Leading the charge at €7,100 at the Irish Charolais Cattle Society’s first spring bull sale of 2021 at Tullamore on Saturday (February 27th) was Roughan Phillip, from the herd of Pat Mc Clean in County Donegal.
A son Roughan Justbeau and a Roughan Dix De Coe bred dam, Phillip went under the hammer with an impressive set of indexes and a calving figure of just 4.4% on beef cows.
The Roughan herd found new homes for its three offerings for a whopping average of €6,500. McClean sold his fourth entry before the sale for an undisclosed sum to the UK.
Roughan Percy, son of Roughan Gibraltar and a Roughan Echo 2 bred dam, was next best for the Donegal native at €6,700. Once again, he carried an attractive set of indexes, a calving figure of just 3.5% and one copy of the F94L gene.
Meanwhile, Donegal breeder’s third offering, Roughan Prince, a stablemate of Roughan Phillip, received a call of €5,700. The Roughan Justbeau, has a calving figure of just 4.5% on beef cows and carries one copy of the Q204X myostatin gene.
Under €7,000
Niall Mc Nally from County Monaghan changed hands with his two bulls for €6,900 and €6,700, respectively.
First up was Derryolam Pacha, a Goldstar Echo son and out of a homebred daughter of Pacha. This 16-month-old bull displayed a four-terminal and replacement index, along with a calving figure of just 5.6% on beef cows.
Derryolam Pirate followed hot on the heels of his stablemate and found a new home at €6,700. The 15-month-old Fiston sold, has a five-star terminal index, five-star replacement index, and a calving figure of just 4.9%.
He also carried two of the breed’s heavy hitters in his back pedigree, namely Pirate and CF 52.
Next up at €6,600 was Fieldview Pete from the herd of David Erskine in County Monaghan. This 16-month-old bull is a son of the popular NCBC sire, Fiston, and a homebred daughter of Anside Foreman.
He carries one copy of the Q204X gene and displayed a five-star terminal index of €152 and a calving figure of €6.9% on beef cows.
Under €6,500
Furthermore, at €6,400 was October-2019-born, Rathfeston Pablo ET, exhibited by Wayne Mulligan from County Offaly. This Balmyle Vagabond, who is out of an Erckmann-bred dam, was described as being “short on stars, but quality in abundance”.
Nigel Peavoy from County Laois secured €6,000 for his 16-month-old Monagh Paddy, a son of Goldstar Ludwig and a Prime Roberto-bred dam. He has a five-star terminal index of €144, a calving figure of 6.5% on beef cows and one copy of the Q204X myostatin gene.
Jim Geoghegan from Streamstown in County Westmeath traded 15-month-old Lisnagre Pat for €5,800. A son of Pirate and a Major-bred dam, Pat boasted a five-star terminal index of €169.
Other leading prices:
- €4,300 for Callo Phil ET sired by CF 52 and exhibited by Eugene Hand from County Westmeath;
- €4,200 for Aheybridge Pat sired by Scardaune Mark and exhibited by Michael Sexton from County Clare;
- €4,150 for Clonaltra Present sired by Cavelands Fenian and exhibited by Terry Bradley from County Westmeath;
- €4,000 for Camber Phil ET sired by CF 52 and exhibited by Vincent Mc Brien from County Leitrim;
- €3,600 for Loughros Padric sired by Goldstar Echo and exhibited by Harold Given from County Donegal;
- €3,500 for Camber Patch sired by CF 52 and exhibited by Vincent Mc Brien from County Leitrim.
Summary
Speaking following the sale, Nevan McKiernan, secretary of the Irish Charolais Cattle Society, said: “New Covid 19-restrictions on pedigree bull sales introduced by the Department of Agriculture posed many obstacles for both buyers and sellers.”
“For the first time, exhibitors had to leave the mart and their bulls unattended for the duration of the viewing time. This allowed buyers to come in and view the bulls strictly by appointment only.”
“Exhibitors did eventually get to return to their stalls as the Sale got underway, to prepare and bring their bulls to the sales ring. The viewing restrictions in place definitely affected the trade and buyers’ confidence, considering the number of viewers greatly exceeded the number of bulls on offer.”
“It resulted in 64% of the bulls forward selling for an average of €3,720. The clearance rate clearly well down from 90% at the coinciding sale in February 2020.” McKiernan concluded.
