The State has been challenged to purchase a sizeable Wicklow hill farm that includes the summit of Lugnaquilla Mountain, the highest peak in Leinster.

A guide price of €7m or €4,600/ac is being quoted for Aghavannagh Mountain Holding, which extends to 1,527ac of upland and enclosed ground in south Co Wicklow.

The property stretches from the village of Aghavannagh outside Aughrim to the summit of Lugnaquilla.

The hill farm includes a mix of moorland and hill grazing, and fronts onto the River Ow. It borders the Wicklow National Park, and key sections of the Wicklow Way pass through the property.

The holding includes 1,520ac of hill, with 538ac of grazing rights on Aghavannagh Mountain. There is also an acre of enclosed land, and a further small section of rough grazing adjoining the Aughrim to Baltinglass road.

While there will be some farmer interest in the property, auctioneer Colm Farrell believes that the State should purchase it.

“We are urging the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to explore a public purchase before this remarkable landscape disappears into private hands,” said the Gort-based estate agent.

“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to protect a truly iconic part of Ireland’s natural and historical heritage,” he added.

The area lies adjacent to the Glen of Imaal, home to the Defence Forces’ largest live fire training range.

“While military use is strictly regulated, the Aghavannagh lands offer a vital, publicly accessible complement to the nearby defence lands, with unmatched potential for conservation, outdoor recreation, and heritage interpretation,” Farrell maintained.

Beyond its environmental and recreational value, the Aghavannagh area served as a key hideout for Michael Dwyer – ‘The Wicklow Chief’ and leader of the last of the 1798 insurgents.

Indeed, it lies along the historic Military Road, constructed between 1804 and 1809 in response to that rebellion.

The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) was very active in the land market during the lifetime of the last government – securing extensive blocks of ground at Ballycroy in north Mayo and at the Conor Pass in Kerry’s Dingle Peninsula.

The State recently purchased 14ac in Belmullet, Co Mayo for €90,000 or €6,400/ac. The holding is an important breeding site for the corncrake.