This large farm on the Meath/Monaghan border had been guided at €1.2m (€7,500/acre) and was withdrawn from auction after the bidding finished up at €1.02m.

Padraig Kavanagh of REA Coonan Auctioneers, Celbridge, said the farm had attracted a lot of attention in recent weeks, with a number of enquiries coming from parties in Northern Ireland.

Over 50 people attended the auction in the Dun A Ri House Hotel, Kingscourt. On the day there were three bidders, but it quickly came down to just two. The property opened with a bid of €950,000 and rose steadily to €1.02m before being withdrawn.

Padraig Kavanagh confirmed that the vendor and Coonan’s are currently in active negotiations with two parties over the sale of the land and are confident the farm will sell sooner rather than later.

The 160-acre farm is set out in one block, with an extensive network of superb gravel roads running throughout the farm.

The land is laid out in a number of different sized fields, with the largest field being 20 acres. All fields are well fenced and maintained, with plenty of shelter from mature trees. The vendor had kept a herd of 100 Saler cows on the farm for the last number of years.

The farm comes with a number of excellent modern buildings and two new slatted sheds that have the capacity to house 120 head of cattle.

The property is set on the rolling landscape of north Meath, which makes for fabulous views of the countryside and the four surrounding counties.