The 20th annual Giggintown House Angus Sale took place on Saturday (April 16) at Fennor Farm in Co. Westmeath.
The on-farm sale was conducted by Ballyjamesduff Mart and online bidding was made available via the MartEye platform.
Large crowds attended the on-farm sale, which featured a combination of ringside and online bidding.
The exceptional demand for pedigree Aberdeen-Angus bulls and heifers resulted in a 100% clearance rate at the sale. A total of 22 bulls and 18 heifers were on offer at the sale.
This year’s bull draft featured a number of embryo-transfer bulls bred from leading Canadian sires including Northern Improvement 448 and KBJ Conquer All, leading to a record average bull price of €3,750 and a top price of €5,700 for the 18-month-old bull Gigginstown Gaffer Extra.
Of the 18 heifers on offer at the Gigginstown sale, 13 were in-calf and five were maiden heifers.
The average price in the heifer sale was an impressive record of €4,400. For the second year in a row, the only Red Angus heifer on offer, Gigginstown Red Game Bird, secured the top price of €7,100.
To celebrate this record-breaking sale, Gigginstown House Angus will now donate €14,200 (twice the top-price at the sale) to a Ukrainian charity helping refugees to settle here in Ireland.
This donation will be made by owner of the Gigginstown Angus Herd, Michael O’Leary, in recognition of the work done by Gigginstown Angus assistant manager Max Zinchenko who, with his family, hails from Ukraine.
Commenting on the sale, Gigginstown farm manager Joe O’Mahony said: “We were delighted to welcome back crowds to our Annual Angus Sale after two years of online sales only.
“The record crowds and record prices are a testament to the popularity of the pedigree Angus breeding and the Certified Angus Beef Programme here in Ireland.
“We sincerely thank all of our buyers for their support and we wish them every success with their stock.
“We also wish to thank Ballyjamesduff Mart and MartEye for all their help in holding such a successful joint on-farm and online pedigree sale,” O’Mahony added.