Just short of 130 bulls were cataloged for the final bull sale of the year in Kilkenny Livestock Mart on Wednesday 6 May.

Angus made up over half the bulls in the yard, with over 60 bulls in attendance, followed by 17 Hereford, eight Limousin and just three Friesian.

Held a week earlier than previous years, trade was sluggish in the Angus ring, as supply exceeded demand once again this spring, with the joint top price of €5,300 paid for Hereford and Limousin bulls.

Hereford

Selling for the joint-highest price of €5,300 was the Hereford bull Castlehale Pete PP, a full-polled bull bred by local man James Ryan.

A son of Fabb 1 Northern Star Pp, this September 2024-born bull carries a nice spread of indexes, putting him in the top 40% of the breed for replacement and terminal.

Although above-average on calving across beef and dairy females, he was the pick of Kilkenny farmer Martin Walsh. Ten out of the 17 Hereford bulls traded to average €3,450.

Limousin

Also realising €5,300 was the Limousin bull Farmleigh Vender, the property of Thomas Swaine from Co Wexford.

Sired by Sliabh Felim Toddy and out of the Ernevalley Miley ET-bred dam Farmleigh Tilly, this double-F94L carrier came to auction with well-below-average calving figures.

He also stayed within the Marble County, selling to Ruairi Carroll.

Farmleigh Vender was the highest-priced Limousin at €5,300.

Five out of the eight Limousin bulls retailed to an average of €4,600.

Angus bulls

A total of 28 Angus bulls found new homes at the sale, representing a less than 50% clearance and an average sale price of €3,950, with a much stronger appetite for the older lots.

Top price in the Angus section was €5,200 paid for Martin Garvey's Liscolvin ACDC 1704.

Born in November 2024, this well-grown bull is a son of Mogeely Frederic V659 and the HW Evander daughter Liscolvin Violet 1534.

In the top 20% of the breed for terminal and dairy-beef traits, he boasted some eye-catching calving figures, placing him in the top 10% of the breed on beef cows and heifers.

He was knocked down to Kilkenny farmer Edward Butler.

Friesian

There was a full clearance for the three Friesian bulls on offer, retailing to an average of €4,166.

Out in front at €4,800 was Freighduff Cody, a January 2025-born son of Tuohy Historic bred by James Hanly in Co Tipperary.

Carrying an EBI of €212 and a dairy heifer calving difficulty figure of just 6%, he was acquired by a dairy herd in Co Waterford.