There was a flying trade at the Irish Charolais Cattle Society’s annual Christmas Cracker sale of bulls on Saturday in Elphin, Co Roscommon.
The older, more capable bulls got the sale off to a great start before the younger bulls kept the crowd around to finish well. Altogether 20 of the 83 bulls present sold for €5,000 or more. This is up by four on the year. This resulted in the average sale price rising by €15 to settle at €4,275, but with a further eight bulls sold. The clearance rate was 87%, up 12 percentage points on last year, and the highest seen at the sale in five years. Following on from last year’s trend, there was a definite shift away from following €uro-Stars in the catalogue, instead investing in the quality seen on the ground.
It proved to be a day of investment for some of Ireland’s AI centres, with both of the top two bulls heading to stud. Selling for the top price of €11,500 to Dovea Genetics was the first prizewinning Bud Orpheus. This September 2018-born bull was brought out by first-time Christmas Cracker exhibitor Conor O’Neill from Athboy, Co Meath. This powerful young bull is the renowned cross of Doonally New on a Pirate-bred cow.
The second top price of the day was the €10,200 paid by NCBC for Glera Oran.
Intermediate champion Glera Oran sold to NCBC for €10,200. \ Alfie Shaw
Having stood intermediate champion in the pre-sale show, the Cavelands Fenian son attracted a number of bids before auctioneer Tom Cox finally dropped his hammer.
This topped an exceptional day for breeder Rory Cullen, who also presented the reserve intermediate champion Glera Oneshot.
Reserve intermediate champion Glera Oneshot sold for €9,500. \ Alfie Shaw
This Doonally New son is out of a full-sister to the dam of the champion and fetched a price of €9,500, selling to Northern buyer William Adams.
Next in line was the Ryan family, who sold Goldstar Oscar for €9,200. This Doonally New-sired bull is out of one of the family’s show cows, Goldstar Falkland. Boasting the second highest terminal index in the catalogue with a calving figure of just 5.1%, he was the choice of Northern buyer William Kelly. The Ryan family also broke the €5,000 barrier when their second exhibit Goldstar Organdi ET sold for €5,500. This Goldstar Hugo son is out of Texan-Gie bred dam Goldstar Jamaique, making him a full brother to last month’s €11,000 Elite female sale topper Goldstar Ossanna.
The day’s junior champion and this year’s national senior bull calf champion from Tullamore, Cloonglasna11 Oscar, was next in line.
Junior champion Cloonglasna11 Oscar sold for €9,000. \ Alfie Shaw
This Balmyle Vagabond son out of a Cloverfield Excellent-bred cow was brought out by the Egan brothers, Ballina, Co Mayo. Back and forth bidding for the much-anticipated bull eventually saw the hammer drop at €9,000.
Judge Terry Coghill from the Orkney Islands awarded the reserve junior champion title to Fivestar Opal 3 ET.
Reserve junior champion Fivestar Opal 3 ET sold for €7,500. \ Alfie Shaw
This son of the highly sought after Goldstar Echo is out of Padirac-bred Welsh dam Maerdy Entry. Carrying five stars on the terminal index, the 14-month-old bull met trade at €7,500. Bred by Jon and Lewis Regan from Castlegal in Co Leitrim, he was the pick of Tipperary-based Michael Cosgrove.
The Regans also exhibited a full-brother to the reserve champion, Fivestar Opal 2 ET, which hit the market at €5,200, selling to Martin Barr in Scotland.
Last of the major championships was the senior, which was secured by Pat McClean with Roughan Outh.
Senior champion Roughan Outh sold for €5,600. \ Alfie Shaw
This Roughan Justbeau-sired June 2018-born bull sold for €5,600. This is only the second calf offered from Justbeau, with the other also a champion in Tullamore.
McClean also sold his fourth prizewinning Roughan Ondon 2 at €7,800.
Roughan Ondon 2 sold fro €7,800. \ Alfie Shaw
This September 2018-born bull is a son of the well-known Roughan Gibraltar and goes back to a Roughan Galant-bred dam. Five stars on the terminal index, with four stars on the replacement coupled with a calving figure of just 6.2% made Ondon an easy sell.
