With each day that has gone by over the past week, coronavirus has had more and more of an effect. We saw on Saturday how the precautionary measures undertook by the Irish Charolais Cattle Society led to a small turnout of spectators and, in turn, prospective buyers. Many of these same measures were undertaken by the Irish Limousin Cattle Society in Roscrea earlier this week too, with even fewer in attendance.
Some of this lack of attendance was offset by the use of online bidding as well as phone bidding, which helped sell bulls on the day.
While buyers were one point to note, the overall number of bulls brought out by exhibitors also dropped drastically. Of the 79 bull catalogues, a total of 48 turned up for sale, with many of those not in attendance announcing on social media platforms that their offering would be sold privately off farm.
This reduction in numbers actually turned out to be no harm, as it helped to boost clearance rate. The sale would have proved exceptionally difficult if looking for 79 buyers. Instead, it found homes for 67% of the bulls present.
While not ideal as it represented just over half the amount sold at last year’s super sale, it should be looked upon positively in such an uncertain time.
Sale price also took a substantial hit. The 2019 sale had the highest average seen since 2013, resting at €3,972. This stood at €200 to €300 higher than previous years. The 2020 sale reported an average sale price of €3,394, so back roughly €300 on a normal year. Not bad all things considered.
High seller
Taking the small amount of plaudits on the day and selling for €8,000 was Novinchristie Nicholas. This August 2018-born bull was awarded the senior championship the previous evening under judge Thomas Illingworth and was brought out by breeder Noel Barry, Swinford, Co Mayo. Sired by Norman Inventor, he is out of a homebred dam whose pedigree includes Ronick Hawk and Goldies Terence. This bull boasted five stars on many of the indices including terminal and replacement. Back and forth bidding eventually saw auctioneer George Candler drop the hammer, with Laurlstown Ltd the successful bidder.
Powerful
While nine bulls made it to €5,000 or more last year, only two did it this year. Joining the senior champion in this bracket was the reserve senior champion Sliabh Felim Noddy which sold for €5,000. This powerful August 2018-born bull was bred and exhibited by Sean Ryan, Cappamore, Co Limerick. Sired by Ampertaine Foreman, he is out of the homebred Bavardage-sired dam Sliabh Felim Jenny, which also bred last year’s top-priced Limousin, Sliabh Felim Mourinho, which sold for €11,000 at auction. Another bull that carried five stars on a number of traits, this one was the choice of Matthew Harrison.
Reserve senior champion Sliabh Felim Noddy sold for €5,000. \ Alfie Shaw
Looking for the positives, this bull was one of 11 from the sale exported to either Northern Ireland or mainland UK.
Twenty-three bulls surpassed the €4,000 mark last year but, with fewer bulls and buyers around this year, that dropped to seven.
Two of these were the pre-sale shows’ junior and reserve junior champions. Taking the overall junior championship was Carrick-on-Shannon breeder Joe Collins with his bull Bos Nero. Born in December 2018, this well-made bull carried five stars on nearly all traits and was acquired by Gerard Keane at a price of €4,400. Packed with a wealth of breeding, he is sired by Goldies Jackpot, while his dam’s pedigree includes Ampertaine Commander, Wilodge Vantastic and the prolific cow Newtown Trixie.
Junior champion Bos Nero sold for €4,400. \ Alfie Shaw
Standing second in his class and going on to stand reserve junior champion was Finboy Nike from Tom Harney, Birr, Co Offaly. This 15-month-old bull carried five stars on the replacement index and his lineage included Plumtree Fantastic, Ampertaine Elgin and Grahams Samson. Back and forth bidding brought this bull’s final price up to €4,000, with the successful bidder C T Akrigg.
This price tag was hit a further three times throughout the course of the day. First hitting the figure was Michael Sexton with his second prize-winning Mount Scott Nick ET. This August 2018-born bull is a son of Ampertaine Foreman and the homebred cow Mount Scott Eileen. Dam Eileen and grand dam Mount Scott Arlene have been two of the most prolific cows in the herd, producing a number of champions. With five stars on the terminal index and four stars on the replacement, Nick was purchased by Eamonn Rodger.
Reserve junior champion Finboy Nike sold for €4,000. \ Alfie Shaw
Also securing a bid of €4,000 was Meath-based Teleri Thomas with Keltic Noah. This third prize-winning September 2018-born bull carried one of the most branded pages of stars in the catalogue, achieving five stars on most traits. Sired by Bavardage, his dam’s line pedigree includes Ampertaine Foreman and Ionesco. This one was secured by a Mr Cosgrove.
