In February, €18,000/ac was seen in Cork and over €15,000/ac was noted in Wexford. In Limerick, over 30 acres fetched €10,000/ac while in Wicklow a smaller holding went for €13,500/ac.

Last week, more impressive sales were seen nationwide. In Roscommon, a suckler farmer paid an extraordinary €13,500/ac for land, over double the county’s average.

In Kilkenny, a 42.5-acre farm is believed to have sold around its guide of €11,000/ac while another small package in Roscommon made €10,000/ac.

However, we are reminded of the complexities of the land market. A number of sales this week did not make their reserve and were withdrawn. Irish Country Living profile a number of auctions across Ireland last week.

Suckler farmer pays €13,000/ac in Roscommon

“What is rare, is beautiful” – auctioneer Lorcan Egan of Vincent Egan Auctioneers was not too far wrong with his analysis of a very successful auction west of the Shannon.

By the end of a highly competitive public auction last week, €143,000 or €13,000/ac was paid for a small 11-acre package in Carrownageeragh, near Boyle.

Two suckler farmers dug their heels in as the land sold under the hammer for over double Roscommon’s county average.

There was little doubt coming into the auction that this parcel of land was in demand. The best indication of this was the pre-auction guide of €110,000 or €10,000/ac. There was evidently a hunch that farmers were interested in what was being offered. Once Egan offered it to the floor, the hunch was confirmed.

Four local farmers, all suckler, showed their hands as they began placing bids on the property.

Opening at €100,000 or almost €9,100/ac, the bidders pushed the price until it reached €125,000 or €11,360/ac. At this point, just two neighbours were still in play. The two remaining bidders went hard until the hammer finally fell at €143,000 or €13,000/ac.

The farm was very good quality land. It also contains a cattle handling facility and a base for silage. The vendor was a private farmer. The farm was formally a beef farm.

Seven acres for €10,000/ac

A seven-acre parcel, at Ballybaun, Boyle, down the road from the 11 acres at Carrownageeragh that sold for €13,000/ac, also sold well. It went under the hammer for €70,000 or €10,000/ac. Once again, a beef farmer bought it.

Bidding opened at €50,000 or €7,150/ac before two local farmers bid it up. Both auctions took place in Four Provinces in Boyle, Co Roscommon.

35 acres withdrawn in Cork

A 35-acre property was withdrawn from auction in Cork in late February. The holding, located at Longueville, near Mallow in Co Cork, was offered to auction via an online platform. The vendor was a private individual.

A 35-acre property was withdrawn from auction in Cork in late February. The holding is located at Longueville, near Mallow in Co Cork.

No bid was received for the holding before it was withdrawn. Agents offering the farm, Munster Property Auctions (in partnership with local Mallow agent Liam Mullins) confirmed that the property will be re-offered on 4 April. It was guided for €297,000 or €8,500/ac.

The farm is described as tillage and fattening lands and is situated on the banks of River Blackwater, circa 5km to Mallow on N72.

33-acre Tullamore farm close to sale

A 33-acre farm near Tullamore was withdrawn from public auction in the last 10 days.

The farm was offered in four lots, including the entire. It took 30 minutes for the agent, Gordan Cobbe of GVM Auctioneers Tullamore, to work his way through each of the four lots. On four occasions he switched from offering the entire and the individual lots in order to get the best price. In the end, each lot was withdrawn.

However, the ongoing negotiations are proving fruitful and the farm is close to a sale. Located in Annagharvey, Tullamore, Co Offaly the property encompasses 33 acres. The first of these was a 17.5-acre parcel.

Opening at €130,000 or €7,400/ac, three bidders pushed up the price to over €179,000 or €10,230/ac. It was withdrawn at this point. The first lot was described by the agent as a top-quality, arable farm. The second lot is almost 15 acres.

This parcel is good grazing ground, but slightly heavier in nature than the previous lot. Opening at €70,000 or €4,800/ac, it reached €80,000 or €5,520/ac, before being withdrawn.

The third individual lot, 0.7 acres with farm buildings, opened at €20,000 and increased to €22,000. The entire opened its doors at €240,000 or €7,270/ac before being withdrawn at €280,000 or €8,480/ac.

Since the auction, progress has been made, according to the auctioneer.