Stunning 17th-century Tipperary estate sold for €20m despite ongoing legal dispute

A 751-acre estate in County Tipperary that has been in the same family since the 17th century has been sold to a US-based property developer for over €20 million. 

Barne Estate, which is home to a 12-bedroom mansion, a four-bedroom country house, outhouses, and hundreds of acres of fertile farming land, has been sold to Maurice Regan, the owner of New York-based construction firm JT Magen.

The Irish Times reports that contracts for the sale of the property have been signed in recent days, with the purchase price rumored to be above €20 million. 

According to the Irish Times, Regan already owns a 550-acre farm in Tipperary and is one of two shareholders in the Mercantile Group, which owns famous Dublin venues such as Café en Seine and the George. 

However, the publication also reports that Irish billionaire John Magnier is disputing the sale, alleging that he had already agreed a deal with Richard Thomson-Moore, the beneficial owner of the property, and a Jersey-based trust described as the property's legal owner. 

The dispute is the subject of a case in the Irish Commercial Courts, with Magnier claiming that he made a deal to purchase the property for €15 million at a meeting at his home at Coolmore House in County Cork. 

The Irish businessman said he paid a €250,000 deposit for the estate and paid for a tillage license to plow the land based on the fact that he had a "binding agreement" to purchase it, the Irish Times reports. 

The matter is due back before the Commercial Court on December 18, with the final sale of the property subject to the outcome of the case. 

Listed by REA Stokes and Quirke and Savills, the 17th-century estate features a "château-style mansion" stretching over 16,930 sq ft. 

Outside the main estate mansion are formal gardens including a feature lake, a tennis court, a walled garden, a gated entrance and a tree-lined driveway.

The land additionally features hundreds of acres of tillage and dozens of acres of pasture and woodland. 

The estate's history dates back to Richard Moore, the Chief Executive Officer to the British Crown in County Tipperary.