July was a busy month in the auction room, with plenty of land on the market and good prices the order of the day.

In a remarkable auction, a 14ac parcel of land at Irishtown, Mullingar, made €285,000 or over €20,300/ac, under the hammer of Padraic Murtagh of James L Murtagh.

Situated less than 2km from the link road providing direct access onto the M4 and N52, the lands are in two divisions and serviced by electric power and a septic tank. Buildings include a two-bay hayshed and lean-to with adjoining storage sheds totalling 1200 sq ft.

At the online and in-person auction, bidding opened at €150,000 and by the time the hammer fell the price had risen to €285,000.

 

Meath farm for over €1m

A 109ac grass farm at Killyon, Hill of Down, Co Meath, laid out in three fields made €1.03m when it sold under the hammer of Aidan Heffernan of Sherry FitzGerald Royal.

The non-residential holding 5km from Ballivor and 11km from Kinnegad is in good heart and watered by the River Deel.

Proceedings opened when Mr Heffernan accepted a bid of €750,000 and after a total of seven bids the price on offer reached €1m.

The property went on the market at that and a further six bids of €5,000 saw the land make €1.03m.

 

Smaller parcels

Jordan Auctioneers sold a derelict residence in Co Laois with a limestone yard and outbuildings on 8.5ac for €360,000.

Located at Closelands, Ballybrittas 2km from the village of Killenard and 15km from Portlaoise, the property was bought under the hammer.

 

Killeigh, Co Offaly

A 7ac parcel of ground with wintering facilities for 30 to 40 cattle at Killeenmore, Killeigh, Co Offaly made €110,000 at an auction conducted by Portarlington’s Matt Dunne.

About 5km from Tullamore, the holding is made up of two fields with good road frontage and possible site potential.

In a combined in-person and online auction, proceedings opened at €70,000 and the property soon surpassed its guide of €75,000.

It went on the market at €90,000 but bidding continued until it made €110,000 or almost €13,000/ac.

 

Rochfortbridge, Co Westmeath

Not far away a 20ac of recently reseeded land with good road frontage at Gortumly, Rochfortbridge, Co Westmeath far exceeded its guide of €185,000 when it sold at online auction for €284,000 or €14,200/ac.

The sale opened at a very basic €20,000, and the price shot up in increments of €10,000.

At €270,000 it was put on the market and a further €14,000 was added before it sold at €284,000.

Private treaty

Business has also been brisk on the private treaty front. Tom Crosse of GVM, Limerick closed the deal on a 95ac dairy farm at Patrickswell.

Located at Ballycurrane, 5km west of Patrickswell and 5km east of Adare, the property is at both sides of the main Limerick to Tralee road.

The top-class land has extensive road frontage on to the old N21 and is laid out in five large divisions organised for dairying.

Facilities include an eight-unit Dairymaster milking parlour and a range of livestock accommodation for up to 100 animals.

The dwelling is a solid traditional, two-storey farmhouse.

After a prolonged set of negotiations, the farm is believed to have made in the region of €1.4m or over €14,000/ac.