142 rolling acres for sale
Brothersfort Farm at Kilpatrick has 142 acres of rolling countryside between Bandon and Innishannon.
The land is in one manageable block of large divisions, says selling agent, Paddy Murray of ERA Paddy Murray Auctioneers, with road frontage on two sides, and more than 1,000 yards of Brinny River frontage.
It's two miles from Bandon and 2.5 miles from Innishannon, in the Cork city commuter belt so the buyer could be a non-farmer, but considering the quality of the land, there should be strong competition from farmers.
It could make up to €3m, but might not sell in one lot, says Mr Murray, who is willing to divide the property and is open to negotiation on this private treaty sale.
A big, old yard is part of the original Brothersfort House, demolished in the 1960s by the vendor, George Ferguson, because it would have broken him to repair it, he says. He built a new house on a much sunnier spot on the farm.
Brothersfort comes from a Norse word, says Mr Ferguson, from 'bruders fjord', and there was a Viking fort nearby at Brinny, he says.
The invaders tunnelled under the land, he adds, and he exposed some of these collapsed passages when ploughing, and also found a late Neolithic flint arrowhead.
Mr Ferguson has decided to sell as his family are pursuing other interests and will not continue in farming.
There is great potential in the old stone buildings in the yard, says Paddy Murray, for conversion as the residential element of a smaller, hobby farm. The main residence is separate from the yard, accessed by a long driveway from the main road. It has three bedrooms, and a self-contained apartment with a bedroom, a living-kitchen-dining area, and bathroom.
If the property is sold in the entire, the vendor may retain a few acres of roadside land for a new house.
Brothersfort Farm is currently under tillage and grass, and even had a crop of daffodils for a few years.
Paddy Murray's guide price is "in excess of €3m." He says it isn't often a block of land of this size comes for sale in the Bandon area.
He expects a lot of interest, including professionals, the equestrian sector and especially farmers who sold land for development.
