Holding to set hearts racing

By Conor Power

For sale with Richard Ryan of GVM Auctioneers in Kilmallock, this 83-acre stud farm is sure to set the hearts racing of farmers of all pursuits within the area.

The property is a large stud farm and it has all the accompanying facilities, but at €850,000, it is priced for a wider market that will include many of the progressive dairy, beef and tillage farmers in the area.

The size of the residential holding in question should also ensure a much wider geographical spread of interest. 83 acres is a sizeable holding that doesn’t present itself every day of the week and the quality of the land in question (this is all in grass) makes it an even rarer opportunity.

The farm is located in the townland of Ballyhoulihan, near the village of Boherbue in North Cork and not far from the town of Millstreet.

Boherbue is just 3.5km west over the road from this holding while the market towns of Kanturk and Newmarket are both approximately 9km away. Banteer is 15km away.

This is the heart of the Duhallow Hunt Country — an area of very strong tradition in horse breeding and equestrian activity in general.

The Duhallow Hunt itself is one of the oldest in Ireland, with an organised club dating back to 1745.

This fine holding certainly holds great interest for any equestrian-minded buyer. There is horse-safe fencing all around the farm and an impressive internal roadway system offers a very good deal of access throughout the holding.

There is a state-of-the-art purpose-built large American barn which comprises eight loose boxes, a wash bay, three loose pens, a six-horse walker, tack room, laundry room, toilet and storage area.

Outside, there is a sand-and-fibre all-weather ménage. The paddocks have been recently re-seeded and fenced.

The house is a two-bedroom bungalow that is, according to the agent, in excellent condition. The residence is situated towards the front of the property and near the generous stretch of public road frontage that the farm enjoys.

Accommodation consists of an entrance, sitting room, kitchen, utility room bathroom, two bedrooms with ensuite facilities and an attic conversion that is used a large office area.

The services are all laid on and as well as a private well supplying water to the farm, the River Brogeen runs along its northern boundary — a river known in the area for fishing.

It’s a really superb residential equestrian property, says Richard of this unique offering. It’s state of the art in terms of facilities for horses but it can be used for any purpose, really.

The farm would be a well-known facility in the area and it would be also well regarded for its quality of land. “There’s a nice bit of road frontage with it — approximately 250 metres in all. There’s a central roadway network all through it as well so it’s a very accessible property.”

With its various facilities designed with horses in mind, it will be interesting to see whether or not the next owner will be someone so inclined or not.

The main building is of excellent quality and it would very possibly not involve a massive outlay to convert to use for cattle or dairy farming, for example.

In current market conditions, one would imagine that there are lots of dairy farmers who would covet such a large offering of top-quality well-maintained pasture land and it is this sector that should put the highest value on it.

The other aspect of the sale is the house. Although there is no question of the property being split into lots at this point, one would imagine the next owner looking at either selling it on or renting it out.

In any case, the €850,000 price tag (€10,200/acre) puts it in within the reach of plenty suitors who are looking purely for more land.