Waterford locals fear losing rights-of-way after billionaire James Dyson's purchase of Ballynatray estate

Ballynatray House Estate. Picture: Denis Scannell

Fears are growing about the future of historic rights-of-way and public access to pathways at the Ballynatray estate in Waterford, owned by billionaire vacuum-cleaner inventor James Dyson.

Waterford City and County Council has entered into discussions with Mr Dyson, and is also “engaging with legal advisers” in a bid to resolve the issues.

The council declined to specify the locations being discussed, citing it as “inappropriate” to comment further while talks are ongoing.

However, the talks are understood to include access to Molana Abbey and Templemichael, two deeply historical sites within the 850-acre Ballynatray estate Mr Dyson purchased for a reported €30m in 2024.

Access to either site has not been denied, but there are concerns it is being gradually reduced and compromised.

Nearby communities are particularly concerned over alleged changes to Templemichael car park. The small parking facility sits 50m from a historic graveyard.

While burials are all but negligible there nowadays, the remains of relatives from local communities are interred there.

Several of the graves are linked to the First World War, while an adjacent 16th-century castle was reportedly attacked by Oliver Cromwell. Some scholars date the castle to the 12th century, amid claims it was a Knights Templar stronghold.

Meanwhile, Templemichael church, built in 1823, has been described as “a symbol of Ireland’s religious history, reflecting the country’s transition from Catholicism to Protestantism during the Reformation”.

Templemichael car park serves these historic grounds, along with the nearby abbey, but earlier this year a barrier, allegedly to counteract anti-social behaviour, was installed.

Initially, the barrier was activated at 7pm but now allegedly prevents access from 4pm.

By consequence, visitors are reportedly now infuriating locals by parking on nearby private properties, while the road between the car park and Molana Abbey, though brief, is narrow and subject to speeding traffic.

The unease comes some three weeks after Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg purchased Strancally Castle, just 13km from Ballynatray.

Photographer and archivist Tony Lawlor, who lives about 5km from Templemichael, describes his visits to the area as “a huge part of his life”.

Mr Lawlor said he feared gradual changes may represent “a trend by very wealthy landowners towards reducing access to a bare minimum” or worse.

“It started with Molana Abbey”, he said. "There is now no sense of openness or welcome. You have to ring a bell and ask to be let into what is a very historic monument site. We could be heading towards losing these historical parts of Irish history behind the walls of private ownership entirely."

Nick Parker, who lives about 2km from Templemichael, said he had been visiting the locality for over 70 years.

He said while it was fine to welcome newly arrived billionaires, such as Mr Dyson and Mr Zuckerberg, it could quickly descend into a “doffing the cap” exercise.

Efforts to contact Mr Dyson's representatives were unsuccessful.