A barn made famous by a poem by poet Patrick Kavanagh has gone up for sale.
Billy Brennan's barn, is mentioned in a poem called "Inniskeen Road: July Evening".
Generations of Leaving Certificate students will be familiar with the barn in Inniskeen, Co Monaghan from the poetry schoolbook, "Soundings".
The Patrick Kavanagh Centre is seeking private funding to assist it in placing a bid on the iconic barn.
The centre fears that a piece of history may be demolished if it is bought by the wrong person,
Art Agnew, of the centre, told RTÉ News: "The centre is run voluntarily and has no funding."
He said: "We would like to buy the barn and make it part of the Kavanagh Trail, so we will be making sure that it won't go without us trying to get a bid on it.
"We are searching for private funding and looking for people to put their hand in their pocket. The worst fear would be that it would be demolished," he added.
Auctioneer Daragh O'Rourke, who is selling the property, said it includes three acres of land, the barn and the original farmhouse.
He said: "There's good interest locally and nationally because of the Kavanagh connection.
"We've had a couple of bids. Maybe not quite the right one just yet but we would hope to seal it off in the not too distant future."
Mr Agnew said the barn is "iconic".
He added, "When you're away anywhere and you say you are from Monaghan people will say: 'Stoney grey soil of Monaghan'.
"The next thing they'll say to you is: 'There's a dance in Billy Brennan's barn tonight' so it's universally known.
"It's iconic. There's not a child that has done the Leaving Cert that hasn't come across Billy Brennan's barn."
