End-of-season gems in the north and west
MY JOURNEYS last week took me as far north as Shercock in Cavan, down to Curraghboy in Roscommon and on to Eyrecourt in Galway.
I started at the top and drove straight to Cavan. In Shercock, auctioneer Lisa Keenan met me on the main street and we drove 4.3km to a lakeside property at Kilmacaran on the shores of Lough Sillan, the second largest lake in Cavan after Lough Sheelin.
Extending to 28ac, this lovely non-residential holding is made up of seven fields of elevated ground running down to the lake where it has plenty of shoreline. Guided for sale at €320,000 or €11,500/ac, it comes with entitlements.
From a local road, the ground is accessed by a passageway that could do with upgrading, but once the land is reached and you climb to the top of the elevated area, the beauty of the place is remarkable. It has everything one would want — peace, tranquillity and good dry ground that is self-draining but obviously a bit softer on the lakeshore.
The remains of an old farmhouse and farmstead could be of significance if a new owner seeks to turn this idyllic parcel of ground into a residential property.
Auctioneer Lisa Keenan says the lake is well stocked with trout and while the place is drawing interest from local farmers, interest is also coming from people looking at its leisure and farming potential.
This is undoubtedly a unique rural property in a beautiful setting with plenty of potential.
Curraghboy
Travelling south, I came upon a second lakeside property with scale and good ground. The 125ac residential holding is located in the village of Curraghboy in Roscommon, about 6km off the N63 between Athlone and Roscommon town.
I arrived in the village to be greeted by auctioneer Pat Hughes who was leaning in the window of a car chatting to a local.
I expected we would have to drive to reach the farm, but once the local had driven away, the auctioneer simply turned around and opened a gate off the main street saying, “this is it,” referring to the 125ac, “and that’s the house,” he said pointing to a single storey dwelling fronting on to the street.
The residential farm is coming to auction in an executor sale with a guide price of €8,000/ac. We walked from the gate to the centre of the land without having to change our footwear. Laid out in up to 10 fields divided by stone walls, the farm runs down to Lough Funcheon at the rear.
It has two access points to the village with limited road frontage at both. The holding stretches back behind the three-bedroom dwelling, which hasn’t been inhabited for some time and needs total refurbishment.
Aside from the residence, the farm has no buildings and has been let for many years to a local dairy farmer. It is made up mainly of the driest of ground that undulates gently towards the lake. The stone wall fences are in need of attention and the ground could do with fertiliser but, judging from land being actively farmed adjacent to it, the place has tremendous potential.
While Mr Hughes admits that in lots the property might attract a range of customers, he says it will be sold in one block and as a unit. It comes to auction at the Abbey Hotel, Co Roscommon, at 4pm on Friday, November 2.
Eyrecourt
Moving further south and into east Galway, I called to see a 52.1ac non-residential farm at Corballymore, Eyrecourt. Located off the Portumna to Ballinasloe road, the property is about 15km north of Portumna.
Originally part of a residential holding, the land has its own access and is laid out in a series of five fields that rise from the road at one side while one field is located at the opposite side of the road.
On the private treaty market, the property is guided for sale at €9,000/ac by DNG Lyons and Bracken, Athenry.
The land is the best of grazing ground surrounded by traditional hedgerow and covered in a fine sward of grass.
A limited farmyard on the property includes a basic cubicle house and a small barn along with a silage slab and handling facilities.
According to auctioneer Gerry Bracken, the area is home to a number of progressive farmers in dairying and beef, and he expects good local interest.