A large crowd of farmers and pedigree breeders gathered in Raphoe Livestock Mart for the annual Letterkenny Show Society bull sale on Tuesday 8 March.
There was a strong entry of 40 high-quality bulls on the day, made up of 25 Charolais bulls, eight Limousin bulls, six Angus bulls and one Hereford.
Demand for all breeds was high from both sucker and dairy farmers. This high level of demand led to a strong overall clearance rate of 85% and a record-breaking overall sale average of €3,771 was also achieved.
Topping the sale at €5,100 was Gortmacall Under, a standout young Limousin bull from longstanding breeder John Peoples.
The Powerful Proper-sired bull also took the reserve champion Limousin title in the pre-sale show earlier in the day. It was Portsalon-based sucker farmers Mickey and Patrick Gibbons that placed the winning bid on this sale-topping bull.
Champion Limousin bull Rahanfar Van Basten, that sold for €3,800.
Peoples went on to sell two more strong Brooklands Marco sired bulls for €4,200 and €3,800, to give the Milford man an impressive pen average of €4,367 for his three Limousin bulls.
Following directly after the sale topper was Moville-based breeder Bernard Lynch, with two more special Limousin bulls, Iniseoghain Uri and Iniseoghan Ultan. Both of these bulls were sired by Ewdenvale Ivor and went on to sell for €4,200 and €4,100.
Catching judge Richie Devine’s eye to take the overall Limousin champion title in the pre-sale show was William Armstrong’s young bull Rahanfar Van Basten.
The young January 2024-born bull was sired by Ardlea Rolex and was the last Limousin bull to pass through the ring on the day where he sold for €3,800.
Charolais
The Charolais section had the largest entry of the sale consisting of 25 bulls.
The large section was topped by the reserve overall champion Charolais bull Ballylannon Virgo that sold for €4,900.
The young February 2024-born bull was brought forward by Malin-based breeder Patrick McLaughlin. He was sired by top breeding bull Magician.
It was Letterkenny-based suckler farmer John McCauley whopurchased this cracking young bull.
Reserve champion Charolais bull Ballylannon Virgo, that went on to top the Charolais section selling for €4,900.
McLaughlin's success continued with his second bull Ballylannon Unbeatable selling for €4,600, making him the second-highest priced Charolais bull of the day. Unbeatable was sired by homebred bull Ballylannon Oran and was purchased by Patricia Lynch.
Back in the ring
Milford man John Peoples was back in the ring after his success in the Limousin section with a consignment of three Charolais bulls.
His consignment was topped at €4,100 by his pen leader Forquar Val, a very correct young January 2024-born bull. Val was followed very closely by John's second bull Forquar Victor that sold for €3,700. Both of these bulls were sired by Portland Robert. Forquar Vance, a Lapon-sired bull, was the final Charolais bull to pass through the ring and he sold for €3,800.
Angus
Demand for the Angus bulls on offer was mostly driven by local dairy farmers. It was the pre-sale show reserve overall champion Convoy Wilbert that topped the Angus section selling for €4,400.
Champion Angus bull McClafferty Fernando A112, that sold for €4,200.
The powerful HW Harghal T516-sired bull was purchased by Caitriona Carlin. Convoy-based breeder Robert Tait went on to sell two more HW Harghal T516-sired bulls for €3,500 and €3,000. This gave him a pen average of €3,634 for his three bulls sold.
It was Charlie McClafferty from Churchill who produced the next-highest priced Angus bull of the sale, McClafferty Krupnik A111. Krupnik was also sired by HW Harghal T516 and was purchased by Manus McHugh, Dunfanaghy, with a winning bid of €4,300.
McClafferty also produced the pre-sale show Angus champion, McClafferty Fernando A112. This young January 2024-born bull was a great example of the breed and was sired by Rawburn Jagger Eric R094. He later went on to sell for €4,200 in the sales ring to another local dairy farmer.
Hereford
The sole Herford entry came from local Raphoe-based breeders Alison and Wade McCrabbe.
Champion Hereford bull Ardstewart Ringo, that sold for €3,500.
This powerful Hereford bull was sired by the much-admired Corlismore Caesar 092. He was the final bull to pass through the ring and he sold for €3,500 to David Ramsey.
