A group of community activists in Trim has failed in a bid to buy a building at a property auction.
They had hoped the building, auctioned at the latest Allsop auction in Dublin, would become part of a heritage park. The Maudlin Centre at Trim is adjacent to a six acre site which is being leased by Meath County Council for the building a folk park and heritage centre.
The building is currently being partially leased by the HSE, but that lease is due to expire in October next year.
The centre was owned by the community-based Trim Initiative for Development and Enterprise (TIDE) which went into voluntary liquidation in August 2012.
The receiver was attempting to sell it on behalf of Bank of Scotland who have a charge on the property.
The Trim Community Heritage Cooperative got 100 people to pledge €1,000 each towards buying the centre, but it was well short of the reserve price of €195,000.
They staged a protest outside the RDS where the Allsop auction took place asking those inside not to bid against them.
Just before the auction for the Trim property went ahead, a protester asked that nobody else bids against it.
They were successful in that, but auctioneer Gary Murphy said he was instructed not to sell below the reserve price of €195,000.
Nevertheless, the representatives from the cooperative said they will negotiate with the bank to buy the property given that there is no other interest in it..
A golf course in Naas sold for €650,000 just above its lower reserve of €625,000. The Woodlands Golf Course in Coill Dubh is an 18 hole course with a club house, practice area and pitch and putt course on 127 acres.
It was originally built as a nine hole but was upgraded to an 18-hole course and reopened by the then Minister for Finance Charlie McCreevy in 2000. A new clubhouse was added in 2006, but the club struggled with its debts and went into receivership last year.
It was bought by John Downing, a solicitor with Dublin law firm Lawlor, O'Reilly and Co, on behalf of an undisclosed bidder.
River House in Charlotte's Quay in Limerick went for €3.25 million well above its reserve. The four-storey building already has the Office of Public Works as a tenant.
Another building in Cruises Street, Limerick, went for €1.05 million. It currently has Specsavers as a tenant.
An eight acre industrial site in Rathcoole went for €1.3 million within its reserve range of between €1.15 million and €1.35 million.
It was billed as the biggest auction to date in Ireland with properties worth €23 million on display. There was standing room only inside for more than a thousand potential bidders.
The popular Gallops Public House in Julianstown, Co Meath, went for €230,000, well above its reserve of €120,000.
