Large Meath holding ‘diligently’ farmed for generations by the same family, reports
LARGER farms are still finding their way on to the market and among them is a fine 117ac holding at Mullaghroe near Slane in Co Meath. The residential farm is coming to auction next week with a guide price in the region of €1.35m.
Located in the Boyne Valley, the farm is 6km from Slane, 19km from Navan and 22km from Drogheda. It is described by auctioneer Thomas Potterton as a place that, aside from a modern yard, has remained unaffected by the passage of time.
“It is still laid out in the same field formation it was in 100 years ago, bounded by the same hedgerows,” he said. He adds that the farm covers the entire townsland of Mullaghroe.
Mr Potterton says the farm is an attractive, productive, arable and dr ystock holding that includes a single storey traditional farmhouse, some lovely stone out offices and a modern range of useful farm buildings.
The holding is accessed by an old bow-shaped entrance with traditional gates and railings, part of which was damaged by a falling tree. The house, set back from the road, is described by Mr Potterton as “deceptively spacious” and is in reasonable condition throughout. The accommodation includes three bedrooms, a dining room/drawing room, a kitchen with an oil-fired Stanley on an original tiled floor, a sculler y and a family bathroom.
The house is surrounded by old gardens that need attention, while, to the rear of the house, is a traditional range of farm buildings in a courtyard setting .
These out offices include a cut-stone coach house, a fuel house and stabling. Mr Potterton says that with the required planning permission, the buildings could be converted for alternative uses.
There is an impressive modern yard on the farm that includes a three-bay haybarn with a lean-to and a central passageway accommodating 24 cubicles.
Among the facilities is another three-column slatted shed, a four-column haybarn with a lean-to, a silage pit, a slurr y lagoon and cattle-handing facilities, including a cattle crush.
The lands extend to 117ac by the successive generations. Divided between 34.5ac of grass and 82.5ac of tillage, the lands are maintained ver y well having been diligently rotated between grass and crops over the years.
The farm can be sold as an entire or in two lots — the first lot consisting of the house and out offices with two fields extending