A large crowd of farmers and pedigree breeders gathered in Raphoe Livestock Mart for the annual Letterkenny Show Society bull sale on Tuesday 8 March.
There was a strong entry of 40 high-quality bulls on the day, made up of 25 Charolais bulls, eight Limousin bulls, six Angus bulls and one Hereford.
Demand for all breeds was high from both sucker and dairy farmers. This high level of demand led to a strong overall clearance rate of 85% and a record-breaking overall sale average of €3,771 was also achieved.
Topping the sale at €5,100 was Gortmacall Under, a standout young Limousin bull from longstanding breeder John Peoples.
The Powerful Proper-sired bull also took the reserve champion Limousin title in the pre-sale show earlier in the day. It was Portsalon-based sucker farmers Mickey and Patrick Gibbons that placed the winning bid on this sale-topping bull.
Champion Limousin bull Rahanfar Van Basten, that sold for €3,800.
Peoples went on to sell two more strong Brooklands Marco sired bulls for €4,200 and €3,800, to give the Milford man an impressive pen average of €4,367 for his three Limousin bulls.
Following directly after the sale topper was Moville-based breeder Bernard Lynch, with two more special Limousin bulls, Iniseoghain Uri and Iniseoghan Ultan. Both of these bulls were sired by Ewdenvale Ivor and went on to sell for €4,200 and €4,100.
Catching judge Richie Devine’s eye to take the overall Limousin champion title in the pre-sale show was William Armstrong’s young bull Rahanfar Van Basten.
The young January 2024-born bull was sired by Ardlea Rolex and was the last Limousin bull to pass through the ring on the day where he sold for €3,800.
Charolais
The Charolais section had the largest entry of the sale consisting of 25 bulls.
The large section was topped by the reserve overall champion Charolais bull Ballylannon Virgo that sold for €4,900.
The young February 2024-born bull was brought forward by Malin-based breeder Patrick McLaughlin. He was sired by top breeding bull Magician.
It was Letterkenny-based suckler farmer John McCauley whopurchased this cracking young bull.
Reserve champion Charolais bull Ballylannon Virgo, that went on to top the Charolais section selling for €4,900.
McLaughlin's success continued with his second bull Ballylannon Unbeatable selling for €4,600, making him the second-highest priced Charolais bull of the day. Unbeatable was sired by homebred bull Ballylannon Oran and was purchased by Patricia Lynch.
Back in the ring
Milford man John Peoples was back in the ring after his success in the Limousin section with a consignment of three Charolais bulls.
His consignment was topped at €4,100 by his pen leader Forquar Val, a very correct young January 2024-born bull. Val was followed very closely by John's second bull Forquar Victor that sold for €3,700. Both of these bulls were sired by Portland Robert. Forquar Vance, a Lapon-sired bull, was the final Charolais bull to pass through the ring and he sold for €3,800.
Angus
Demand for the Angus bulls on offer was mostly driven by local dairy farmers. It was the pre-sale show reserve overall champion Convoy Wilbert that topped the Angus section selling for €4,400.
Champion Angus bull McClafferty Fernando A112, that sold for €4,200.
The powerful HW Harghal T516-sired bull was purchased by Caitriona Carlin. Convoy-based breeder Robert Tait went on to sell two more HW Harghal T516-sired bulls for €3,500 and €3,000. This gave him a pen average of €3,634 for his three bulls sold.
It was Charlie McClafferty from Churchill who produced the next-highest priced Angus bull of the sale, McClafferty Krupnik A111. Krupnik was also sired by HW Harghal T516 and was purchased by Manus McHugh, Dunfanaghy, with a winning bid of €4,300.
McClafferty also produced the pre-sale show Angus champion, McClafferty Fernando A112. This young January 2024-born bull was a great example of the breed and was sired by Rawburn Jagger Eric R094. He later went on to sell for €4,200 in the sales ring to another local dairy farmer.
Hereford
The sole Herford entry came from local Raphoe-based breeders Alison and Wade McCrabbe.
Champion Hereford bull Ardstewart Ringo, that sold for €3,500.
This powerful Hereford bull was sired by the much-admired Corlismore Caesar 092. He was the final bull to pass through the ring and he sold for €3,500 to David Ramsey.
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