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markets · Monday 3 August 2026 · 11:15am 
Carlow Mart Weekly Cattle Sale
At Carlow Mart (Leinster Co-Op Marts) · Killeshin Road, Carlow, Co. Carlow
At Carlow Mart (Leinster Co-Op Marts) · Killeshin Road, Carlow, Co. Carlow
Carlow Mart on the Killeshin Road has been a fixture of the town’s farming life for more than six decades, and it still opens its ring every Monday morning without fail. Run by Leinster Co-Op Marts, the same co-operative that also trades at Kilcullen and Borris, it is one of two livestock marts serving County Carlow farmers, alongside Tullow Livestock Sales on the other side of the county. There is no charge to come and watch a sale from the stands, and plenty of local farmers do exactly that even when they are not buying or selling that week.
The Monday sale runs in stages through the morning. Calves go through the ring first, from 11:15am, followed by a cow sale at 11:30am, with the main cattle sale of bullocks and heifers getting underway from around noon. Numbers vary week to week depending on the time of year, with spring typically busier for calves and autumn busier for store cattle and weanlings coming off grass. Buyers range from local farmers restocking after summer grazing to larger operators buying in bulk for finishing elsewhere. Auctioneers call each lot by weight and lot number as pens move through, and the whole thing has the unhurried, practical rhythm that has kept marts like this one central to rural Irish life for generations. For anyone who cannot make it to Carlow in person, live bidding is available online through the MartEye platform, which streams the ring and lets registered buyers bid remotely in real time.
Carlow Mart is on the Killeshin Road on the west side of Carlow town, a short drive from the town centre and well signposted from the N80. Carlow sits on the M9/N9 corridor around an hour south of Dublin, and the mart has its own yard and parking for farmers bringing stock in trailers. Bus Eireann serves Carlow town from Dublin and Kilkenny, though the mart itself is best reached by car given the early start and the practicalities of livestock trailers on site.
Carlow town centre is a short drive away, with the ruins of Carlow Castle by the River Barrow and the free-to-enter Carlow County Museum on College Street both worth the detour if you have made the trip out for the mart. There is more to see in Carlow and across Co. Carlow.
Heading to Carlow Mart (Leinster Co-Op Marts) in Carlow? Carlow has plenty more to see. Read the Carlow area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.