The trade at the Wicklow Cheviot Sheepowners annual show and sale held in Blessington Mart on Tuesday exceeded all expectations, with a top price of €400 paid for a pen of Cheviot hoggets bred by John Bourke.

The price was a record for the mart and according to the mart’s John Doyle, it was not a flash in the pan: “The trade was better than I could have ever dreamt or maybe will ever see again. There were plenty of Cheviot hoggets sold between €300 and €400 and the average price ended up above €250. That’s easily €50 per head above 2019 levels. Numbers of Cheviot sheep have been getting scarcer every year. With the positive trade for store lambs, finished lambs and breeding sheep there is more positivity around sales and Tuesday’s sale just took off”.

Cheviot ewe lambs averaged €155 per head, with prices ranging from €120 to a top of €237 for prizewinning ewe lambs.

Meanwhile, three- and four-year-old Cheviot ewes also met strong demand, with prices averaging at €173 and ranging from €140 to €252.

The trade for Suffolk Cheviot ewe hoggets remains brisk, with prices ranging from €180 to €220, while Suffolk-cross ewe lambs ranged in price from €96 to €150.