There was unwelcome news for suckler farmers in the Ennistymon area of Co Clare in recent days with Aldi getting planning permission for a new store on the site of their local mart at Church Hill. It was welcome news for Clare Marts ahead of this week’s agm, though – they are now a step closer to getting their hands on the windfall sale proceeds for the site.

The farmer group resisting the development is now expected to appeal to An Bord Planala. They are headed by Tom Clair whose family were founding members of the mart. The matter has been divisive. Clare IFA was dragged into it, with the protesters asking the farm organisation to oppose the development. Two former chairmen of Clare IFA, Michael Lynch and Seamus Murphy, are on the board of Clare Marts. Both attended farmer meetings in Ennistymon on the issue and received flak. There were some resignations from the IFA over the issue.

Clare Marts gave a commitment to keep the mart open until the sale went through and has continued to hold occasional cattle sales there. But the key issue is the value of the site. Three years ago, at the other end of the county, farmers bought Sixmilebridge Mart from the Golden Vale Marts for just €300,000. However, Clare Marts has agreed a price of approximately €1.4m for Ennistymon Mart site, subject to planning. It wouldn’t sell the site to have another competing mart start up there.

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Reduced price

Incidentally, the shareholders of Sixmilebridge first offered GVM €350,000 for their site. However, after GVM hummed and hawed and tried to get a better offer elsewhere, it had to go back to the farmer group and accept a reduced price for the near five-acre site.

At county level, Clare is reasonably well serviced by livestock marts. Clare Marts has sales rings at Ennis, Kilrush and Scariff while Sixmilebridge continues to grow its business.