53-acre Laois farm for September auction, after 87-acre farm tops €1m
The farmhouse on the 53-acre holding at Knockbaun, Abbeyleix
Coming up for public auction on Friday, September 2, at 3pm, is a 53-acre holding near Abbeyleix, in County Laois.
The property can be bought in four lots, or as the entire holding, at the Manor Hotel in Abbeyleix and it should bring a crowd as varied as the offering itself.
Lot one consists of 38 acres, with slatted accommodation for cattle. Lot two is a 14-acre, roadside plot. Lot three includes a farmhouse on one acre, along with a series of out-offices. Lot four consists of a traditional farmhouse on 14 acres.
According to the selling agent, Kilkenny-based Pat Gannon, the lands in lot one front the main Abbeyleix/Carlow road.
"They're divided, at the moment, in terms of usage," says Mr Gannon. "There are three fields under tillage and two fields in grass. There's one other field, which is beside the slatted shed and which is in need of some rehabilitation work; reseeding, essentially."
The second lot offers interesting potential and also has ample road frontage onto a secondary road. It's described by the selling agents as being a "good grass field" that would benefit from reseeding.
Lots three and four will be interesting to watch. In the past, one would have always plumped for an old house being sold on one acre, but post-Covid-19 a modest amount of acreage that offers some self-sufficiency is more sought after. 14 acres may be too many for most non-farmers, however.
The lands here are in a good agricultural area dominated by beef farming and dairying. Therefore, there will be some interest locally. However, the house will add another element to the chase.
"It’s a typical three-bedroom farmhouse in need of modernisation," says Mr Gannon. "It has good potential, with its out-offices and nice garden."
In all likelihood, the house will be sold with one acre, with the rest of the land going to someone in farming. The price guide is €650,000. The same agents concluded another auction on July 22, with the sale of 87.5 acres at Mannin, Borris-in-Ossory, for €1,015,000 (the AMV was €880,000). The buyer was a father-and-son dairy operation from a neighbouring parish.
