33-acre Wicklow farm sells at pre-Christmas auction

Highest bidder described as 'local farmer'

Property in townland of Tinnakilly, 3km from Aughrim, went for auction online on Wednesday, December 20. It was presented in three lots.

Last featured here on December 6 last, a 33-acre farm in Co Wicklow was possibly the last holding sold by auction in 2023, ending the year with a successful sale for Gorey-based auctioneers Quinn Property.

The property — in the townland of Tinnakilly, 3km from Aughrim — went for auction online on Wednesday, December 20. It was presented in three lots:

Lot 1 consisted of 13.2 acres of land; Lot 2 was the remaining 20.2 acres of ground and Lot 3 was the entire holding, consisting of 33.4 acres of tillage land.

“The lands have good frontage onto a cul-de-sac road,” said selling agent Jack Quinn. “They’re laid out in four divisions and are of excellent quality — currently in tillage and with free-draining soil, they’re suitable both for tillage or grassland use.”

The lack of direct road frontage partly explains why the price expectation pre-auction was set at a modest €8,000-€10,000 per acre.

With steady local interest reported before the event, there were four registered bidders before the auction. Lot 1 reached €130,000 (€9,800/acre) while Lot 2 reached €170,000 (€8,400/acre) after early bidding. These were eclipsed, however, by a bid of €310,000 (€9,400/acre) on Lot 3.

This left the holding within price expectations but a little short of the reserve. Negotiations ensued afterwards with the highest bidder, described as a "local farmer". A higher price was agreed upon and Mr Quinn said he was “very happy to have finished the year with another successful auction”.