The annual Carrick Christmas Belles saw an entry from Ronan Gallagher, owner of the Enniscrone flock, sell for the top price across the 100 lots on offer when she was knocked down for €2,850.

The in-lamb gimmer ewe, scanned carrying a single lamb to Blessington champion Clara Fandango, was sired by homebred Enniscrone Donovan and is out of a Garngour Aerosmith ewe which Gallagher described as one of the flock’s best females.

The gimmer’s full sister was the lead gimmer in the Enniscrone Summer Belles when she was sold for €3,300 to Fintan Hackett.

Gangour Aerosmith was seen in the bloodlines of the second top-priced ewe as well, when a daughter of his, again from the Enniscrone flock, sold for the second highest price of the day when the hammer fell at €2,420.

She scanned in lamb to Clara Fandango carrying a single lamb. Her dam is a daughter of Tophill Wall Street, who herself is a full sister to Enniscrone Brasil.

Recipient ewes and Suffolk gimmers

A selection of recipient ewes with pedigree Suffolk and commercial Suftex lambs were sold towards the end of the sale alongside a trio of pedigree Suffolk gimmers.

The top price in the recipient section went to a Mule ewe with an ET Suftex ewe lamb at foot which sold for €620.

The three Suffolk gimmers, all scanned in lamb to Augustins Formula 1, sold for between €520 and €540.

A full report on the sale will be in next week’s Irish Farmers Journal.