Oprah Winfrey searching for an Irish property in Roscommon, Mayo, and Galway

Oprah Winfrey on stage in Dublin during her first live appearance in Ireland, as part of Up Close With Oprah Winfrey. Picture: Conor McCabe Photography

A substantial lakeside estate in west Roscommon has emerged as a prime property of interest in Oprah Winfrey's search for an exclusive Irish retreat.

The world-renowned broadcaster is understood to have taken a particular interest in an expansive holding near the Mayo border, possibly in the Ballinlough area.

Alongside the Roscommon property, the television star and entrepreneur is also understood to have viewed two additional locations in the west, including a property in Cong, Co Mayo.

It is understood that a real estate adviser travelled with her as she viewed several select properties across Roscommon, Mayo, and Galway.

Ms Winfrey was in Ireland this week and took to the stage in Dublin for her sold-out show Up Close With Oprah Winfrey.

The event was organised by Cork couple Norma Murphy and Frankie Sheahan, the former Munster and Ireland rugby player. The team behind the globally successful Pendulum Summit recently spoke to the Irish Examiner about getting the one-night-only show across the line. 

They had a mutual connection in Stedman Graham, Oprah’s long-term romantic partner, who spoke at a Pendulum Summit in Dublin in 2019.

“He’s a brilliant speaker in identity leadership. He’s a smashing man, a real gentleman, and like nearly every other speaker who comes over to us in Ireland, he was blown away by the Irish welcome we offer.”

After Mr Graham’s visit to Dublin, Ms Murphy said he told her, “Oprah would love this”. Ms Murphy said they were "asking him to have a word with her, to see if she’d like to come".

The breakthrough came three years ago when a date opened up in Oprah’s schedule for September 2026.

Oprah joins a long list of celebrities and well-known faces who have purchased homes in Ireland in recent years. 

Meta’s billionaire chief executive Mark Zuckerberg recently purchased Strancally Castle in Co Waterford with his wife, Priscilla Chan.

Another millionaire bought another Waterford property in 2014, when James Dyson purchased Ballintray House for more than €30m.

Elsewhere, West Cork has become home to a 'craic pack' of young actors, with Robert Sheehan, Saoirse Ronan, and Paul Mescal all securing homes in the area recently — the trio following in the footsteps of Jeremy Irons, who moved to West Cork in 1998 after buying and renovating Kilcoe Castle with a more private home nearby.