North Cork dairy pioneers calling it a day

I VENTURED south last week towards the real capital and a lovely 105ac residential farm off the N20 at Kilquane, Mourneabbey. The property is for sale by private treaty with a guide price of €11,000 to €12,000/ac.

It was a gentle day, the sun was warm when it shone but when it hid behind a cloud or two the breeze was a little reminder that winter is around the corner.

The Eircode took me right to the gate of the farm, a well-kept walled entrance, freshly painted with a fine set of gates.

The tree-lined avenue led to the house, a fine dormer residence with four bedrooms, two ensuite, an office, a family bathroom, a formal sitting room, a family room/dining room, a kitchen and dining area, a utility, a guest bathroom and a sunroom.

The house is in top class condition and the current owners are justifiably proud. Not a thing is out of place and yet it is comfortable, welcoming and lived-in. I was ensconced by the fire getting ready to take tea when auctioneer Dan Fleming arrived. “It’s a grand place,” he said as he sat beside me on the couch by the stone chimney breast that rests on a huge wooden beam, a feature maintained from the original house.

An old land agent’s house stood on the site and has been improved and extended over the years. “This was one of the first farmhouse B&B’s in the country in the 1970s,” Mr Fleming explains. “Before the current owners bought the property in 1987 it was a dairy farm and it was the first place in the whole area to have a 100 cow dairy herd.”

The land is powerful, elevated, dry ground in great condition with 400m of road frontage to the front and frontage to a small country road at the rear.

Farmyards

Laid out in one field around the house, the place is divided by electric fences and serviced by 900m of the best of internal roadways, giving every paddock independent access.

The land has all the signs of good husbandry in terms of grass and soil management. The infrastructure is second to none with a water supply from a private well delivering water to each division while quality fencing and the best of gates protect them.

There are two farmyards, one is located away from the house and includes a 60’ x 35’ shed on a concrete apron.

A huge shed dominates the main yard. It is laid out in a variety of divisions that could be converted for any use, all under one roof. The building once housed the dairy operation and could do so again.

There is ample space for fodder storage, machinery storage, cattle accommodation and cattle collecting. The shed is not slatted and could do with updating but it is nevertheless a great asset to the farm.

This is a fine property given its location, the quality of the land, the quality of the house and the care with which the