Large crowds of farmers travelled to Sixmilebridge Mart in Co. Clare for the dispersal sale of the 60-cow herd belonging to the recently deceased farmer and agri-contractor, Patrick Davitt.

The sale on Friday evening (January 23) featured 60 suckler cows - both in-calf and with calves at foot - as well as three stock bulls.

Speaking to Agriland after the sale, mart manager Joe Clune said there was a strong trade on the day with three of the 11 cows with calves at foot reaching €4,600.

25 of the 63 lots included in the dispersal sale made over €4,000, with the in-calf stock in the sale reaching as high as €4,750.

The mart manager said that 37 customers from seven different counties secured cattle in the sale.

One of the 2016-born continental stock bulls sold for €4,520 and a younger 2023-born Charolais stock bull sold for €4,950.

Dispersal sale

Speaking to Agriland before the sale, the late Patrick's wife Nora and his step-son Dennis said that suckler-farming was something Patrick was hugely passionate about.

Nora said: "His suckler herd was his life and he built it up over years upon years.

"It will be awful sad for me to see them go, but unfortunately that's the way it is. I'll be keeping the drystock rather than calving the cows and that."

Patrick was known locally as a good weanling producer and was in the business of producing the good continental-bred west of Ireland weanlings that were sold at the mart in the autumn.

The 60 suckler heifers and cows in the sale were a mix of Charolais-cross, Limousin-cross, Hereford-cross, and Salers-cross and are all due to calve from now to late March. Some of these already had calves at foot.