With the loss of the island’s two major agricultural shows this year, last week’s sheep sales offered a rare chance for farmers to get together and enjoy a day out.

They took full advantage of it with large turnouts at both Ballafayle and Ballaglonney.

At the former, the promised thunderstorm failed to materialise and we all enjoyed the glorious weather as auctioneer Keith Kerruish stepped up to the rostrum to start proceedings.

This has obviously been a year of great disruption and uncertainty after Covid-19 and with Brexit still looming on the horizon, no one was quite sure how all this might affect prices.

’It’s always hard to judge what sale prices will be,’ said Anna Kerruish.

Anna had successfully sold 150 sheep privately earlier in the year to people looking to get them tupped for early lambing next year.

This had left her with a total of 350 Suffolk, Cheviot and mule shearlings and 30 lambs to auction at the sale.

And, as it turned out, prices held up well.

The mules, all born on the hills out of Swaledale ewes crossed with Bluefaced Leicester tupps, were the pick of the bunch and got proceedings off to a good start, achieving a price of £146 for the first pen.

In all the shearlings averaged £136 and ewe lambs sold at £80.

The following day, surely one of the hottest of the year so far, saw everyone at Ballaglonney in Crosby where prices went even higher.

The Creers were selling some 500 sheep: Texel and Suffolk crosses, mules, a few Loaghtans and 47 rams.

’This is the big sale of the year for sheep,’ said auctioneer Peter Quayle.

Like Anna, the Creer family has a reputation for producing top-quality stock, as evidenced by their many wins in the showring - and this was certainly reflected in the prices as several of the pens of very smart mules fetched £170.

But the excitement was really building when the first Texel ram entered the sale ring and, after keen bidding, the hammer went down at a cool £820.

Two more Texel rams later topped that, both selling for £840.

After the sale was over Danny Creer said: ’I would like to thank all the customers - without them there would be no sale.’