A sale has been agreed on the Devenish Lands at Dowth, Co. Meath, which went on the market in April this year, according to the property advisory firm Sherry FitzGerald.
The asking price for the farm was set at €10 million.
The land is an internationally recognised research farm, set within the Brú na Bóinne UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It features Neolithic monuments built over a period of 4,000-6,000 years ago by Ireland’s first farming communities.
The farm, which was advertised by Sherry Fitzgerald as one of the oldest farms in the world, is approximately 552ac and bounded by the River Boyne.
Also included in the estate is Netterville Manor, a country house of Victorian architecture.
State set to buy Devenish lands
It is understood that the state is set to buy the land according to Aontú representative for the Laytown Bettystown area, Peter Whelan, who also said he has worked closely with Devenish representatives.
Cllr. Whelan welcomed the sale after previously calling for the government to purchase the land.
“The land would never be bought by a farmer because you can’t plough it due to it’s heritage value,” Cllr. Whelan said.
He told Agriland that the site is well known for climate research projects and he hopes that this can continue under state ownership.
“From a green point of view, the state owning the land will be very beneficial for the area,” Cllr. Whelan said.
The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has not confirmed the sale.
However, it stated that the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) “occasionally purchases land for strategic and conservation purposes”.
Meanwhile Fianna Fáil councillor for the Laytown-Bettystown area, Wayne Harding, said great research has already been carried out on the lands on protecting water quality in rivers and the facility could be used for further climate change research.
He said: “There has been ongoing research on Devenish farmland, where it has been proven that the planting of certain species of grass swards greatly enhancing the filtration effect on run off water from lands reaching our water courses.
“This in turn would greatly enhance the water quality of our rivers.
“I believe the work carried out on lands at Devenish will form an important part of how we adapt and change both how we produce our food and treat out landscape.”