Overall, the Donegal native sold a total of five bulls for €28,000, with a further two selling for €5,000 or more. Selling at a price of €5,500 was Roughan Owner. This Roughan London son stood second in his class and goes back to Roughan Echo 2 daughter Roughan Ivresse. Selling at €5,000 was the third prize winner Roughan Onnie 3. This September 2018-born bull is sired by the aforementioned Roughan Gibraltar, with Dix De Coe and Viceroi also in the back breeding.
Standing as reserve senior champion was Crossane4 Oscar from the McGovern brothers from Fivemileboure, Co Sligo.
Reserve senior champion Crossane4 Oscar sold for €6,000. \ Alfie Shaw
Sired by Whitecliffe James, he is out of Clenagh Lola 2 ET and sold to a Northern Irish buyer. The duo also exhibited a second bull, Crossane One-of-a-kind, which sold at the same price tag. This 15-month-old bull is sired by Heracles and out of Liscally Eti-bred dam Tonroe Hippie. This one also headed north with David Chestnutt, Busmills, Co Antrim.
Securing a bid of €7,600 was the first prize-winner from the second-last class Limkiln Oats 2 ET.
First prizewinner Limkiln Oats 2 ET sold for €7,600. \ Alfie Shaw
This stylish October 2018 born bull is a son of Pirate and goes back to Doonally New-bred dam Limkiln Dana. A regular winner on the show circuit throughout the summer for Clare breeder Richard Hackett, this bull found a home with Gilbert Anderson, Co Donegal.
Daisyhill Orlando
One of the last bulls through the ring, Daisyhill Orlando fetched a price of €5,800. This second prize-winner exhibited by Brendan McFeely from Lifford in Co Donegal caught the eye of Jennifer Clarke in Co Derry. Sired by Doonally New, his pedigree also includes Bova Oniraloin and Mandela Veron.
Next in line was also from Donegal when Kevin McDermott sold his bull Ballynabreen Oliver 2 for €5,600. This double five-star bull was born in September 2018 and is a son of proven easy-calver Blelack Digger. Securing the fourth prize-winner was Matt Workman from Co Antrim.
Sligo-based Gerald Lavin exhibited Creeva Ollie and saw him hit trade at €5,200. This 13-month-old bull is a son of Lisnagree Elite and out of the homebred Creeva Grace whose pedigree features Doonally New and Oscar. This one attracted overseas interest and will find a new home in Wales. Overall, over 30% of bulls sold on the day were purchased by UK or Northern Irish buyers.
A further two bulls hit the €5,000 mark. First up was Fieldview Orlando ET. This third prize-winning Goldies Icon son is out of the same dam that bred the reserve intermediate high seller in Dungannon earlier this year. Bred by David Erskine, Co Monaghan, he was the choice of Mervyn Scott.
Matching him at the money was the first prize-winner in the last class, Grangwood Opel ET. Bred and exhibited by Gerry O’Keeffe, Opel also stood first place at the National Livestock Show in Tullamore last August. Sired by Texan-Gie and out of Enfield Picasso-bred dam Grangwood Emerald, he was the choice of Noel Considine.
€4,700 for Noble Otto 2 sired by Untel and exhibited by Harry Noble from Co Longford.€4,500 for Kilvilcorris Omar sired by Goldstar Echo and exhibited by Matt Ryan from Co Tipperary.€4,400 for Corney Ox sired by Jaquard and exhibited by David Magee from Co Cavan.€4,100 for Roughan Olant sired by Roughan Jason and exhibited by Pat McClean from Co Donegal.€4,100 for Dereskit Oden 957 sired by Dereskit Jacob 3 and exhibited by Basil Bothwell from Co Cavan€4,000 for Tonyglasson Oisin ET sired by Pirate and exhibited by Martin Hughes from Co Cavan.€4,000 for Cornadrung Orville sired by Pottlereagh Mark and exhibited by Karl and Tom Farrell from Co Longford.€4,000 for Rosanna Olympus sired by Sesame and exhibited by Pat Stephens from Co Carlow.
