A special word of congratulations goes to Kieran and Patrick McGrgath, who set a new club record price of €15,100. The Donegal men, who operate under the Caoramor prefix, saw their pen leader K001 Caoramor, a superbly marked, open-chested ram lamb claim the male championship before selling for the top price of the day, with the ram being purchased by the trio Stewart Park, Eunice Mills and John Park.
Speaking after the sale, the club spokesperson Kevin Staunton commented: “What a fantastic day for the club and for the breed. To see a record of €15,100 set here in Ballinrobe is truly remarkable and a credit to Kieran and Patrick McGrath. The quality of sheep on offer was outstanding across the board, and the level of interest from buyers shows just how highly the Bluefaced Leicester is valued in Ireland today.
“Days like this don’t happen without a huge team effort, so I want to sincerely thank all our breeders, buyers, sellers, committee members, auctioneers and mart staff who made this such a memorable and historic sale. The future of the breed here has never looked brighter.”
The reserve champion, a smart lamb from breeder Dean Kerrigan, saw the hammer fall at €2,200. Hoggets were an extremely strong trade, with 33 of 34 rams present sold, averaging €1,200, up €480 on last year – with 20 hoggets selling for over €1,000.
In the ram lambs, keen demand was witnessed again, with 115 of 122 on offer sold (94% clearance) averaging €1,115/head, up €400 on last year’s sale and 42 lambs surpassing €1,000.
A small selection of females saw prices on par with last year, with a top price of €680 going to Jonathan Wall.
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