Hammer falls at €2.15m for The Haggard, Co Kildare

The Haggard, Carbury, Co Kildare sold under the hammer for €2.15m at last week’s public auction. This was the second big farm to be offered for sale in Carbury last week and it came to the market with a Georgian residence, a courtyard and 286 acres of sprawling farmland and forestry. Despite having three active bidders up to €2.1m, the final and only bid made by the eventual buyer was the selling price of €2.15m.

At the auction, selling agent Paddy Jordan from Jordan Auctioneers, Newbridge, took a high opening bid of €1.4m. With the help of three active bidders, the sale price steadily moved past the €2m mark to €2.1m, at which stage the agent consulted with the vendors. On his return, Paddy invited further offers and unexpectedly, a new man entered the race and placed a bid of €2.15m. After a brief recess, it was decided to declare the farm on the market at €2.15m and with no further movement, the hammer quickly fell at that price in trust to an agent. It’s not known who the agent was acting for but it’s believed to be for a local farmer. Among the underbidders were two other agents and a solicitor.

Up until the mid-80s, The Haggard was home to a working dairy herd and then became the nurturing ground to a suckler and sheep enterprise. The owner, who has a keen interest in sheep, established his own purebred own flock of Lleyn sheep on the property.

Set out in one big 286-acre block, the land at The Haggard is laid out in 11 sprawling fields, some of which are between 30 to 40 acres in size. At the back of the farm lies 37 acres of forestry, planted over 20 years ago to ash/sycamore, Scots pine and Norway spruce.

Around 60 acres has been rented out for tillage in recent years with circa 190 acres currently in grass.

Although in need of refurbishment, the residence at The Haggard is a five-bedroom two-storey over-basement Georgian home with extension at the back, in all extending to circa 4,000 square feet. Outside, there is an impressive courtyard containing stables, stores and coach houses along with a Steward’s House, all in need of repair.

The selling agent got the pricing spot on as the property was guided in the region of €2.1m prior to auction.

75-acre farm at The Curragh sells after auction

Elsewhere, Jordan Auctioneers withdrew a 75-acre non-residential farm located at Castlemartin and Kinneagh, The Curragh, Co Kildare, at €720,000 at last week’s public auction. It’s understood that a private deal was negotiated afterwards for a higher price with an agent who was acting in trust. The other two bidders at the auction included a local farmer and a solicitor. This farm was bounded on one side by the M9 motorway and also had 600 metres of frontage to the River Liffey. Just 1.5 miles from Kilcullen, the property came with a three-bay hayshed with lean-to and was guided in the region of €700,000 prior to auction.