104 acres in Listowel’s dairying hinterland
Farms of this size don’t crop up every day of the week.
Given the size of the property, therefore, this is a rarity that will be sure to attract a huge amount of attention.
Listowel is a moderate-sized town of about 8,000 people but one with an enormous amount of strings to its bow.
Some of the town’s oldest remains — the impressively restored ruins of its castle — speak of a position of great military prominence from earlier times.
Nowadays, this prominence continues but is to be found in other areas: Most notably, that of literature.
The town’s famous Literary Festival is the country’s oldest, and Listowel will always be associated with the playwrights John B Keane and Bryan MacMahon.
It boasts a number of unique characteristics too, such as the stucco plasterwork from a century ago to be found at various points around the town and produced by local plasterer Pat McAuliffe.
It was also the first location in the world to have a monorail system, and a replica and museum tell of this peculiar history.
The surrounding countryside complements the enterprising and artistic efforts of Listowel’s denizens in having some excellent tracts of land, where dairying is the dominant activity.
This 104.5-acre farm is a good example of this tradition, and the non-residential holding is currently all in pasture.
“It’s a very good farm,” says selling agent Daniel Giles. “There are probably about 25 acres or so of it on the northern side of it that would be suitable for forestry. But the remainder of it is all good quality grazing.”
There is no problem with water supply, as the farm is on the Galey River, a tributary of the River Feale that flows through Listowel, and out into the sea at Ballybunion.
There are some farm buildings going with the property.
Although some of these are outdated, according to the agent, they still provide some use in their current state, and include cow sheds and a milking parlour.
The current owner is retiring from farming and the original farm dwelling is being retained and won’t form part of the sale.
Access to the farm and farmyard is via a laneway leading from the main road. There are no entitlements going with the farm.
“It has been used as pasture,” says Daniel, “and he has taken cuts of silage off the land too.”
The property is described in the agent’s brochure as being “an ideal opportunity for any dairy farmer to expand or any type of farmer to increase capacity”.
The asking price is listed at €950,000, which equates to just over €9,000 per acre — a reasonable place to start, all things considered.
The reaction so far has been a good one, according to the agent, who confirms that a good number of clients have already walked the land.
