Stunning countryside and coastline, colourful culture and a good choice of castles – little wonder certain corners of the Emerald Isle are irresistible to the world’s rich and famous. Here’s a glimpse of some of the celebrities who own homes there…
Sarah Jessica Parker – Donegal
Donegal, where Sarah Jessica Parker owns a home.
The American actress best known for playing the character Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City, not forgetting films such as Footloose and Honeymoon in Vegas, enjoys regular breaks at a second home in County Donegal. The connection comes via her husband, the actor Matthew Broderick, who is also American by has Irish roots and spent summers in Ireland as a lad.
Jessica and Michael’s Irish bolt-hole is in Kilcar, a charming traditional town on the Wild Atlantic Way in south-west Donegal. Highlights include fabulous natural scenery, traditional pubs and grub, and the annual folk music festival!
Jeremy Irons – West Cork and Dublin
No-one embraces the full gamut of Irish property like multi award-winning English actor Jeremy Irons, a legend on stage as much as the small and big screens. Isle of Wight born, Jermery’s Irish ‘journey’ began after marrying his second wife, Dublin native Sinéad Cusack (of Call the Midwife).
The couple bought Kilcoe Castle near Ballydehob in West Cork in 1998 and spent the next five years restoring it and turning it into a magnificent home overlooking Roaringwater Bay.
Last year they added to their estate by buying their very own island, called Mannin Island and within swimming distance of their castle! They also own a house in the Liberties area of Dublin.
Ballydehob is a hub for arty types, including folk musicians, who draw inspiration from the beautiful scenery. Nearby Schull and the Mizen Peninsula, Ireland’s most south-westerly point, offer rugged natural landscape and rich ancient heritage.
Daniel Day-Lewis – Wicklow
Born and raised in London, more than two decades ago revered actor Sir Daniel (he was knighted for his contribution to acting) snubbed the usual celeb spots, such as glitzy LA, and decided the tranquil countryside of Co Wicklow was where he and writer-director wife Rebecca Miller wanted to live. He was in fact just finding his roots – Daniel, who won his first Oscar for My Left Foot, is the son of Irish-born poet Cecil Day-Lewis and holds Anglo-Irish nationality!
Daniel and Rebecca’s home is a Georgian estate on the edge of the sweet village of Annamoe in Wicklow, but just an hour south of Dublin. Dubbed the Garden of Ireland, lush Wicklow is a mix of dramatic rolling countryside, ancient monuments and charming old villages. Highlights include the towns of Waterford and Wexford, the Wicklow Mountains National Park, Ballinastoe Forest and Wicklow Trail.
Emily Ratajkowski – West Cork
West Cork, where Emily Ratajkowski and Jeremy Irons own a home.
A regular at glamourous red carpet events, who would have known supermodel Emily is a known face in down-to-earth Bantry in West Cork, a place she calls her second home. Then again, her full name is Emily O’Hara Ratajkowski and she has Irish grandmothers! Emily has spent summers in Bantry since her childhood, thanks to her adventurous parents buying and restoring a farmhouse there more than two decades ago. Her American-born father John, a renowned artist, bases himself there half the year and is involved heavily in the local arts scene.
Bantry is a picturesque harbour town situated along the Wild Atlantic Way. It’s a fun place to be all year round, with a whole range of festivals celebrating local culture, from food and agricultural to art and music, including the now established West Cork Literary Festival. With a popular weekly market, it also offers access to the whole range of outdoors activies, either on the water or in the hills around it.
Christine Baranski – Co Donegal
Did her time filming Mamma Mia! trigger a desire for a pretty bolt-hole overlooking the sea? Either way, Christine Baranski has followed in the footsteps of fellow American actress Sarah Jessica Parker and in 2018 purchased a second home in Donegal. Award-winning Christine, whose extensive filmography also includes 9-and-a-half Weeks, Chicago, Cybill, The Big Bang Theory, fell in love and purchased her three-storey house, an old rectory that overlooks the bay in the village of Lettermacaward, in 2018.
An unspoilt corner of Donegal known as The Rosses, local highlights include the glorious beaches at Dooey and Maghery, scenic river walks, the friendly cultural hub of Dungloe town, and other sleepy villages like Burtonport, Crolly and Maghery.
Joe Elliott – Dublin
Dublin, where Joe Elliott and Jeremy Irons.
Rockers might be wondering where Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott hangs out these days, after the band’s especially heady days of the 1980s and 1990s. While the silver-haired legend spends plenty of time in LA still, his main residence is a quiet village on the southern boundary of Dublin. Joe has lived in Stepaside since 1989 and unsurprisingly has a studio at his home.
Stepaside combines the charms of a village set beneath the Dublin Mountains with the buzz that comes from being a short commute into central Dublin – you can see the city’s lights twinkling at night! It’s also few minutes from the famous Leopardstown Racecourse.
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