When Spain gets too hot and America too turbulent, buyers look to Ireland
Hillwalk Tours Walkers on the Dingle Way. In Europe and in the US, Ireland is finding favour as a sanctuary – an escape from oppressive heat for some, and escape from oppressive politics for others.
It didn’t take news that Meta chief Mark Zuckerburg was hotfooting it to a Munster castle to show that Ireland's attraction for international property buyers is on the rise.
Mr Zuckerberg has secured the 440-acre Strancally Castle estate is located on the banks of the River Blackwater, near the village of Knockanore in West Waterford.
And while the boss of Instagram and Facebook might be yet to experience nearby Youghal beach or trying his luck at the slot machines at Perk’s funfair, he is not alone in poking around the Irish property market.
In Europe and in the US, Ireland is finding favour as a sanctuary – an escape from oppressive heat for some, and escape from oppressive politics for others.
We are facing into September after a hot summer in Ireland, but it pales compared to the European experience. June 2026 was the hottest June recorded for western Europe and the second warmest globally, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service, and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. Copernicus said the combined average temperature in western Europe for June and July was 21.6C: the highest ever recorded. The high temperatures have continued into August.
Last week, London temperatures topped 38C. The UK has endured five heatwaves so far this year.
Wildfires have devastated continental Europe, with over 600,000 hectares of land burning. The fire seasons of 2022, 2025, and 2026 are the worst ever recorded.
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Across the Atlantic, temperatures are also rising. According to Bloomberg, July was the hottest month in the USA in 132 years, with average mainland temperatures reaching 25C in July, over 1.5C higher than the 20th century average. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it exceeded the record set in July 1936 in what was known as the Dust Bowl, a drought which devastated the southern states.
International buyers have taken note of global temperatures, says Maeve McCarthy, a director at Charles McCarthy Estate Agents in Skibbereen in West Cork, with house hunters now citing weather as a key factor.
“Buyers who would have looked to other European countries 20 years ago are now purchasing in Ireland because it’s colder. Irish people always apologise for the weather, but these buyers say ‘no, this is really good’,” said Ms McCarthy, who has worked in the sector for over two decades.
“I have one buyer who had a house in Madrid, and a house on a Balearic island. They said Spain is too hot. Instead, they are looking for a home in West Cork.”
Some 350kms up the Wild Atlantic Way from Skibbereen to Mayo, Gerard O’Toole of O’Toole & Co in Westport has noticed the increase in European and international interest. They aren’t coming just to see Sam.
“We first saw it back three years ago, we had a French couple who had planned to move to the south of France to retire, but decided on the west of Ireland and Mayo for two reasons: the conflict in Ukraine as they felt less comfortable on the land mass of Europe, and the second reason was the excessive heat in summer in Europe," said Mr O'Toole, a former president of the Society of Chartered Surveyors (SCSI).
“The interest from Europe due to heat is a growing trend. We recently had a Spanish couple leaving Majorca relocating to Castlebar. They felt the education system for their children was better in Ireland but said the tipping point was the summertime temperatures.”
Johanna Murphy based in Cobh has worked in property sales for over quarter of a century, with many clients purchasing in Kinsale. The Kinsale market peaks from May to October. “International buyers love our weather system. Nothing is extreme here,” she says. “More people are buying from Europe, to escape the heat. And from the US, we get a lot of interest from Boston, where the winters are also very extreme.”
In tandem with the weather, the geopolitical situation is also burning hot. Russia’s war on Ukraine shows no sign of abating. Israel’s stranglehold on Palestine and its lands is tighter than ever. Trump tariffs continue to hover like a grey cloud while there are daily chicanes and turns over the Strait of Hormuz. “Every generation is condemned to deal with a black swan event, but we’ve had one every year,” opined AIB chief executive Colin Hunt earlier this summer.
In an environment of rising temperatures and global upheaval, Ireland is emerging as a Goldilocks zone: not too hot, not too cold. Politically, less extreme. The transatlantic drift of American buyers in recent years is often less weather related, and instead more to escape a political storm.
High profile, politically-motivated, movers included comedian and actress Rosie O’Donnell, who relocated in from New York (and Miami) to Dublin in 2025.
“We've experienced a significant increase in overseas interest. In the last two years we have seen a 50% to 60% increase in US buyers, since Donald Trump came to power,” said Majella Galvin, chartered surveyor, estate agent, and valuer at DNG Galvin auctioneers in Bandon in Co Cork.
Ms Galvin is currently working as an overseas buyer representative sourcing properties for buyers from the US and the Netherlands. Kerry and West Cork are both in demand. DNG Galvin are part of the Hamptons International network which has 7,000 affiliates worldwide, and brings buyers in contact with the Bandon firm.
Gerard O’Toole agrees the American interest has gone up “considerably”. “There has always been a certain cohort coming because of the breadth of the Irish diaspora in the US, and many want to reconnect with families. But the correlation I see is political with the uptick in inquiries largely aligned with Mr Trump - and they are very vocal about that.”
Most US buyers are in their late 50s, with high wealth, while accessibility is aided by the strong US air links to Ireland.
The housing crisis in Ireland has also led to multinational companies, and large hospitality businesses, are increasingly entering the market.
Two years ago, the owners of the luxury five-star Ashford Castle estate in Co Mayo purchased an entire housing estate of 14 units for €3.3m to accommodate some of its staff, amid difficulties finding accommodation locally. In 2024, Ryanair purchased 25 of 28 homes in Fosterstown in Swords, near Dublin Airport, to provide affordable housing for its staff.
DNG Galvin in Bandon have sold a number of properties to companies in the past year. “These companies had trouble getting staff due to accommodation, so it was a no brainer,” said Ms Galvin.
Johanna Murphy said international companies are increasingly interested in period houses or big houses. “It improves the property portfolio within their own company or they can use it for themselves and their staff. These properties are amenities; they could be used for board meetings.”
With Meta’s international headquarters based in Dublin, perhaps Mr Zuckerberg has similar designs for Strancally Castle.
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