Pop icon hoped to find suitable Irish bolthole

MICHAEL JACKSON toured around Cork as late as 2007 hoping to find an idyllic hideaway where his children could have as normal an upbringing as possible.

For two weekends the ‘King of Pop’ and his children visited a host of the county’s top premises hoping to find a suitable bolthole. They did so with the help of local auctioneer Dominic Daly.

“I met him by appointment – it was quite low-key and we showed him a few specific properties (in Co Cork). He wanted properties where he would have total privacy. The price range was fairly open-ended because at that time he was being backed by a sheikh from Bahrain. He was with me for two weekends.