Over 50 farmers arrived at an auction in Wilson’s, Naas, on Wednesday to stop the sale of a land parcel in Wexford.

The auction had been scheduled to start at 2pm, but instead, spokesperson for Friends of Banking Jerry Beades took to the podium to tell the crowd that the land would not be sold as an agreement had been reached.

Disrupt proceedings

Beades said he had told the auctioneer before the sale that they would be there to disrupt proceedings.

“They [Wilson’s Auctions] didn’t have the goodwill of the people who owned the land and they agreed to withdraw,” Beades told RTÉ Radio 1’s Drivetime programme on Wednesday.

In a lot of cases, they are still in negotiations when they go to auction

“I hadn’t threatened to prevent the auction but a large group of farmers turned up.”

Friends of Banking attendees were told that they should leave and let the rest of the auction continue now that an agreement had been reached.

“Wilson’s have signed up to the code of practise that 10 other auctioneers have signed up to. Most of these are contentious issues with families and they’re in the courts,” Beades said.

“Wilson’s have now agreed to abide by that code.”

Disputes

He added that when auctioneers sign up to the code, they agree that they won’t sell family farms, family homes or family businesses where there are disputes and they don’t have the goodwill of the families concerned.

“In a lot of cases, they are still in negotiations when they go to auction,” Beades said.

One of the farms withdrawn from auction on Wednesday was a “farm in Wexford that’s landlocked".

"It’s a family farm, no public road access to it. Another family member owns the land on the other side.

"The other was withdrawn because the bank in recent days evicted cattle and people off the farm.

"There’s a bog in Donegal that was landlocked that we allowed to go ahead.”

Wilson's Auctions did not reply to Irish Farmers Journal enquiries before the time of publishing.