The southeast has been a hive of activity in the early part of 2019. Certainly, residential farms have been plentiful in the region.

The market for them seems to be there also. The 250 acres at Clonogan House, Clonegal, near Enniscorthy in Co Wexford sold after auction for in the region of the guide of €2.5m, having been withdrawn at €2.4m. The simply superb 300-acre Prumplestown House that has just been placed on the market this week, will be also be hoping to find a new owner in the coming weeks.

Agent John Dawson, the experienced Tullow-based auctioneer had spoken highly of the holding prior to viewing. All the descriptive superlatives he used couldn’t have been more accurate.

The farm

Situated in Prumplestown, the farm is located about 2km outside of Castledermot in Kildare. It consists of a super Georgian period residence, a courtyard, a spacious farmyard, numerous farm buildings and almost 300 acres of top south Kildare land. Surrounded by excellent tillage farms, it is itself a productive tillage and suckler enterprise.

Of the 300 acres, circa 200 acres are in tillage with the remainder in permanent pasture.

Of the entire package, around 40-50 acres are not arable, with some parts of the land near the river Lerr not as high in quality as the remainder. However, that is minimal.

The vast majority of the land here is simply stunning. The farm is being offered in five lots.

Lot one

The first lot consists of just over 137 acres, with the farmyard, farm buildings and the period residence. The land in this lot is all in one block and surrounds the house. The majority of the grassland on this farm is in this package.

With 50 acres set out in winter and spring crops, the remainder is in grass. It is an early season farm, with cattle already grazing here. This lot is guided at €12,000 to €14,000/ac.

Lot two

Lot two is located across the road from lot one. This comprises of around 72 acres and is currently in winter wheat. This lot is not just in one block, but in one field, perfectly square and ideal for tillage.

The soil here would be a medium to light loam with some sandy soils towards the rear of this lot. Visually stunning to look at. This lot would have recorded high yields in the past. This lot is guided at €12,000 to €14,000 per acre.

Lot three

This is the smallest of the five lots. The total acreage here comes to 26 acres in two separate fields. The first of these fields is 22 acres and located across the N9 from lot one, two and four on the Carlow side of the Castledermot/Carlow road. It is in one block in tillage with a winter crop. There is one acre of grass at the entrance.

The smaller field which totals just over four acres, is situated close by on the far side of the M9 motorway.

Access to this portion of ground is by means of laneway off a minor public road. The views from here are spectacular.

The land overlooks the south Kildare countryside, with Mount Leinster commanding the distant skies. Picture perfect, this lot is guided at €12,000 to €14,000/ac.

Lot four

This is located on the east of the M9, north of junction four, on the Castledermot side of the Castldermot/Carlow road. It is also in one division. This package totals 62 acres of land, again mostly in winter and spring crops.

There is, however, one acre of woodland here towards the front entrance near the road. There is also an old derelict house on this lot. This lot is guided at €12,000 to €14,000/ac. The entire is lot five. This is guided at €4.5m.

The Georgian residence

If the land is the star attraction of the property, the house is very close behind. The beautiful large Georgian-period residence, standing at 7,200sqft, was built in circa 1850 and is preserved exceptionally well.

Oftentimes, the condition of similar houses can leave a lot to be desired. The same cannot be said here. Investment and care have been shown to this residence.

Spacious and full of light, the ground floor has some very well-proportioned rooms. It is a six-bedroom home, with numerous attractive features including a conservatory and a greenhouse.

The walled garden outside the house would be a dream for those with an interest in gardening or with a creative eye.

Further investment would ensure that this home would be the star attraction of this package overall.

The farmyard

The farmyard is located just outside the house, with the courtyard in between. This area is very spacious and would be ideal for heavy machinery. It also has a separate entrance from the main road.

There are an array of farm buildings here making this yard very comprehensive. These include a seven-bay round roof cattle/straw shed, a seven-bay round roof silage pit and a six-bay cattle shed with slatted feed passage. An eight-bay machinery/general store is situated centrally in the farmyard, as is the three-bay open side machinery shed. In addition, there are a seven-bay cattle shed, a five-bay bull pen shed, four stone built stables as well as a lofted general purpose shed.

History

Built in the mid-19th century, the house was purchased by the Wright family in 1897, whose descendants are the present owners. A farming dynasty, the family quickly achieved acclaim for their purebred championship Shorthorns, winning at the Spring Show in the Royal Dublin Society on numerous occasions.

The farm has been leased for a number of years to a tillage and suckler farmer. It has been kept in super condition and farmed to the highest standards. In terms of interest, it is very early days, with the farm just released to the market. However, there are a number of productive farmers in the locality. Given the size and quality, it would be no surprise if people were willing to travel.

It is an executors sale and the public auction will take place on Thursday 16 May at 3pm in the Clanard Court Hotel, Dublin Road, Athy, Co Kildare. Agents handling the sale is John Dawson of REA Dawson Tullow and Calum Bain of Colliers International.