A former Gaelic football pitch in the parish of Inniskeen, Co Monaghan, where the writer Patrick Kavanagh had an early taste of booting the ball on the "stony grey soil", has gone under the auctioneer's hammer for €2.2 million.
The strong price surprised everyone at the conclusion of a public auction in the village hall.
The sale took place yesterday at the local community centre in Inniskeen, a short distance from Kavanagh's home at nearby Mucker. Many admirers of the poet's work as well as some representatives from the nearby Kavanagh Resource Centre, which was converted from the former village church, were among the crowd which packed the auction.
There was much excitement among those gathered as the spirited bidding opened with an offer of €1.2 million.
The property was eventually knocked down by auctioneer Ian Larmer of Monaghan to a representative from a south Armagh construction firm, Messrs Doherty and Company, which has a base in Keady town.