Recently in Irish Country Living, journalist Janine Kennedy chronicled the rise and demise of the sugar industry in Ireland in a two-part series.

It proved timely as news came through that the property Beet Ireland were hoping to establish as their processing facility will be sold at public auction at the end of this month.

It follows the sale of the former beet factory site in Mallow at the end of 2023.

The sale of the property at Ballyburn, Castledermot, Co Kildare will bring the organisation’s ambition to revive sugar beet growing in Ireland to a standstill.

The house and yard are located on 7.5 acres of land with some of it planted in woodland.

Initially brought to market last autumn by Coonan Property Maynooth, Celbridge and Naas as a private treaty sale, there has been significant interest in the property and a decision has been made to sell the land at auction.

Period residence

Farmland extending to 79.8ac – of what has been described as some of the best tillage land in Ireland – along with a period residence, Ballyburn House, set on 7.5ac, are included in the sale.

Located between Castledermot and Carlow town, it will be brought to auction in lots. Lot 1 consists of Ballyburn House and approximately 7.5ac. A period residence located in a private woodland setting, it benefits from easy access (2km) of the M9 motorway. Castledermot is 5km away and Carlow town 10km.

Ballyburn house is a period residence with a modern interior.

Approached by a wonderful driveway with separate access to the yard, the original building dates back to 1769 and presently extends to 158 sq.m. Retaining its character externally, it has modern features including double-glazed windows and oil-fired central heating. The interior comprises of an entrance hallway, kitchen/breakfast room, dining room, study, shower room, bathroom, living room, utility and three bedrooms.

Old world and modern

To the rear of the dwelling is a large yard with another combination of old world and modern. The buildings vary from a cut stone stable block to a large, eight-bay shed with double lean-tos. This building has a concrete floor and walls for grain storage or lockup purposes. There are also a number of general-purpose sheds and a smaller three-bay hay barn.

The house, yard and 7.5ac are guided at €690,000.

Lot 2 consists of 79.8ac of prime-quality free-draining lands in an excellent location. Used for tillage purposes in recent years, the lands are presently in stubble. They are laid out in one large division and consist of the highest quality free draining soils.

The yard to the rear of the house has stone wall barns.

With easy access to the M9 motorway at Junction 4, these lands offer significant potential for agri-food or renewable energy enterprises and there is a guide price of €1.65m.

The entire, Ballyburn House on circa 87.3ac is listed as Lot 3. The public auction takes place at 3pm on Tuesday, 26 March in Lawlor’s Hotel, Naas, Co Kildare.