121-acre farm expected to surpass €12k/acre guide at auction
Aerial view of the 121-acre farm near Buttevant up for public auction
Coming up for public auction on November 23 at 3pm at the Charleville Park Hotel is the much-anticipated 121-acre farm near Buttevant, Co Cork.
The property in question is in the townland of Ballyellis, approximately 3.5km from the town of Buttevant, 15km from Mallow, 5.5km from Doneraile and 16km from the auction venue in Charleville. This part of North Cork is strongly associated with the origins of the co-operative movement.
Representing the estate of the late Margaret O’Connor, Fermoy-based selling agents Dick Barry & Son are expecting strong interest on the day for this farm that includes a farmhouse and a collection of outbuildings in a well laid-out farm of large divisions and with close to 2km of road frontage.
“This is a top-class farm,” says selling agent Michael Barry. “So we’d be hoping that it will go very well. It’s in a large rectangular block, with a great amount of road frontage to it... It’s an exceptional farm, really – very hard to find the likes of it anywhere else.”
The situation of the farm is a big plus, being in a very active farming area, with good access points to main roads and major markets. This part of the world is dominated by the dairying sector but there are plenty of other sectors active too, including the beef cattle sector and the arable sector.
The house, he says, hasn’t been lived in for the last number of years since the passing of the last owner. As a result, it is in need of repair and improvements, along with its curtilage. There is also a detached garage located close to the house. The lands, however, have been very well maintained, the agents say.
“The house and grounds have gone into disrepair,” says Michael, “as there has been nobody living in it for the last four or five years, but the land is in beautiful condition, with no waste on it... there’s potential there for a stud farm or a dairy farm or any kind of farm – it’s dual-purpose land.
“It’s in a very rich vein of land there and you’d imagine that there are a lot of dairy farmers around there who would be interested in this property. You wouldn’t get a farm like this every year – of this size and quality.”
The property is only on the market for barely a week but already, there has been a good reaction from the market, according to the selling agents.
“We’ve had a good reaction so far,” says Michael. “There have been a lot of enquiries already. We only had the first advert in the newspaper last Saturday and already there has been a great response – which you would expect.”
The collection of outbuildings was a very modern range in its day. They are still useful if somewhat dated at this point, Michael explains: “There are two four-column hay barns,” he says, “with double lean-to buildings, a gathering pen, cattle crush and a slurry tank. There’s also a machinery shed... the farm was very well farmed and the buildings would have been very well looked after in their time, but they are still very much useful.”
Given the location, which is very convenient and in the heart of a strong farming area, there should be strong interest in this farm. The price guide is set at €12,000 per acre but Michael believes that this could prove to be a conservative expectation. For land such as this, with its high quality, rarity and convenience, it would be reasonable to expect a price closer to €15,000 per acre.
“Yes, the guide is €12,000 per acre but, to be honest, I’d be surprised if it didn’t surpass that level,” he says.
In good time, all will be revealed and public auctions always produce some bit of drama on the day itself. Interestingly, the name for Buttevant is believed to come from the Barry (the Norman De Barra) family, whose motto is Butez-en-avant. This could be translated as “push forward” so it will be a case of seeing who will push the farthest forward at the auction in just over a month’s time at the Charleville Park Hotel.
