On Friday, April 16, Agriland made the trip to Athenry Mart, where the Irish Limousin Cattle Society (ILCS) hosted a sale of pedigree bulls.
The sale was due to be held on Thursday, April 15 – however due to circumstances beyond the control of the society, the sale was deferred until 24 hours later.
Signs of a strong demand in the home sales of bulls were reflected in the statistic that of the 41 bulls catalogued for the sale, only 28 were presented for auction on Friday.
Overall, the sale average on the day reached €3,757 for a total of 19 bulls that traded hands.
‘Vibrant trade’ for Limousin bulls
Similarly to the premier sale held last month, the trade for bulls was certainly aided by auctioneer George Candler’s quick witted humour and banter to motivate buyers into going that extra step to get the bull they wanted.
George spoke with Agriland after the sale to give his views on the custom for bulls. He said:
“It was a vibrant sale overall and the average is definitely up from the sale held here two years ago.
“The volume of bulls were obviously a lot smaller than we had hoped, but this would have aided the sale too.
“I think from the past few sales and the sale held today, this year farmers are looking for the real quality bull, that has the stars to match.
“They want the easy calving bull with good carcass confirmation and fleshing ability along with looking at the milking ability of their daughters.”
Keltic Pax
Topping the sale at €6,600 on Friday was the eye-catching Keltic Pax exhibited by Teleri Thomas from Longwood in Co. Meath.
This 19-month-old male is son to a bull which Teleri also bred, AI sire Keltic Handsome. Pax is out of a home-bred dam sired by Ampertaine Foreman.
Having quality indices to match, he was ranked with €169 on the terminal index and €146 on the replacement index – alongside a calving ease figure of +4.6% on matings with beef cows. Pax moved to new pastures in Co. Galway after Friday’s sale.
Maghera Ronan 2
Patrick Mulconroy from Co. Clare sold the Goldies Jackpot-sired Maghera Ronan 2 for a price tag of €5,500. The catalogue page was full of stars for this bull, as his terminal index was ranked highly at a value of €153.
Ampertaine bloodlines were also found in this bull as Ronan’s maternal grandsire is the well-known Ampertaine Commander. This bull remains in his native county of Clare with a farmer from Tubber securing his purchase.
Shannon Paero
The trip from Co. Kerry was made worthwhile for Sarah Mcelligott as she sold Shannon Paero for €4,500.
This September 2019-born son of Plumtree Fantastic is out of a home-bred dam sired by Cloughhead Lord. This bull had a low calving figure of +2.9% for matings on beef cows and was snapped up by a Co. Galway farmer.
Brickhill Prince 2
Brickhill Prince 2 was the second bull on the day to sell for €4,500. This 19-month-old male was shown by Michael Gerard Mcinerney from Co. Clare.
The sire this time was the French bull Cameos, along with the maternal grandsire being Plumtree Fantastic. Prince had one of the lowest calving ease figures catalogued at just +1.9% on matings with beef cows.
Meelickaduff Pottinger
The auctioneer’s hammer fell at €4,100 for a Lodge Hamlet son shown by Michael Hester from Co. Roscommon.
Meelickaduff Pottinger is out of the previous Tullamore Show championship winner Meelickaduff Honda (et) and boasted a terminal index of €197. A local farmer from the Athenry area purchased this 17-month-old bull.
Newtown Rodger
Stanley Richardson from Co. Leitrim sold his offering, Newtown Rodger, for a figure of €4,100.
Sired by Ampertaine Commander, bulls such as Lodge Hamlet and Wilodge Tonka were also found in Rodger’s maternal back pedigree. This January 2020-born bull is ranked with €169 and €131 on the terminal and replacement index, respectively.
Other leading prices for Limousin bulls:
- €4,000 for Oldtown Pedro sired by Wilodge Cereberus and exhibited by William Hogan, Thurles, Co. Tipperary;
- €3,800 for Currane Paco sired by Plumtree Fantastic and exhibited by Michael McKeown, Co. Mayo;
- €3,800 for Rutland Pyper sired by Usse and exhibited by Noel Ruttledge from Ballina, Co. Mayo;
- €3,600 for Glenashrone Picasso sired by Keltic Handsome and exhibited by Diarmuid O’Riordan from Abbeyfeale, Co. Limerick;
- €3,500 for Newtown Ranger sired by Loyal and exhibited by Stanley Richardson from Newtowngore, Co. Leitrim.