A 7.5 acre field located just a puck of a ball from Limerick GAA’s planned new €20m centre of excellence in Crecora has sold for just shy of €200,000.

It was bought to market by Tom Crosse and John O’Connell, of GVM Auctioneers.

The holding with an address at Attyflin, Patrickswell, went under the hammer both online and in person earlier this month at GVM’s Limerick city auction rooms on Glentworth Street.

Mr Crosse, who conducted the auction, said it was a very attractive roadside holding extending to 7.5 acres.

“This elevated field is positioned in this hugely attractive location in affluent Crecora / Patrickswell, surrounded by good quality housing and compact agricultural holdings. It is very good quality land.

“Limerick GAA’s new centre of excellence is also planned to be developed just a few fields away. It is just a two-minutes drive to the M20 Limerick-Cork main road. The field enjoys good road frontage and possible site potential,” said Mr Crosse. 

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The vastly-experienced auctioneer was expecting it to make around the €130,000 mark or €17,000 / €18,000 per acre.

There was interest from both the business and farming community.

“No fewer than six clients participated in a very lively auction. Bidding opened at €100,000 and went on the market at €160,000. 

“Several bids later the gavel fell at €197,500 or €26,333 per acre,” said Mr Crosse, who admitted to being “stunned” at the price.

The new owner placed their winning bid online via www.lslauctions.com and is believed to be from the business community.

He said the plot of land has a lot in its favour – proximity to Adare and the Ryder Cup, close to the motorway, next to the new centre of excellence and has road frontage (pictured below).

 

“I think with the relaxation of planning, people are maybe taking a futuristic view on what might happen there,” said Mr Crosse.

Minister for Housing James Browne said last month that rules surrounding people being allowed to build homes on their own land will be relaxed by this summer. He said it is aimed at boosting the number of homes being built in rural areas.

Mr Browne claimed that the liberalisation of the new rules will help people build homes who once found it “impossible” to live in their communities due to planning restrictions, and will help deliver “a significant amount of homes” outside towns and cities.

Mr Crosse said the field in Attyflin might look expensive now but “if you get one site on it, it’s a cheap field”.

He said there is big demand for small parcels of land and with the ease of planning rules it may be an opportune time to put up a For Sale sign.

“It will make an awful lot more money than renting out a small field or trying to get money out of it from agricultural use.

“Somebody may want to dispose of an asset to look after a family member to buy a house, or cash out for retirement, or renovate their existing house – everyone has different reasons to want money,” said Mr Crosse.

Meanwhile, at the same auction, two holdings totalling 32 acres in Loughill were sold for a combined figure of €413,000 (pictured below).

 

Lot 1, 25 acres of pasture and four acres of a glen, fetched €355,000 while lot 2, a three-acre field, sold for €58,000.