The estate was developed by the La Touche family, who founded the Bank of Ireland. In 1787, Peter LaTouche built the gothic Luggala Lodge (or "Luggala Castle"), as a hunting lodge which he modelled on Strawberry Hill House in London. In 1937, Ernest Guinness purchased the Luggala Estate and then gave it as a wedding gift to his daughter Oonagh on her second marriage, to Lord Oranmore and Browne; she then gifted the property to her son Garech in 1970. Notable family members buried on the estate include Tara Browne, whose death in a car accident was an inspiration for the Beatles song, "A Day in the Life".