Last to hit this mark was Oldtown Notorious from William Hogan, Thurles, Co Tipperary. With another page full of stars, this 18-month-old bull was the pick of David Connor. Sired by the old favourite Ronick Hawk, Dauphin and Palmares also feature in the back breeding.
Keltic Noah sold for €4,000. \ Alfie Shaw
Just behind this, securing a price of €3,900, were Thomas and Brendan O’Shea with Templequain Napoleon. This young bull was born at the end of November 2018 and is a son of former Limousin world forum male champion Derrygullinane Kingbull. The homebred dam’s pedigree features Ampertaine Commander and Fieldson Alfy. With five stars on the terminal index and a calving difficulty figure of 2.8% on beef cows, he was the choice of Michael Finn.
Two bulls hit the €3,600 mark. First on the money was one of the first into the ring, Rutland Nelson. The second prize-winner was bred and exhibited by Noel Ruttledge, Ballina, Co Mayo. Sired by Ampertaine Commander, he is out of the Ampertaine Elgin-sired dam Dromullin Kerry ET. With five stars on the terminal index, this June 2018-born bull was knocked down to Henry Hynes.
Mount Scott Nick ET sold for €4,000. \ Alfie Shaw
Matching him at the money was Newtown Navigator from the herd of Stanley Richardson, Newtowngore, Co Leitrim. This 16-month-old bull is sired by Ampertaine Abracadabra with a number of the greats back in the mother’s lineage including Haltcliffe Vermount, Wilodge Cerberus, Cloughhead Lord and Castleview Rub. Carrying five stars on both the terminal and replacement indices, along with a calving figure of only 2% on beef cows, he was a bargain for successful bidder Daire Donnely.
Templequain Napoleon sold for €3,900. \ Alfie Shaw
Cavan-based breeder Ciaran Smith attracted a bid of €3,500 for his bull Cnoc Rua Nighthawk. A first prize-winner in the pre-sale show, this September 2018-born bull is sired by Goldies Jackpot with Sauvignon and Roundhill Saturan going back on the mother’s side.
Five stars on the replacement index combined with four stars on the terminal meant he was a perfect fit for successful purchaser Shane McGee.
Read more
€15,000 secured by Longford breeder at Charolais premier
With each day that has gone by over the past week, coronavirus has had more and more of an effect. We saw on Saturday how the precautionary measures undertook by the Irish Charolais Cattle Society led to a small turnout of spectators and, in turn, prospective buyers. Many of these same measures were undertaken by the Irish Limousin Cattle Society in Roscrea earlier this week too, with even fewer in attendance.
Some of this lack of attendance was offset by the use of online bidding as well as phone bidding, which helped sell bulls on the day.
While buyers were one point to note, the overall number of bulls brought out by exhibitors also dropped drastically. Of the 79 bull catalogues, a total of 48 turned up for sale, with many of those not in attendance announcing on social media platforms that their offering would be sold privately off farm.
This reduction in numbers actually turned out to be no harm, as it helped to boost clearance rate. The sale would have proved exceptionally difficult if looking for 79 buyers. Instead, it found homes for 67% of the bulls present.
While not ideal as it represented just over half the amount sold at last year’s super sale, it should be looked upon positively in such an uncertain time.
Sale price also took a substantial hit. The 2019 sale had the highest average seen since 2013, resting at €3,972. This stood at €200 to €300 higher than previous years. The 2020 sale reported an average sale price of €3,394, so back roughly €300 on a normal year. Not bad all things considered.
High seller
Taking the small amount of plaudits on the day and selling for €8,000 was Novinchristie Nicholas. This August 2018-born bull was awarded the senior championship the previous evening under judge Thomas Illingworth and was brought out by breeder Noel Barry, Swinford, Co Mayo. Sired by Norman Inventor, he is out of a homebred dam whose pedigree includes Ronick Hawk and Goldies Terence. This bull boasted five stars on many of the indices including terminal and replacement. Back and forth bidding eventually saw auctioneer George Candler drop the hammer, with Laurlstown Ltd the successful bidder.
Powerful
While nine bulls made it to €5,000 or more last year, only two did it this year. Joining the senior champion in this bracket was the reserve senior champion Sliabh Felim Noddy which sold for €5,000. This powerful August 2018-born bull was bred and exhibited by Sean Ryan, Cappamore, Co Limerick. Sired by Ampertaine Foreman, he is out of the homebred Bavardage-sired dam Sliabh Felim Jenny, which also bred last year’s top-priced Limousin, Sliabh Felim Mourinho, which sold for €11,000 at auction. Another bull that carried five stars on a number of traits, this one was the choice of Matthew Harrison.
