Four Charolais-cross quads, born on Patrick Howard’s farm in Currow, Kerry, returned to Gortatlea Mart last week, where he sold them in October 2020.
The bullocks – weighing 417kgs – made €1,000 at the Kerry-based mart on Wednesday, October 14th, 2020.
They made the short journey from Kilflynn, where they have been since Norah Brady purchased them using LSL Auctions’ online bidding facility.
Brady put the now two-and-a-half-year-old bullocks under the hammer at the mart’s 2022 anniversary sale on Friday, January 28th, 2022.
Livestock auctioneer, James McCarney, described the “famous” bullocks – which weighed an average of 726kgs – as “four crackers”.
“They were here nearly two years ago as weanlings, and they are back again,” he explained.
He requested an opening bid of €1,800, and bidding began from €1,450 before McCarney dropped the hammer at €1,830 (€2.52/kg) to an online purchaser.
In a post on social media, a spokesperson for the mart said: “We like to think we are doing our job right when we get to sell a special lot of cattle twice.”
Video of Kerry quads:
€2,620 for Friesian cull cow
Meanwhile, a Friesian cull cow, the subject of a ‘guess the weight’ competition Gortatlea Mart held on social media, caused a stir in recent weeks.
The Kerry-based mart – which Maurice Brosnan owns and manages – held the competition to celebrate its eighth year in business under current management.
The mart asked users to guess the weight of the cull cow, and the closest (nearest 5kgs) would receive €100.
The mart accepted entries up to midnight on Wednesday before the cow passed through the ring shortly after 3 pm on Thursday, January 27th.
The cow tipped the scales at 1,185kgs, just 10kgs more than Laura O’Sullivan’s judgement.
Following, lively bidding activity, she shot to €2,620 (€2.26/kg) with the hammer falling to Dara Gleeson.
Interview with Brosnan
Last year, we caught up with Maurice Brosnan, the mart’s current owner and manager. He discussed his long-standing association with the mart, former experience as a factory agent, and how the mart rose to meet the challenges that the Covid-19 presented by embracing virtual bidding technology.
Read this interview.