There was a flying trade at the Irish Charolais Cattle Society’s annual Christmas Cracker sale of bulls on Saturday in Elphin, Co Roscommon.
The older, more capable bulls got the sale off to a great start before the younger bulls kept the crowd around to finish well. Altogether 20 of the 83 bulls present sold for €5,000 or more. This is up by four on the year. This resulted in the average sale price rising by €15 to settle at €4,275, but with a further eight bulls sold. The clearance rate was 87%, up 12 percentage points on last year, and the highest seen at the sale in five years. Following on from last year’s trend, there was a definite shift away from following €uro-Stars in the catalogue, instead investing in the quality seen on the ground.
It proved to be a day of investment for some of Ireland’s AI centres, with both of the top two bulls heading to stud. Selling for the top price of €11,500 to Dovea Genetics was the first prizewinning Bud Orpheus. This September 2018-born bull was brought out by first-time Christmas Cracker exhibitor Conor O’Neill from Athboy, Co Meath. This powerful young bull is the renowned cross of Doonally New on a Pirate-bred cow.
The second top price of the day was the €10,200 paid by NCBC for Glera Oran.
Intermediate champion Glera Oran sold to NCBC for €10,200. \ Alfie Shaw
Having stood intermediate champion in the pre-sale show, the Cavelands Fenian son attracted a number of bids before auctioneer Tom Cox finally dropped his hammer.
This topped an exceptional day for breeder Rory Cullen, who also presented the reserve intermediate champion Glera Oneshot.
Reserve intermediate champion Glera Oneshot sold for €9,500. \ Alfie Shaw
This Doonally New son is out of a full-sister to the dam of the champion and fetched a price of €9,500, selling to Northern buyer William Adams.
Next in line was the Ryan family, who sold Goldstar Oscar for €9,200. This Doonally New-sired bull is out of one of the family’s show cows, Goldstar Falkland. Boasting the second highest terminal index in the catalogue with a calving figure of just 5.1%, he was the choice of Northern buyer William Kelly. The Ryan family also broke the €5,000 barrier when their second exhibit Goldstar Organdi ET sold for €5,500. This Goldstar Hugo son is out of Texan-Gie bred dam Goldstar Jamaique, making him a full brother to last month’s €11,000 Elite female sale topper Goldstar Ossanna.
The day’s junior champion and this year’s national senior bull calf champion from Tullamore, Cloonglasna11 Oscar, was next in line.
Junior champion Cloonglasna11 Oscar sold for €9,000. \ Alfie Shaw
This Balmyle Vagabond son out of a Cloverfield Excellent-bred cow was brought out by the Egan brothers, Ballina, Co Mayo. Back and forth bidding for the much-anticipated bull eventually saw the hammer drop at €9,000.
Judge Terry Coghill from the Orkney Islands awarded the reserve junior champion title to Fivestar Opal 3 ET.
Reserve junior champion Fivestar Opal 3 ET sold for €7,500. \ Alfie Shaw
This son of the highly sought after Goldstar Echo is out of Padirac-bred Welsh dam Maerdy Entry. Carrying five stars on the terminal index, the 14-month-old bull met trade at €7,500. Bred by Jon and Lewis Regan from Castlegal in Co Leitrim, he was the pick of Tipperary-based Michael Cosgrove.
The Regans also exhibited a full-brother to the reserve champion, Fivestar Opal 2 ET, which hit the market at €5,200, selling to Martin Barr in Scotland.
Last of the major championships was the senior, which was secured by Pat McClean with Roughan Outh.
Senior champion Roughan Outh sold for €5,600. \ Alfie Shaw
This Roughan Justbeau-sired June 2018-born bull sold for €5,600. This is only the second calf offered from Justbeau, with the other also a champion in Tullamore.
McClean also sold his fourth prizewinning Roughan Ondon 2 at €7,800.
Roughan Ondon 2 sold fro €7,800. \ Alfie Shaw
This September 2018-born bull is a son of the well-known Roughan Gibraltar and goes back to a Roughan Galant-bred dam. Five stars on the terminal index, with four stars on the replacement coupled with a calving figure of just 6.2% made Ondon an easy sell.
