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Anthony Jordan

ajordan@farmersjournal.ie

Last week Irish Country Living reported the substantial €23,600/ac, or €2.175m, paid in Cahir. This week another super auction for a 90-acre farm in Clarkeville, near Edenderry, Co Offaly, flew off the shelves. Snapped up by a young dairy farmer in the locality, the holding sold for a nice €12,250/ac, or €1,115m.

The competition was fairly stiff, however. Prior to auction the rumour mill was churning out whether or not Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, deputy ruler of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, would bid. His Lumville Stud is situated beside Clarkville. However as the bidding began, this did not materialise.

Getting a hold of the property was now more realistic for those in the room and with that auctioneer Matt Dunne, of Matt Dunne and Associates, opened the bidding.

First to be offered were the two individual lots. The first of these was 26 acres, which opened at €150,000 and was bid to €225,000, or almost €10,000/ac, by two bidders. The second lot, 65 acres with a semi-derelict house and farmyard, was bid to €650,000 by three active bidders – after opening at €500,000.

Attention then turn to the entire. Totalling 91 acres, Matt Dunne put it to the floor at €875,000, more than the combined total of the individual lots. It was slow and Dunne had to earn his corn. Eventually there was a pause at €900,000. When Dunne returned, he said that the property would be put on the market at its pre-auction guide €910,000, or €10,000/ac. The bidding suddenly took off and €910,000 became €950,000 as three bidders quickly became two.

From here, a retired businessman and a local young dairy farmer battled all the way to the final price of €1,115,000, totalling 48 bids from the break.

The eventual buyer was Gerald Nagle, a local dairy farmer with land within 5km of the holding. The auction took place at the Keadeen Hotel, Newbridge.

The land has deep, rich, fertile soil and is ideal for any farming or equestrian enterprise, according to Dunne. The entire farm is laid out in four fields, is currently in grass and is well fenced.

The farmyard comprises of a two-span hay shed with double lean-to, wintering facilities for circa 50 cattle, a concrete apron incorporating a silage slab, a holding area with a cattle crush, a slatted unit with a tank, feeding troughs and a bedding area. The sheds are a modern set up with automatic water feeders. Also included is a 1,200 sq ft bungalow which requires refurbishment. The farm has approximately 2km of road frontage and is strategically located only 6km from Edenderry and a 30-minute drive from the Curragh.