As storms began to rattle Ireland last Thursday, temperatures rose in Kilkenny Mart for a red hot weekly cattle sale.

With small numbers on offer, demand exceeded supply, leading to increases across all classes of stock.

There were 440 animals on offer and the 99% clearance rate was a testament to the hunger among buyers both at the ringside and online.

With beef in short supply north and south of the border, finishers and short-keep customers had to battle it out for the forward lots on offer.

The largest entries were seen in the male ring, where bullocks made up well over half the sale and the top call of the day was an Angus-cross Friesian bullock born in April 2021 and weighing 885kg that sold for €2,500 (€2.82/kg).

Well-fleshed and well-conformed bullocks - both traditional and continental types - weighing over 550kg sold freely from €2.70/kg to €3.13/kg.

Some sample prices included two Limousin-cross bullocks weighing 720kg selling for €2,030 (€2.82/kg) and a single Limousin-cross bullock weighing 580kg that went on to sell for €1,700 (€2.93/kg).

A single Angus bullock weighing in at 720kg left the ring selling for €2,240 (€3.11/kg), while heavier Friesian bullocks have also seen a lift in the past week across the country, with highs of €2.76/kg being paid for six Friesian bullocks weighing 598kg (€1,650).

The demand for prime heifers was very similar to the bullock ring, with the demand for forward and finished heifers exceeding supply.

Quality heifers weighing over 500kg sat comfortably in the €2.80/kg to €3.10/kg range, with the top price of €2,170 paid for a Charolais-cross heifer weighing 680kg (€3.19/kg).

Other notable prices included a bunch of five Charolais-cross heifers weighing 622kg that sold for €1,820 (€2.93/kg) and a pair of Charolais-cross heifers weighing 625kg achieving a price of €1,920 (€3.07/kg).

Traditional-bred heifers were also met with an exceptional trade. An example of this was a single Hereford-cross heifer weighing 598kg that sold for €1,650 (€2.76/kg), while a pair of two Hereford-cross heifers weighing 550kg sold for €1,500 (€2.73/kg).

Angus-sired heifers ticking the boxes sold freely with sample prices including a lot of Angus-cross heifers weighing 515kg selling for €1,470 (€2.85/kg).

Angus heifers for further feeding sold from €2.58/kg to €2.89/kg, which was paid for a lot of Angus-cross heifers weighing in at 477kg that sold for €1,380.