The Friday cattle sale and Saturday sheep sale did not go ahead on 23 and 24 March in Castleblayney Mart in Co Monaghan.

A sign placed on the mart office said the business was closed. However, this had been removed by Monday afternoon. The Irish Farmers Journal contacted the office asking about whether this week’s sales will go ahead and if the office was open this week.

A spokesperson for the business said there will be “no comment at this time”.

At the time of going to print, the Irish Farmers Journal had not received confirmation that the normal Friday and Saturday sale would go ahead this week.

The mart is run privately by the company Edward Paul Nugent Limited. It is one of the only marts in the country to sell all types of livestock – cattle, sheep, horses, donkeys, pigs and poultry.

The Friday 23 March cattle sale had been due to include 19 purebred Charolais bullocks and it was scheduled to begin at 2.30pm but it was cancelled.

The last mart report published on the mart’s website included the cattle and sheep sales on Friday and Saturday 16 and 17 March.