Overall, the Donegal native sold a total of five bulls for €28,000, with a further two selling for €5,000 or more. Selling at a price of €5,500 was Roughan Owner. This Roughan London son stood second in his class and goes back to Roughan Echo 2 daughter Roughan Ivresse. Selling at €5,000 was the third prize winner Roughan Onnie 3. This September 2018-born bull is sired by the aforementioned Roughan Gibraltar, with Dix De Coe and Viceroi also in the back breeding.
Standing as reserve senior champion was Crossane4 Oscar from the McGovern brothers from Fivemileboure, Co Sligo.
Reserve senior champion Crossane4 Oscar sold for €6,000. \ Alfie Shaw
Sired by Whitecliffe James, he is out of Clenagh Lola 2 ET and sold to a Northern Irish buyer. The duo also exhibited a second bull, Crossane One-of-a-kind, which sold at the same price tag. This 15-month-old bull is sired by Heracles and out of Liscally Eti-bred dam Tonroe Hippie. This one also headed north with David Chestnutt, Busmills, Co Antrim.
Securing a bid of €7,600 was the first prize-winner from the second-last class Limkiln Oats 2 ET.
First prizewinner Limkiln Oats 2 ET sold for €7,600. \ Alfie Shaw
This stylish October 2018 born bull is a son of Pirate and goes back to Doonally New-bred dam Limkiln Dana. A regular winner on the show circuit throughout the summer for Clare breeder Richard Hackett, this bull found a home with Gilbert Anderson, Co Donegal.
Daisyhill Orlando
One of the last bulls through the ring, Daisyhill Orlando fetched a price of €5,800. This second prize-winner exhibited by Brendan McFeely from Lifford in Co Donegal caught the eye of Jennifer Clarke in Co Derry. Sired by Doonally New, his pedigree also includes Bova Oniraloin and Mandela Veron.
Next in line was also from Donegal when Kevin McDermott sold his bull Ballynabreen Oliver 2 for €5,600. This double five-star bull was born in September 2018 and is a son of proven easy-calver Blelack Digger. Securing the fourth prize-winner was Matt Workman from Co Antrim.
Sligo-based Gerald Lavin exhibited Creeva Ollie and saw him hit trade at €5,200. This 13-month-old bull is a son of Lisnagree Elite and out of the homebred Creeva Grace whose pedigree features Doonally New and Oscar. This one attracted overseas interest and will find a new home in Wales. Overall, over 30% of bulls sold on the day were purchased by UK or Northern Irish buyers.
A further two bulls hit the €5,000 mark. First up was Fieldview Orlando ET. This third prize-winning Goldies Icon son is out of the same dam that bred the reserve intermediate high seller in Dungannon earlier this year. Bred by David Erskine, Co Monaghan, he was the choice of Mervyn Scott.
Matching him at the money was the first prize-winner in the last class, Grangwood Opel ET. Bred and exhibited by Gerry O’Keeffe, Opel also stood first place at the National Livestock Show in Tullamore last August. Sired by Texan-Gie and out of Enfield Picasso-bred dam Grangwood Emerald, he was the choice of Noel Considine.
€4,700 for Noble Otto 2 sired by Untel and exhibited by Harry Noble from Co Longford.€4,500 for Kilvilcorris Omar sired by Goldstar Echo and exhibited by Matt Ryan from Co Tipperary.€4,400 for Corney Ox sired by Jaquard and exhibited by David Magee from Co Cavan.€4,100 for Roughan Olant sired by Roughan Jason and exhibited by Pat McClean from Co Donegal.€4,100 for Dereskit Oden 957 sired by Dereskit Jacob 3 and exhibited by Basil Bothwell from Co Cavan€4,000 for Tonyglasson Oisin ET sired by Pirate and exhibited by Martin Hughes from Co Cavan.€4,000 for Cornadrung Orville sired by Pottlereagh Mark and exhibited by Karl and Tom Farrell from Co Longford.€4,000 for Rosanna Olympus sired by Sesame and exhibited by Pat Stephens from Co Carlow. 
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: