McDonagh's baronial-style house has hit the market with a guide price of €2.45m after the property was repossessed in February.
Dromin House, a seven-bedroom country home set on 10.9 acres of land in Delgany, Co Wicklow, is described as a 'truly exceptional' property with 'stunning views' of the Wicklow Mountains.
Mr McDonagh (64) bought the house for a reported €5.5m in 2005, with a newspaper write-up hailing it as 'quite possibly the finest residential home to come on the market' at the time.
Sources say the property currently 'needs a lot of work'.
The qualified engineer was involved in a standoff with a sheriff and armed gardaí during the repossession by Blackwater Asset Management. He was subsequently charged with producing a shotgun likely to unlawfully intimidate another person during a dispute at Dromin House on February 24 this year.
Brian McDonagh
He was further charged with wilfully obstructing or interfering with an officer of the court on the same date.
Mr McDonagh is due before Bray District Court on June 9.
Lisney Sotheby International Realty, the estate agent handling the sale of the property, has opened an online bidding platform for potential buyers.
Dromin House sits at the heart of its own private estate and the entrance is marked by a 'charming bedroom gate lodge' that was completed in 1904.
The lodge has two bedrooms, a sitting room, kitchen and bathroom, described as 'perfect for staff, guests or as a potential source of rental income'.
A winding tree-lined avenue ascends past a meandering stream
The advertisement states the house is 'ideally situated for those seeking a peaceful country lifestyle with exceptional convenience'.
It also mentions how the property features a range of outbuildings with 'great potential for conversion into extra accommodation', subject to planning permission.
'A winding tree-lined avenue ascends past a meandering stream, waterfall, and picturesque duck pond before arriving at the gravelled forecourt of the main house,' the property description states.
The three-floored house extends to over 520.9 sq m. It comprises four 'elegant' reception rooms, including a fine drawing room, a formal dining room, a study and an 'inviting' family room.
The kitchen has a cold pantry, crockery, wine stores, utility and ironing room.
'The accommodation also includes several charming spaces suitable for home offices or quiet retreats, each with natural light and timeless ambience,' the estate agent says.
The gardens have vegetable plots, a flourishing orchard, and expansive lawns, 'complemented by gently rolling paddocks ideal for grazing'.
After buying the property at the height of the Celtic Tiger, Mr McDonagh and his two younger brothers set their sights on building the biggest data centre in the world on a nearby 82-acre site in Kilpedder.
However, this dream led to decade-long litigation battles over their failure to repay millions of euro that had been loaned to buy lands earmarked for the data centre that never was.
Sitting room in the luxurious Dromin house
In 2007, Ulster Bank provided €21.8m to Mr McDonagh, Kenneth McDonagh and Maurice McDonagh to buy a large site in Kilpedder, near Newtownmountkennedy.
The brothers had hopes of building a €500m data centre that would be powered by green carbon-neutral energy.
Unfortunately for the McDonaghs, their project coincided with the crumbling of the Irish economy.
Initially, everything had been going to plan. Wicklow County Council granted permission for 10 two-storey data centres, the lands were rezoned and investment was secured.
Despite the bleak financial situation due to the crash, they persevered and restructured their debt. The biggest problem was that they were struggling to meet the hefty loan repayments and the interest was rapidly accumulating.
According to the High Court, by 2013, Mr McDonagh was indebted to Ulster Bank 'in the sum of approximately €33,162,068'.
Eventually Ulster Bank tried to agree a deal with the brothers where debt of around €27m would have been written off following repayment of €5m.
As part of the settlement, the site at Kilpedder was to be sold by July 31, 2014, with all the proceeds going to the bank.
After the deadline was missed, Ulster Bank appointed receivers.
In 2020, Mr Justice Michael Twomey granted a €22m judgment against the three brothers.
The Court of Appeal upheld this decision.
Ulster Bank later sought an order from the High Court for the enforced possession and sale of the brothers' respective homes in a bid to retrieve the outstanding €19.9m.
The original debt of €22m was reduced following the sale of a greenfield site at Kilpedder.
In January last year, the High Court made an order against the McDonaghs restricting their right to issue further proceedings against Ulster Bank over the Kilpedder site.
Last October, Mr Justice Twomey dismissed their latest motion which sought to have the High Court's grant of judgment against them overturned, and the Supreme Court refused to hear their further appeal.
Dromin House in Delgany, Co Wicklow has seven bedrooms and is set in 10.9 acres of land
News in 90 Seconds - May 25th 2025
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sunday World
11 hours ago
- Sunday World
Thief who stole tip jar threw cans of beer at Dublin shop staff jailed
Nancy McDonagh (25) was verbally abusing staff and was throwing cans of beer in their direction. A shoplifter who stole a tip jar from a pub and threw cans of beer at staff in a convenience store in Dublin city centre has been jailed for three months. Nancy McDonagh (25) had been introduced to crime by someone she had been in a 'completely toxic relationship' with, her defence said. Judge Áine Clancy sentenced her at Dublin District Court. McDonagh, with an address at Heatherwood, Bray, Co Wicklow, pleaded guilty to public order and theft charges. O'Connell Street. Photo: Aitor Munoz Munoz News in 90 Seconds - 7th June The court heard gardaí responded to a panic alarm at Spar on O'Connell Street on June 18, 2021. McDonagh was verbally abusing staff and was throwing cans of beer in their direction. She was arrested and taken to Store Street garda station, where she refused to give her name and address. McDonagh stole €150 worth of goods from Weavers of Ireland on Westmoreland Street on January 20, 2022, and a tip jar containing €20 from a pub on Wexford Street on July 28, 2020. McDonagh, who is originally from Carlow, had got into a 'completely toxic relationship' with an 'unsavoury' person who introduced her to a 'lifestyle of criminality', her solicitor Matthew de Courcy said. She was already serving another sentence when she appeared in court. The judge gave her a concurrent jail term.
RTÉ News
4 days ago
- RTÉ News
Man jailed over false imprisonment of pensioner in Offaly
A man has been jailed for seven years after pleading guilty to the false imprisonment of a pensioner at his home in Co Offaly. Patrick McDonagh, 24, with an address at St Margaret's Park, Ballymun, Dublin 11 was one of four men involved in the incident, which happened at the home of James 'Jimmy' Donoghue in Walsh Island on 26 February last year. Judge Keenan Johnson told Tullamore Circuit Criminal Court said it was a "nasty, vile, mean and horrible" crime and it was "clear the victim was terrorised by the culprits". Judge Johnson set the headline sentence at ten years and reduced that to seven when he took mitigating factors into account, including the repayment of €1,000 to the victim, now aged 67. The judge said he would not suspend any portion of the sentence because less than a year before the offence McDonagh had been given a two-year suspended sentence for drug possession. He said behaviour such as McDonagh's had a hugely negative impact on rural dwellers and the easy-going approach to security, along with trust in the community, had been destroyed. Previously, a sentencing hearing had been told that two cars were seen about 2km away from the crime scene and residents were concerned enough to contact the gardaí. McDonagh was identified as the driver of one of them, a Ford Focus, and an item of his clothing was found to have bloodstains on it which matched the victim. An Audi Q7, stolen that day, was used to drive to the farmhouse. The court heard earlier that gardaí received a call from the victim's brother shortly before 8pm on 26 February. John Donoghue had called to his brother's home, where he found him in a state with the house ransacked. He had been assaulted and tied up with a necktie. In a victim impact statement, Mr Donoghue said he was scared for his life when the men came into his house shouting "Where is the money?" and they ransacked his house, took €1,000 from him and a bank card and book. Mr Donoghue said he was "grabbed by the clothes and shook" when the men were demanding money. He had blood coming from an ear where he had been punched in the head. Mr Donoghue said he was very nervous leaving home since and kept a chain around his gate at the end of his lane so people would think it was always locked.
Sunday World
4 days ago
- Sunday World
Four male juveniles charged after gardai stop stolen car in Arklow, Co Wicklow
Gardai say they were arrested following a 'managed containment operation' Four male juveniles have been arrested after a car was stolen in Arklow, Co Wicklow in the early hours of this morning. The four have since been charged and are due to appear before Bray District Court later morning. Gardai say they were arrested following a 'managed containment operation'. . News in 90 Seconds - 3rd June 2025 'Shortly before 3am this morning, gardaí were dispatched to a report of suspected unauthorised taking of a vehicle in Arklow, Co Wicklow,' a Garda spokesperson said. 'A car was observed matching the suspected stolen vehicle with four males on board travelling southbound on the Arklow Road towards Inch, Co. Wexford and a managed containment operation commenced.' According to gardai, a stinger device was deployed and the vehicle was brought to a stop at Junction 23 of the M11 Southbound near Gorey, Co Wexford. 'Two male juveniles were arrested at the scene,' the spokesperson added. 'A short time later the two other juveniles were located and arrested and detained at Garda stations in the Eastern Region.' All four have since been charged and are to appear before Bray District Court this morning. Gardai added that investigations are 'ongoing'.
