Running now for eight years, the Carrick Christmas Belles always garners great attention with the renowned Enniscrone and Clew Bay flocks consistently putting quality in-lamb Texel hoggets forward for sale.

This year’s sale featured guest consignments from the Carnaculla and Brideswell flocks, with ewe lambs, in-lamb recipient ewes and recipients with Suffolk lambs at foot also for sale on the night.

Top price of the sale went to lot five from the Enniscrone flock of Ronan Gallagher. Sired by €7,000 Annaghdown Eduardo out of a Millars Windbrook dam, the powerful hogget was described as “one of the best gimmers we have put forward to date with a pedigree to match’’.

Scanned with a single to the €13,000 Clara Fandango, Blessington champion for 2022, she sold for €2,100.

Following closely behind was another entry from the Enniscrone flock, this time a ewe lamb. Described as being “ideal for showing and flushing next summer”, she is one of the first females from Clara Fandango to be offered for sale.

The classy ewe lamb also held Sportsman Daredevil and Sportmans A Star in her pedigree. The hammer fell at €2,000 for the much-admired lamb.

The third top price of the night again hailed from the Enniscrone flock, with a €24,000 Hopevalley C the Stars daughter, with Sportmans Belter and Gargour Aerosmith in her back breeding selling for €1,400. The hogget’s full brother sold in Blessington last year for €2,000. She sold scanned in lamb to the €13,000 Clara Fandango.

The top price from the Clew Bay flock was lot 30, a Hill View Eloi-sired hogget scanned with twins to Cherryvale Gerard which sold for €1,000. \ MacGregor Photography

The Clew Bay flock saw their Hill View Eloi-sired hogget, scanned with twins to Cherryvale Gerrard sell for €1,000. The long and powerful hogget came from a Drumgooland Aga Khan ewe and was an ET lamb herself.

The final hogget of the sale was lot 42 from the Clew Bay flock, sired by Midlock Yorkie and carrying twins to Cherryvale Gerrard. She sold for €960, with the Clew Bay flock having turned down four-figure sums for some of their other entries on the night.

"The Irish Farmers Journal understands that lot 21, from the Clew Bay flock of Jimmy Garrivan, was sold outside the ring for €1,500. The Hill View Eloi sired gimmer was scanned with triplets to the popular Clara Fandango.’’

Ewe lambs

The second highest price in the ewe lambs went to an entry from the guest consignment from the Brideswell flock, Co Roscommon.

An ET lamb from the flock’s €5,000 Greenhill Fionn MacCumhaill and a Stainton Coca Cola dam purchased for €2,000 at the Carrick Christmas Belles in 2021, her full brother was the first prizewinning novice ram at the western premier sale in August. She went on to sell for €760.

Strong ewe lamb entries also came from the Carnaculla flock, the second guest consigners of the night. Their 2022 Blessington purchase, the €2,200 Clara Fabio has been sweeping the show ring all summer with progeny to match, with the flock’s top ewe lamb entries selling for €620 and €600 on the night.

Recipients and ET lambs

Three recipient ewes were put forward from the Enniscrone flock with two of the three lots selling for an average of €540 with Procters Aerosmith and Shannagh Won O Won lambs in the bellies of the recipient ewes.

Top-priced ewe lamb and the second highest price of the night was this Clara Fandango ewe lamb from the Enniscrone flock selling for €2,000. \ MacGregor Photography

Six recipients with single ET Suffolk lambs at foot concluded the sale. The lambs were sired by Mullaghboy Ace from a Cairnress Foremost ewe.

The recipients sold for an average of €610/pair.

Averages

  • In-lamb hoggets: €760.
  • Ewe lambs: €640.