There were 640 lots on offer and a large crowd of almost 800 people saw an 84% clearance with over 230 individual buyers making purchases on the day.

John Hennessy said that the trade was very good for all types of machinery, both big and small, with some exceptional prices on the day. Top prices included a 2007 MF 5465 with 5,500 hours selling for €27,500, a 1995 John Deere 6900 with 9,000 hours selling for €15,500 and a 2002 7.5T Hitachi Track Machine selling for €12,500, but the most bid-for item was an unreserved KV 2 sod spring-loaded plough which after a ding-dong bidding battle between customers from Offaly, Wexford and Mayo saw it finally knocked down for €1,010.

John also said that, overall, the trade throughout 2015 was very strong for all types of equipment. In particular, there was an improved demand for fresher farm machinery and tractors in comparison to previous years. He expects this demand to continue into 2016 with farmers and contractors looking to keep their fleets modernised.

Hennessy Auctioneers has been holding machinery auctions at the old Portlaoise Mart premises for the past 15 years and the auctions have gone from strength to strength with large numbers of buyers and sellers attending their monthly auctions from all four corners of Ireland.

Their next auction is on Saturday 23 January and entries are now being accepted. Keep an eye on the company’s advertisement in the IFJ machinery classified pages over the next couple of weeks for details of machinery booked into the January auction. Call John Hennessy on 086-2300221 for bookings and inquiries.