A 140ac piece of old world in Westmeath for €900,000

Land in Longford and Westmeath has been making strong prices over the last year, often rivalling those in the sunny south-east.

A traditional 140ac grass farm at Mace, Rathowen, between Mullingar and Edgeworthstown, is among the more sizeable places to come for auction in recent months. Its progress under the gavel of Raymond Potterton auctioneers will be closely watched.

The property will be offered as an entire or in lots and comes with a guide of €900,000 or about €6,400/ac.

Located 2km off the N4 between Ballinalack and Rathowen and 10km from Mullingar, the farm is at both sides of a secondary road, with frontage to two roads and to the River Inny.

It includes an old-world farmhouse and yard in need of complete refurbishment. It can be bought on 1ac.

The second lot is laid out in two large divisions with frontage to three roads. The accessible 55ac piece of ground would make an ideal addition to any farm.

An 84ac parcel making up the third lot has an old drainage system in need of attention.

Repair works could pay dividends in improving the quality of the ground.

Unusually for a farm of its vintage the fields are in good-sized divisions, separated by mature hedgerows that give excellent shelter and make for good stock-proof boundaries.

The residence and yard are redolent of another era, typifying the kind of holding occupied by the wealthier farmer class that emerged post-Famine and post-independence.

The derelict, two-storey farmhouse could be refurbished, along with a long stone shed at right angles to the dwelling.

The site is elevated with a view over the whole farm and down towards the river.

A four-column haybarn is in a traditional haggard nearby.

Other traditional features include solid, round, mass-concrete piers, stone piers and stone walls.

According to Stephen Barry the holding has been farmed in a traditional manner for 20 years and is known as an excellent fattening farm.

The auction takes place at the Mullingar Park Hotel, and on the LSL platform, at 3pm on Thursday, June 30*. Pre-registration is required two days prior to the sale.

*This article was amended on June 14 to change the date of the auction from May 30 to June 30.