Kilkenny auctioneer Joe Coogan held one of his drive-in auctions recently in the yard at his auctioneering premises in Castlecomer.
He was handling the sale of a 47ac residential farm at a place rejoicing in the wonderful name of Cruttenclough, near the equally exotic Bilboa on the north-east corner of Kilkenny where the county meets Laois and Carlow. The farm sold in lots making €370,000.
Bilboa got its name from the exploits of a local military man, Colonel John Staunton Rochford 1802-1844. He fought in the Napoleonic wars and apparently acquitted himself well while in action near the Spanish town, becoming known as Rochford of Bilboa. His family was involved in the building of Bilboa Church 1850 and, since then, the area has been known as Bilboa.