A 63ac farm with a nice farmhouse, well-tended gardens, an equestrian yard – and its own castle – is on the market near Errill, Co Laois.

This unusual farm is Ballagh Castle, at Ballagh in the south of the county.

It’s being sold by Property Partners Mansfield and is going for auction. The guide price for this package is €1.2m.

The farm sits on the L5538, a quiet local road, 2.5km from Errill village and 7km from busy Rathdowney. The house and yard are together, at the side of the road, and the tall castle is 50m away in the middle of a field.

The house and yard are together. They sit on a quiet local road.

This farm has a successful back story in racing. It was formerly the training yard of Cathy Harrison – jockey, owner, trainer and breeder – and her daughter Katy, also an amateur jockey.

Cathy owned and trained National Hunt winners in a time when female jockeys were not the norm.

Nurtured gardens

The two-storey house is spacious at approximately 2,150 sq ft and it is in very good condition. It has three bedrooms, two office/storage rooms, two bathrooms, an open plan kitchen-dining-living space, sitting room, spacious halls and usable attic space.

The kitchen and dining areas are open plan.

The gardens have been well nurtured over the years. There are stone walls and pathways, mature rose bushes, fruit and nut trees, flower beds plus a large, working polytunnel.

The yard has 18 purpose-built stables, a tack room and stocks in an enclosed yard. There are also two large barns, a large workshop and a second enclosed yard with a crush. There is a lunge ring and gallop, both of which now require restoration work.

The land is in one unit but is divided by the public road into two facing divisions. On one side is the house, yard and the castle on c41ac.

Facing it across the road is the other block of c22ac. The land is predominantly in permanent pasture. There is good fencing and access road ways.

The two-storey is spacious and in very good condition. A lot of love and attention was put into the gardens over the years.

Castle Ballagh is a five-story tower castle, believed to have been constructed in the 1500s. It is admired by passers-by, but does not interfere with the operation of the farm.

The farm goes for auction on Wednesday, 25 September in the Manor Hotel, Abbeyleix, Co Laois at 3pm.

It will be offered in lots as follows:

  • Lot 1 is the house, gardens, yard and castle on c18ac.
  • Lot 2 is c23ac with extensive road frontage.
  • Lot 3 is c22ac facing lots 1 and 2 from across the public road. It includes 3ac of forestry at the rear.

  • Lot 4 is the entire.