Circa 21.5 acres of Longford land was sold in two lots for €144,000 or €5,300/ac in late November. This final price excluded the separate sale of a residence on 5.5 acres of land, which went under the hammer for €92,000. The final price of €236,000 including the house saw a good result for the vendor and auctioneer handling the sale, Dillon Murtagh of Murtagh Bros.

The auction

Located at Deerpark, Newtownforbes, Co Longford, this property was offered in four lots prior to auction. Murtagh had to offer and re-offer the lots on a number of occasions before the maximum price was achieved. The first lot was the residence on 5.5 acres of ground. This opened at €40,000 and quickly increased to €87,000. This package was then held and when Murtagh returned to it, it increased to €92,000. No further increases were seen and the hammer fell.

The second lot was 7.5 acres of land. It opened at €30,000 or €4,000/ac and was bid to €57,000 or €7,600/ac. When bidding stalled and was returned to, this lot went to €63,000 and finally €65,000 before the gavel dropped. This represented over €8,600/ac for this smaller lot. The third offering was 14 acres. It opened at €50,000 or €3,500/ac and was bid to €75,000 or over €5,300/ac. It sold under the hammer at €79,000 or €5,650/ac to a local.

The fourth lot, the entire, received no bids at auction. All parcels were bought by locals, Murtagh confirmed. The auction took place in the Longford Arms with an attendance of over 30. It was an executor’s sale with the representatives of Mr Thomas Moran, the vendors.