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That there today is my dream. Some lads like foot
ball, Some lads like whatever. That’s my dream. empt and will transport be arranged for Chalkie. Everyone seems to grasp that the property is exempt owing to its age. The Chalkie conundrum throws people into a little bit more of a tailspin. I never quite find out what the right answer is other than assuming it’ll be sorted. The competitors mostly assume an air of confidence mixed with the attendant nerves from taking to the rostrum. Lorraine Mulligan is the effervescent owner of Remax in Celbridge and Lucan. She’s gushes enthusiasm and is straight out of central casting for self-motivators. “I’ve been in the business 20 years. I love people, I love property and I always want to learn and improve.” She sets herself a list of goals every year and the is one of the many on her list. “They say it’s like conducting an orchestra, you are working the room.” You can be assured she will tick all those goal boxes by the end of the year. Her website is listed under teamlorraine.ie and a Google search later that night throws up an article on The Journal with the pull away quote “I lost my marriage, my car and my home, but I kept going. Failure wasn’t an option.” Lorraine fails to make it through the first round. Ciaran Fox, from Manorhamilton, is more on the mild-mannered side of things. One of the oldest contestants, backstage he discusses how he sees this as a “learning curve”. He’s been out of the business for a decade owing to family reasons but is looking to get back into it. “I think it’s a very interesting and rewarding career,” he says. Unfortunately, the nerves scalp Fox. My ‘dinger’ neighbour references how “a man could die here” when he pauses during his lot sale. Ciaran doesn’t progress either. There are phrases which add to the mirth and egg on the buyers delivered by other contestants. Choice lines include: “You’re making me blush, sir,” (Charles McEvoy) “Small steps but it’s all money,” (Michael Ryan) and the trusty old adage that, “The day you buy is the day you sell,” (Ryan Finnegan). Finnegan is a contender. He brings all the pizazz and flair one associates with an auctioneer. He gesticulates and swivels his body as if his feet are on a hoverboard. There’s a velocity to his delivery which is engrossing. It’s straight out of the Herzog documentary where words rhythmically tumble into one another and the pertinent information pokes through with distinct clarity. He’s a young lad in his early twenties from Galway. This is everything to him. “That there today is my dream. Some lads like football. Some lads like whatever. That’s my dream,” he says. And I wholeheartedly believe him. While it’s clear he’s in the running, he’s anxious about how great he actually is. He’s been in training for this all his life. “I remember going to a mart in my grandfather’s arms while my father went out around the lots. When I was smaller, my mother would be giving out to me at home. I’d be going around roaring. I’d be selling a chair.” His preparation for today involved “sitting on a bale of straw in a shed with a few sheep or a weanling or cow in front of you,” as well as attending marts and talking to other auctioneers. He’s undertaken the property management course in Limerick IT and is currently doing his placement in Winters Property Management in Galway. Ryan makes it through to the next round. And then to the final. In the final he is joined by Adrian Kelly from Leitrim and Michael Ryan from Tipperary. Early on, it seems like Ryan is the one to beat. He’s referenced as one to possibly talk to. The inaugural winner Nicholas Maher mentions him as one he expects in the final too. He’s clearly assured, has panache in his delivery and can dot what I assume are auctioneering phrases such as “have a hundred on the house” and “fill it up and take him home”. When the gavel is struck for the final time later that night, he is crowned the winner. It’s the difference between feeling creative and sensual and sexual, or feeling locked. ipav.ie 50