Just when all the country agents are packing their shooting gear and heading for covert, Ganly Walters pulls off the deal of the year.

Everyone is trying to figure out how it got Jack Brabazon - aka Lord Meath - on board with his outstanding 4,000-plus acre estate, Ballinacor, near Rathdrum in Co Wicklow. The sale will attract international attention, not to mention a hefty commission. Could the shooting skills of Robert Ganly, Paul McDowell and Callum Bain have swung the sale in their favour? It won't have done them any harm, though the connection with Strutt & Parker, which has an expert on sporting estates at the ready, may also have been a distinct advantage. Meanwhile, at an age when most people are considering trading down to a nice cosy bungalow, Lord Meath is moving on to far bigger things. He is taking on the ancestral home, Kilruddery, near Bray which is one of the biggest stately homes in the country with 800 acres.