Big holdings don’t come to the market that often in Carlow, so when they do significant interest is usually generated. The arrival of the 126-acre tillage farm in Tomard, Co Carlow, in August was one such example. Kilkenny auctioneer Pat Gannon handled the sale. When we met in August he had a feeling it would go well. And it did. When the hammer fell on the individual lots, the property made a substantial €2.19m, or €17,300/ac.

The bidding

The auction was a well-attended affair and took place at the Lord Bagenal Hotel in Leighlinbridge, Co Carlow. Offered in three lots, by the time Gannon put the entire and the individual packages on the market, the latter had achieved the higher price, albeit by only €2,000. The entire had been bid to €2m flat, with the lots reaching €2.002m. Gannon then proceeded with selling the individual lots.

The lots

With the first lot being the entire, the second was a wonderful 103 acres. This lot includes the residence, the farmyard, buildings and the land. Opening at €1m, three bidders pushed it until it was placed on the market at €1.68m, or €16,310/ac. A final blast of bidding saw it rise to €1.855m, or €18,000/ac, before settling under the hammer. It was sold to a solicitor in trust.

The third lot was 23 acres. This opened at €200,000, or €8,700/ac, before being placed on the market at €322,000, or €14,000/ac. The hammer finally dropped at €335,000, or €14,500/ac. It was sold to a local farmer.

Lot two encompasses 103 acres near Leighlinbridge.

The 23 acres were located circa 1km away from the main farm. Again, this land was top-quality tillage ground and was laid out in one field. Tillage from pillar to post (with the exception of just three acres of grass), the holding in an overall sense was superb and had numerous selling points.

The location was ideal; beside the M9 motorway, it is an hour’s drive from Dublin.

Situated just 15km from Carlow town, 5km from Milford and 7km from Ballinabranagh, it has easy access to numerous surrounding towns. As mentioned, the other major selling point was the simply top-class ground that the farm possesses. Surrounding the land was a well-defined boundary of mature hedging, which would suit all enterprises. Rented for the last number of years, it has been kept in excellent condition and the crop grown this year is a testimony to this.

Speaking with Irish Country Living, Gannon, who was a joint agent on the sale with Hunters, was thrilled with the result.

“This farm ticked all the boxes and I’m not surprised at the price it made.”