Some 840 years after setting up home in the Dublin coastal village of Howth, the Gaisford-St Lawrence family has agreed to sell its 470-acre estate to Irish investment group Tetrarch in a multimillion-euro deal.

The vast estate includes Howth Castle and demesne, the Deer Park hotel and golf courses, and acres of walled gardens and woodlands.

Tetrarch plans to reopen the Deer Park hotel as a “luxury” property and to transform the golf courses, drawing on its experience in redeveloping the Mount Juliet estate in Co Kilkenny. It is also expected to seek planning permission to develop some of the land for housing.

Lord of Howth

Howth Castle has its origins in medieval times. In 1177, Almeric, the first Lord of Howth, came to Ireland with John de Courcy, and legend has it that on the feast day of St Lawrence, he won a victory that secured him possession of the Howth peninsula.

The estate has been altered many times since by succeeding generations of the family, and was renovated in 1911 by famed British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens.

Julian Gaisford-St Lawrence said Tetrarch has “the ambition and the resources to deliver an exciting and secure future for this unique location”.

Tetrarch chief executive Michael McElligott said it had worked with the family on this opportunity for “several years”.

Tetrarch also owns the five-star Powerscourt hotel near Enniskerry, and the Citywest hotel in Saggart, Co Dublin.