There has been much commentary regarding the decision by the State to purchase the former Devenish farm at Dowth Hall in Co Meath, with a view to establishing a national park in the Boyne Valley.

The move provoked a good bit of old chatter on Twitter – or X, Y or Z as they call it these days – and on the national airwaves.

As is always the case, some of these contributions were well informed, while others could best be described as needless national noise.

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Indeed, The Dealer was left scratching his head following the suggestion by one broadcaster that the €11m purchase indicated that the State was somehow releasing farmers from their climate change obligations.

As if 552ac in Meath was going to offset what happens on the other 10m acres across the country.

As my grandfather used to say: they’d be better off whispering their nonsense into Neddy the donkey’s velvet ear.

Returning to the purchase at Dowth; The Dealer for one believes it is a good decision and money well spent.

It is difficult to put a value on our physical heritage, but Brú na Bóinne, or the Boyne Valley, is surely a national archaeological treasure. Its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site confirms that fact.

The proposed national park – which is within shouting distance of Newgrange and Knowth – will account for one-third of the area covered by the UNESCO designation, and also includes a number of archeologically significant sites.

However, there is more to the Dowth Hall purchase than simply archaeology.

The purchase could offer an opportunity for Teagasc, if they are to become involved, to build on the research work into multispecies swards which was carried out by Devenish at the Co Meath site.

The inclusion of a research farm in a national park setting will also be interesting.

At the very least, it will enable Teagasc to showcase the work that is being done by the farm sector and farmers to meet the various environmental and climate challenges.

If there is one downside to the Dowth purchase, it’s the fact that the State was willing to pay almost €20,000/ac in Meath, while at the same time offering as low as €500/ac for designated land in other parts of the country. The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) will argue that €500/ac to €700/ac is the value of such ground.

However, farmers contend that the State devalued the land in the first instance by designating it, and the State is now looking to buy the same ground at the reduced valuation. But that is a different issue and not a reason for knocking all State land purchases.

And certainly not the purchase of Dowth Hall.