Ballinrobe Mart finished the year’s trading on a high, with Cathal Kelly’s in-calf heifer sale seeing a packed ringside.

Similar to any marts, 2024 has been a bumper year for prices in cattle and sheep, with the south Mayo mart witnessing 50,000 sheep pass through the ring in 2024 at its final sheep sale earlier this month.

“It’s been a great year for trading in the mart. We saw some of our highest prices in 2024, with both cattle and sheep numbers up on last year,” said mart manager Teresa Gibsey, who took over the reins as manager earlier this year.

“Some 12,000 cattle have passed through the ring, and our sheep numbers were up 4,500 head on last year.”

Cathal Kelly hosted his inaugural cattle sale at the mart on Wednesday night last, with a packed ringside combined with online bidding seeing a 100% clearance rate on the 38 cattle to pass through the ring.

Some 33 in-calf heifers, three first-calvers with calves at foot and one third-calving cow went under the hammer of resident auctioneer Raymond Clarke.

Breeds

Heifers consisted of mainly Belgian Blue and Limousin-cross types, with some purebred Limousin, Charolais-crosses and one Parthenaise-cross heifer, which commanded the third-top price at €4,350, for sale on the night.

Heifers were scanned in-calf calving between January and May to easy-calving Limousin sires LM2014, EBY and LM5443, with some calving down to an EBY-sired stock bull.

In-calf heifers sold from €2,500 up to €4,500, with an average price paid of €3,300 across the 33 lots.

Buyers made bids online and ringside, with heifers selling to customers from Kerry, Meath, Roscommon and Sligo, though most heifers went to Mayo buyers.

Powerful

The top price paid in the in-calf heifers was a powerful Belgian Blue-cross black and white marked heifer scanned in-calf to EBY, which was knocked down to a ringside bidder.

Demand was extremely strong for the three calved lots, with the top price paid going to a Belgian Blue-cross heifer with an EBY heifer calf at foot selling for €5,050, with the other two lots selling for €3,850 and €3,550 per head.

“We’ve possibly never seen such a crowd around the ring here in Ballinrobe and we would hope that Cathal will be back again with quality heifers like these,” said Teresa.

In pictures

This Parthenaise-cross heifer weighing 755kg and calving in February to EBY sold for €4,350 (€5.76/kg).

This pure Limousin heifer weighing 650kg and calving in March to EBY sold for €3,550 (€5.46/kg).

This Belgian Blue-cross heifer weighing 680kg and calving in March to LM5443 soold for €3,650 (€5.37/kg).

This Limousin-cross heifer weighing 715kg and calving in February to EBY sold for €4,500 (€6,29/kg).

This pure Limousin heifer weighing 650kg and calving in February to EBY sold for €3,550 (€5.46/kg).

This first-calving pure Limousin heifer with an EBY heifer calf at foot sold for €3,550.

This Belgian Blue-cross heifer weighing 675kg and calving in to a Limousin stock bull sold for €3,000.

This Belgian Blue-cross heifer weighing 595kg and calving in February to EBY sold for €2,600 (€4.37/kg).

This Charolais-cross first calver with an EBY bull calf at foot sold for €3,850.

This Limousin-cross heifer weighing 750kg and calving in March to LM2014 sold for €3,700 (€4.93/kg).

This Limousin-cross heifer weighing 725kg and calving in February to EBY sold for €3,900 (€5.38/kg).