Purchases of Ireland's most expensive country mansions have lately been the preserve of wealthy Americans, but Roundwood Park in Wicklow bucked the trend when it was snapped up by a Malahide-based buyer for about €5 million.

Dr Ahmed Salman, an Iraqi-born plastic surgeon who lives in the luxurious Abington estate, purchased the castle and its 373 acres for less than the €5.5 million initially sought by receivers.

The property was previously owned by Swinwood, a subsidiary of developer Treasury Holdings, who hoped to develop the estate into a €250 million hotel and leisure complex.

Dr Salman’s plans for the estate are not quite as ambitious, though it would seem he does have commercial ambitions for Roundwood. His company, RAS Ventures, was recently granted planning permission subject to conditions to build a state-of-the-art 90-bed nursing home extending to 6,981sq m (75,000sq ft) on a small portion of the estate’s grounds.

The surgeon was previously linked to a bid to buy Mount Carmel hospital from receivers in 2014, however the Health Service Executive succeeded in purchasing it for €11 million.

Nursing-home development is very much back in vogue in desirable locations, particularly in south Dublin, but plans are not being welcomed by locals due to concerns about increased traffic, unsuitably high densities and insufficient parking facilities.

Around the corner from Mount Carmel Hospital at 149 Braemor Road, builder Stephen Byrne, who earned €4 million from the sale of his substantial Clonskeagh home in 2014, has hopes of replacing a car wash with a 101-bedroom five-storey nursing home.

His application has attracted well over 100 objections, likely making it the most hotly contested development of the year in the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown area.

Elsewhere, the Willis Care Group purchased Four Winds, a detached house on Brighton Road, Foxrock, for €3.45 million last year. About 90 objections have been lodged against its plans to replace the house with a 121-bedroom nursing home.

This isn't the group's first venture into exclusive Dublin suburbs – it previously purchased Ferndene, a period house in Blackrock, for €3.1 million and subsequently redeveloped it as a nursing home. The facility reportedly has a long waiting list for rooms, so it is of little surprise that the group recently sought and obtained planning permission to build a 21-bedroom extension to meet that demand.