East Cork dairy farm sells for €27,000/ac

Equestrian buyer beats dairy farmer to 69ac holding at Castlelyons

The pattern of strong land prices in the south-west continues, with many sales exceeding €20,000/ac and one hitting €27,000/ac.

A 69ac farm at Castlelyons at the heart of East Cork dairy country sold in its entirety in recent weeks for €27,000/ac.

Pat O’Donovan, who offered the holding in three roadside lots of 19ac, 17ac and 33ac, describes the land, situated beside the GAA grounds in Castlelyons, as “the best of East Cork ground suitable for tillage and grass, and as smooth as a billiard table”.

The property came without buildings or entitlements.

When the entire was put to the floor two bidders engaged, a dairy farmer from the broader locality and the owner of an adjoining equestrian farm.

The hammer fell at €1.863m in favour of the latter.

81ac Waterford farm makes €1.95m

Eamonn Spratt achieved a price of €1.95m under the hammer when he sold an 81ac residential farm at Ballyhane, Cappoquin, Co Waterford for €1.95m or €24,000/ac, exceeding its guide price by a massive €750,000.

Laid out in seven fields suitable for grass and tillage, some of the ground has just produced a crop of maize.

With road frontage on to the N72, the property is 14km from Dungarvan and 4km from Cappoquin.

It contains a dated four-bedroom farmhouse and a basic yard.

At auction the place attracted five bidders when Mr Spratt accepted an opening bid of €1.2m. In a spree of bidding the price on offer for the place quickly reached €1.6m and it was put on the market.

Three bidders stayed with the action all the way until the hammer fell at €1.95m in favour of an accountant acting for a client.

There was much speculation as to the identity of that client, and Mr Spratt said he “would not be surprised if the buyer was an active participant in the dairy sector.”

Tara holding sells for €17,600/ac

In Co Meath, Coonans sold a 27.5ac farm at Collierstown, Skryne near Tara for €485,000 or over €17,600/ac — €135,000 above the guide price.

7km north of Dunshaughlin, the property is on the Skryne side of the Gabhra valley, where some of the most ancient farmland in Ireland is found.

In a packed auction room Philip Byrne of Coonans took an opening bid of €300,000 and four keen bidders brought the price to €460,000.

At that point it was put on the market and two bidders continued to make offers until the hammer fell at €485,000 in favour of a local businessman with farming interests.

Drogheda property soars above guide

At the same auction Coonans sold a three-bedroom bungalow on 2ac and 10ac with yard at Newton Platten, 3km from Drogheda and 2km from Donore.

The place made a combined price of €491,000.

The first lot, comprising the bungalow on 2ac, opened at €100,000 and with four bidders in the chase it went on the market at €220,000 and sold at €229,000 to a buyer from Skerries.

The remainder of the property, consisting of 8ac and a small industrial yard, opened at €160,000. With three active bidders in contention, it went on the market at €250,000 and sold to a local hobby farmer for €262,000.