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Sold at the Texel premier show & sale for €17,000.
Topping the chart for the most expensive animal sold at auction 2017 is Texel ram Greenstar Alfie from Chaylee and Lorinne Greene, Culdaff, Co Donegal. This was the young sister’s first time exhibiting at the Texel premier and what a way to start.
At the premier show the day before the sale, judge John Mellin of the Hullhouse flock in the UK had named the ram first prize novice lamb, male champion and overall champion. Leading into the sale, hopes were high, but dreams were made, when, after a flurry of bids back and forth, the stylish lamb was secured for €17,000 by the UK syndicate of Milnbank, Strathbogie and Seaforde Texels.
Sired by the 32,000gns Tophill Wall Street, Alfie is out of a Forkins-bred dam by the 7,000gns Duncryne Uber Cool.
Sold at the inaugural Elite heifer sale for €14,500.
The 13-month-old Roughan Madilin was bred by Pat McClean from Co Donegal. She was sold for €14,500 at this inaugural Charolais society’s Elite heifer sale in Tullamore.
Sired by homebred Roughan Dix De Coe she found a new home with the Bostonia herd based in Enniscrone, Co Sligo.
This young heifer was well used to the show ring having won the Donegal Charolais Club Calf Championship in August also.
Sold at the Limousin society’s May premier sale for €12,600.
The Kelly brothers, Alan and Paul who run the Kilcastle Limousin herd based in Moate, Co Westmeath, secured the top price in the Limousin breed.
Their junior champion from the Limousin society’s May premier sale, Kilcastle Lenn, sold for €12,600.
A 14-month-old son of Haltcliffe Dancer, Lenn is out of homebred Wilodge Tonka dam Killcastle Gem. Carrying five stars for a number of traits, Lenn was purchased by the sales judge Richard Priestley, who runs the 90-cow Brontemoor pedigree herd.
Sold at the Simmental premier autumn show and sale for €12,100.
Although not to the peaks of last year’s €26,000 Aurouch Hilary, Clonagh Honey Eyes secured the highest 2017 bid of €12,100. Sold at the Simmental societys premier sale in November she was exhibited by Garrett and Lyndsey Behan, Portlaoise, Co Laois.
This yearling heifer was a multiple prizewinner throughout the summer and also claimed the yearling championship on the day of the sale.
She found a new home with judge on the sale day Ian Green, who runs the well-known Corksie herd in Scotland. Sired by Kilbride Farm Dragoon, Honey Eyes is out of homebred Banwy T-Rex daughter Clonagh Electric Eyes who is a full sister to two 2017 national champions.
Sold at the Suffolk premier sale for €11,000.
Bred by Philip Bryne, Windgap, Kilkenny, exhibited his first ever ram at the Suffolk society’s premier show and sale back in August, and what a start he got.
Placed second in the novice class and fourth in the open ram class, the stylish December-born lamb caught the eye of well-known breeder Jimmy Douglas of the Cairness flock in Scotland. Adamant not to leave without the young ram lamb, Douglas went back and forth with another interested party before the hammer finally fell at €11,000.
The high seller is sired by former Scottish National Show champion Cairness Achievement selling for 20,000gns and out of a dam by the 2011 Irish national champion Errigal Simply the Best, which was purchased privately from Susan O’Keeffe’s Clyda flock.
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