The room was packed in the Step House Hotel in Borris for last week’s auction of a 77-acre residential farm situated at Knockclonagad House, Garryhill, Fenagh, Co Carlow. This property offered the full package in terms of residence, land and yard, all kept in pristine order by the owners for the past 18 years. On the day, active bidding from three interested parties saw the hammer fall at €985,000 for the entire – well ahead of the €800,000 guide price.

At the auction, selling agent Raymond Potterton Auctioneers, Navan, initially offered the property in two lots. The house and yard on circa 65 acres was bid to €710,000 while the remaining circa 12 acres peaked at €132,000. This gave a combined total of €842,000. With that, the entire opened at €850,000 and steadily progressed to €960,000 with the help of three bidders. After being declared on the market at €960,000, one bidder dropped out but the other two continued to bid in €5,000 increments all the way to the drop of the hammer at €985,000 (almost €12,800/acre). The buyer is a farmer from Co Carlow but is not believed to be local. The other two bidders were also from outside the area.

Knockclonagad House has been a labour of love for 18 months. The land has undergone rigorous reseeding, the house has been completely restored and the yard upgraded. Over the years, the property has been the breeding ground for a particular bloodline pertaining to the Connemara Pony while also accommodating a commercial sheep flock. Split by the road, circa 12 acres are located directly across from the house on circa 65 acres. Around 40 acres are under spring barley with the remaining circa 37 acres in grass. The residence is a fully restored two-storey house that features four bedrooms and two reception rooms while outside, there are a number of attractive cut stone outhouses, stables, barns and a sand arena. The farmyard features a round roof shed with adjoining lean-tos.

25-acre package near Tara, Co Meath

The same agent is handling the sale of a 25-acre residential package at Ross, Tara, Co Meath on 5 July. Located beside the M3 motorway (Dublin/Kells), the property comes with a four-bedroom two-storey residence and an extensive range of buildings that includes a 10-bay slatted shed, a range of loose-bedded sheds as well as excellent cattle handling facilities. The 25 acres are under grass and is reported to be “top-quality land”. The property goes to auction on 5 July at 3pm in the auction room of Raymond Potterton, Navan. The guide is in the region of €480,000.