The trade for spring lamb at Athenry Mart, Co. Galway, on Easter Monday, April 6, topped out at almost €5.50/kg.

With smaller numbers overall presented for sale, the trade for spring lamb remained positive, with the number of lots on offer beginning to creep up following a challenging start to the year.

A total of 70 spring lambs went under the hammer, with plenty of interest from butcher and factory buyers, according to a representative from Athenry Mart.

Spring lamb sample prices:

Two at 50kg sold for €235 or €4.70/kg;
Five at 47kg sold for €232 or €4.94/kg;
14 at 42kg sold for €230 or €5.48/kg;
Three at 44kg sold for €228 or €5.18/kg.

Regarding the hogget trade, numbers on offer fell to approximately 300 from approximately 700 the previous week.

With the majority presented for sale in the 50kg-plus weight bracket, the average price per kilo achieved this week in Athenry Mart stood at €3.86/kg, up to a maximum of €4.59/kg.

The average hogget price in the sale this week represented a drop of approximately €0.10c/kg compared to the previous week, but remained ahead of the April 2025 average sale prices by €0.15c/kg, Athenry Mart confirmed.

Meanwhile, the cull ewe trade remained firm with heavy ewes generally selling for around the €260/head mark.

However, one stand-out pedigree Charolais cull ewe weighing 116kg sold for €388 or €3.34/kg.

Buyers also had a selection of ewes with lambs at foot to choose from, with the pick of those being four ewes with six lambs at foot selling for €385/outfit.

Speaking following the sale, Athenry Mart manager Padraic Fahy said: "The appetite among buyers for spring lamb is encouraging signs for the coming weeks as numbers begin to rise."