Reserve senior champion Sliabh Felim Noddy sold for €5,000. \ Alfie Shaw
Looking for the positives, this bull was one of 11 from the sale exported to either Northern Ireland or mainland UK.
Twenty-three bulls surpassed the €4,000 mark last year but, with fewer bulls and buyers around this year, that dropped to seven.
Two of these were the pre-sale shows’ junior and reserve junior champions. Taking the overall junior championship was Carrick-on-Shannon breeder Joe Collins with his bull Bos Nero. Born in December 2018, this well-made bull carried five stars on nearly all traits and was acquired by Gerard Keane at a price of €4,400. Packed with a wealth of breeding, he is sired by Goldies Jackpot, while his dam’s pedigree includes Ampertaine Commander, Wilodge Vantastic and the prolific cow Newtown Trixie.
Junior champion Bos Nero sold for €4,400. \ Alfie Shaw
Standing second in his class and going on to stand reserve junior champion was Finboy Nike from Tom Harney, Birr, Co Offaly. This 15-month-old bull carried five stars on the replacement index and his lineage included Plumtree Fantastic, Ampertaine Elgin and Grahams Samson. Back and forth bidding brought this bull’s final price up to €4,000, with the successful bidder C T Akrigg.
This price tag was hit a further three times throughout the course of the day. First hitting the figure was Michael Sexton with his second prize-winning Mount Scott Nick ET. This August 2018-born bull is a son of Ampertaine Foreman and the homebred cow Mount Scott Eileen. Dam Eileen and grand dam Mount Scott Arlene have been two of the most prolific cows in the herd, producing a number of champions. With five stars on the terminal index and four stars on the replacement, Nick was purchased by Eamonn Rodger.
Reserve junior champion Finboy Nike sold for €4,000. \ Alfie Shaw
Also securing a bid of €4,000 was Meath-based Teleri Thomas with Keltic Noah. This third prize-winning September 2018-born bull carried one of the most branded pages of stars in the catalogue, achieving five stars on most traits. Sired by Bavardage, his dam’s line pedigree includes Ampertaine Foreman and Ionesco. This one was secured by a Mr Cosgrove.
Last to hit this mark was Oldtown Notorious from William Hogan, Thurles, Co Tipperary. With another page full of stars, this 18-month-old bull was the pick of David Connor. Sired by the old favourite Ronick Hawk, Dauphin and Palmares also feature in the back breeding.
Keltic Noah sold for €4,000. \ Alfie Shaw
Just behind this, securing a price of €3,900, were Thomas and Brendan O’Shea with Templequain Napoleon. This young bull was born at the end of November 2018 and is a son of former Limousin world forum male champion Derrygullinane Kingbull. The homebred dam’s pedigree features Ampertaine Commander and Fieldson Alfy. With five stars on the terminal index and a calving difficulty figure of 2.8% on beef cows, he was the choice of Michael Finn.
Two bulls hit the €3,600 mark. First on the money was one of the first into the ring, Rutland Nelson. The second prize-winner was bred and exhibited by Noel Ruttledge, Ballina, Co Mayo. Sired by Ampertaine Commander, he is out of the Ampertaine Elgin-sired dam Dromullin Kerry ET. With five stars on the terminal index, this June 2018-born bull was knocked down to Henry Hynes.
Mount Scott Nick ET sold for €4,000. \ Alfie Shaw
Matching him at the money was Newtown Navigator from the herd of Stanley Richardson, Newtowngore, Co Leitrim. This 16-month-old bull is sired by Ampertaine Abracadabra with a number of the greats back in the mother’s lineage including Haltcliffe Vermount, Wilodge Cerberus, Cloughhead Lord and Castleview Rub. Carrying five stars on both the terminal and replacement indices, along with a calving figure of only 2% on beef cows, he was a bargain for successful bidder Daire Donnely.
Templequain Napoleon sold for €3,900. \ Alfie Shaw
Cavan-based breeder Ciaran Smith attracted a bid of €3,500 for his bull Cnoc Rua Nighthawk. A first prize-winner in the pre-sale show, this September 2018-born bull is sired by Goldies Jackpot with Sauvignon and Roundhill Saturan going back on the mother’s side.
Five stars on the replacement index combined with four stars on the terminal meant he was a perfect fit for successful purchaser Shane McGee.
Read more
€15,000 secured by Longford breeder at Charolais premier
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