The hammer falling at €7,200 in Maam Cross mart last Sunday set a new breed record for the Connemara Mayo Blackface Breeders Group.

The previous record price of over €4,000 was greatly exceeded and added to an already lively weekend with over 2,000 females and 600 rams offered for sale.

There was a rapturous round of applause for its breeder Sean Halloran, Cloughbrack, Galway who has been a dedicated advocate of the breed and constantly pushing to improve genetics, along with wishing well to its purchaser Bryan Grealis, Ballycroy, Co Mayo.

Sunday’s sale of over 600 rams was the largest sale of rams in Ireland in 2025.

The trade for hogget rams was described as particularly vibrant with two more rams topping the €4,000 mark including an excellent hogget ram bred by Tom Staunton, Srah, Co Mayo.

Several rams sold from €2,000 to €3,950 with the general run of good-quality rams selling from €800 to €1,300 and back to €300 to €500 for some lesser-quality types.

Aged rams

There was a number of sale highlights for aged rams which is said to have set a strong positive tone to the trade. Two aged rams exceeded a price of €2,000 with the top-priced ram in this section of €2,600 paid for a three year-old ram. A further 10 rams sold from €1,000 to €2,000 with keen demand for rams with proven performance.

This was followed by 10 more rams selling from €800 to €920 and 36 rams selling from €500 to €780 and a small number back to the minimum price of €200 per head.

Ram lambs rounded off the sale with what was described as an excellent clearance with the overall clearance rate on the day of approximately 70%. This was a positive feat given the high number of rams on offer. The general run of prices averaged from €300 to €360 with a dozen standout prices.

The top price of €1,600 was achieved by P Donnellan, Newport, Co Mayo while €950 was paid for a ram lamb offered by N Greavy, Bonniconlon, €800 to K Moran, Newport and €720 to M Kerrigan Gleantreague. Another five lambs sold from €600 to €650.

Show results

The first to third prizewinners in the ram lamb class were Trevor Reilly, Ballina, Co Mayo; Steven Fadian, Castlebar, Co Mayo; and Dean Kerrigan, Cloughbrack, Co Galway. Winners in the hogget ram class were Damian Conway, Westport, Co Mayo; Danny Fadian, Achill, Co Mayo; and Farrell Gallagher, Achill, Co Mayo. Finally the winners in the aged lamb class were Padraig Kerrigan, Cloughbrack, Co Galway, Mark Davitt, Achill, Co Mayo; and PJ Rowland, Newport, Co Mayo. While Damian Conway’s ram hogget was judged champion ram of the show.

Speaking after the sale, Brendan Joyce a spokesperson for the group said: “This weekend’s results are a fantastic reflection of the quality, consistency, and confidence in the Connemara Mayo Blackface breed. The strong clearances and top prices show the hard work of breeders across the region is paying off. Thanks to all exhibitors, buyers, and mart staff for making the weekend a big success .”