Will the State be in the running for massive Wicklow hill farm?

Will the State be among the bidders for one of the largest blocks of land that is likely to be sold in Ireland this year?

We will see on 24 April when the 1,527ac Aghavannagh Mountain Holding in south Wicklow goes to auction at the Clayton Hotel in Ballsbridge, Dublin.

Galway-based auctioneer Colm Farrell is looking for offers in excess of €2m for the property, and you’d think he should have no problem getting that sort of money – particularly if the State is in the mix.

And the timing on that front could be good, given that Minister for State Christopher O’Sullivan, who has responsibility for nature, heritage and biodiversity, has stated that he would like to see a further 100,000ac being farmed for nature by the end of the decade.

The purchase of a sizeable block like Aghavannagh might just be the perfect way to kick-start O’Sullivan’s ambitious initiative.

Or could the mountain holding provide a home for the upland research farm that Teagasc is under increasing pressure to provide, The Dealer wonders.

Aghavannagh or Achadh Mheánach means the ‘hilly field’ and there is certainly no shortage of those.

The property, which is located near Aughrim, includes 1,518ac of open hill stretching from Aghavannagh towards Leinster’s highest peak Lugnaquilla.

There is also 0.61ac of enclosed land and a further 8.62ac of rough grazing adjoining the Aughrim to Baltinglass road.