It was a tale of two halves at the Society’s sale in Roscommon this year with the very best of the females seeing a successful trade, with smaller size shearlings and running ewe lambs having a harders day trading. The auctioneers worked hard throughout the day to secure new homes for the sheep on offer at the sale, which saw an 83% clearance rate for females.

The sale began with a couple of bunches of Aged Ewes with 2yr olds reaching €300/head from S & L Jones and Sean O’Donoghue both pens securing homes South of the sale venue.  The pre-sale show 1^st placed pen of 5 shearling ewes and Reserve Champions of the day from D Beatie set off the trade with a flying start were the first through the ring and €480/head with the purchaser C Galf also securing his second pen for €440/head. D Beatie had a tremendous run of females and averaged out at €295/head for his run of over 150.

A McDonald’s stylish females saw a brisk trade catching the attention of many buyers with six of his pens achieving over €400/head. His top priced pen were eventually knocked down at €440/head to J Coen and another pen at the same money to G Patterson securing an overall average of €366/head for his run of 70. There was an easy sale for the very best of ewes in Roscommon, with many pens reaching over €280/head.

Individual shearling ewes were hugely sought after with a very stylish 1^st prize shearling ewe from Alun McDonald being knocked down for a staggering €840 selling to David Oliver. Mr Oliver had another successful purchase, securing the 2^nd prize shearling ewe from D Beatie for €600. Mr P Jennings sold his 3^rd prize shearling ewe for €680 securing a home with Gacquinn.

The smaller shearlings saw a steady day with trade, with prices ranging from €160 to €200/head with something there to suit every buyer. With the majority of the shearling ewes sold, it was great to see the overall average up on last year at €295/head.

Leading the ewe lamb trade was Pat Bobbett who sold his first prize pen of 5 ewe lambs for €200/head to J O’Toole, matching the same trade was Kenny O’Donnell selling his second prize pen of lambs to David Oliver. Smaller running lambs found new homes at €120 to €160/head

The Shearling ram section saw interest from a number of buyers with A McDonald secured the top price of the day selling Ormston Outlaw (01852/2504471) sired by Glenview Maverick for €3000. The 1^st prize and Champion in the pre-sale show found a new home to breeder David Beattie. Ormston Outta Sight (01852/2504394) from the same home sold to Conor Dowling for €2100. The second placed ram Castlehill Oliver (03178/250611J) sired by Mileview Mister was the next highest priced ram of the day selling for €1650 and finding a new home with Robert Clarke. Many quality rams sold between €600 to €900 with 8 rams securing bids of over €1000 with 29 rams sold from the 35 forward on the day of the sale.

 

Averages:

Aged Ewes to €300 av. €245

Shearling Ewes to €480 (€840) av. €295

Ewe lambs to €200 av. €155

Ram to €3000 av. €894

 

Top Prices

Aged Ewes

S& L Jones €300

Sean O’Donoghue €300

 

Shearling Ewes

David Beattie €480, €440, €380x2

Alan McDonald €440x2 €400x4 €380x3

Ian Bracewell €380

David Oliver €380

Paul Jenning €380x2

Brian Mathews €360x2

CYCAD Farms Ltd €360

 

Single Shearling Ewe

Alan McDonald €840

Paul Jennings €680

David Beattie €600

David Oliver €540

 

Ewe Lambs

Patrick Bobbett €200

Kenneth O’Donnell €200

Gearoid O’Connor €160

 

Shearling Rams

Alan McDonald €3000, €2100, €1400

Karl Gill €1650

S & L Jones €1450

David Oliver €1350, €1050

Fergal Leonard €1250

 

Pre-Sale Show Results

Judge: Simon Brown

 

Pen of 5 Shearling Ewes

1st – David Beatie

2nd – Paul Jennings

3^rd – David Oliver

4^th – Alan McDonald

5^th - Cycad Farm Ltd

 

Pen of 5 Ewe Lambs

1^st – Patric Bobbett

2^nd – Kenny O’Donnell

3^rd – Hugo Reilly

4^th – Martin Cooke

5^th – Brian Mathews

 

Individual Shearling Ewe

1^st – Alan McDonald

2^nd – David Beattie

3^rd - Paul Jennings

4^th – David Oliver

5^th – Brain Mathews

 

Shearling Ram

1^st – Alan McDonald

2^nd - Karl Gill

3^rd – S & L Jones

4^th – David Oliver

5^th – Fergal Leonard

 

Champion

Alan McDonald (Shearling Ram)

Reserve Champion

David Beattie (Pen of 5 Shearling Ewes)