Operating out of Dunshaughlin in County Meath, Liam Faherty Construction is a second-generation building contractor synonymous with the consistent delivery of high-quality residential projects. A genuine enthusiasm for the art of building shines through on every home constructed by the Fahertys and their skilled team of craftsmen.
Traditionally, building is an art form. This is a fact that sometimes gets lost in the inevitable commercialisation of the industry but one that shines through at Liam Faherty Construction, a proud, old-school family business that leaves no stone unturned in achieving absolute client satisfaction on every new home delivered.
An innate, compulsive passion for building results in uncanny attention to detail and a reputation for excellence that precedes current directors Brian and Paul Faherty, who took over the running of the renowned family business from their father, the eponymous Liam. Listening to Brian talk, his love of all things building is truly infectious:
“You have to have a passion for your job,” he comments. “We wouldn’t have stayed at it for so long if we didn’t love it. I would often tell people who work for me: if you don’t like it, don’t stay at it – there’s always other avenues that could be explored. The bottom line is you shouldn’t do a job that you don’t enjoy, and that has never been an issue here.
“I love getting up in the morning and always look forward to coming into work and taking on new challenges. That passion is definitely there and it helps us get results that meet client expectations.”
There’s a real positivity, too, about Liam Faherty Construction and that’s another reason why they have managed to build an outstanding portfolio of projects over the past four decades and counting. “My father started out as a sole trader in the ‘80s and went limited in 2001,” Brian recounts. “He started out as a roofing contractor and then got into building and renovations from the late ‘80s onwards. One of his breakthrough projects in the early days was a renovation of The Workhouse in Dunshaughlin, so that’s a building that will always hold a special significance to us.”
Brian was raised in a building environment and initially took over the running of Liam Faherty Construction in the mid-‘noughties, just before the financial crash. Today, he runs the business alongside his brother, Paul. “Dad started from scratch and we would always have been a hard-working family with a strong work ethos,” he says. “We got nothing easy and everything we have got has been earned. Those values have served us well.
“I was lucky in that I always had a great relationship with Dad and enjoyed working with him. Paul was the same. He passed his passion for building down to us. We’re hands-on and do all our carpentry work ourselves – that came from him.
“My Dad Liam and his brother-in-law Brendan Greally were great mentors to Paul and myself. They worked together up until the crash and their knowledge and love of the game definitely inspired us. We looked up to them and during school holidays we would have been up on the roof working with them.”
Handing trades down from one generation to the next is the foundation upon which authentic traditional building is based. “Everything has changed in the world and it’s all about high tech, college, studying and computers these days, but the best way to learn anything is to be hands-on and learn from your mistakes. That’s how we were taught. Once you get the hang of something, then you know it and don’t have to learn it again.”
The sense of continuity and longevity that permeates Liam Faherty Construction can also be found in the subcontractors used, many of whom are sons of plumbers or electricians who would have worked for Liam in the early days.
“Our work is all local and that’s another big plus,” Brian notes. “I live in Drumree and we’re based in Dunshaughlin – we have five new builds on at the moment and they are all within a ten-minute drive of my own house. We find ourselves doing a lot of jobs for sons and daughters of people Dad would have built houses for in the past. You know you must be doing something right when you can stay in your own area.
“We’re on the border of Dublin and there’s plenty of work there but there’s a lot to be said for finishing work at 5.30 and being home with your family ten or 15 minutes later. You can bring the kids to a game of football and just spend time with your family. Family life is a big thing and there’s no point sitting in traffic for two hours in the morning and another two in the evening if you can avoid it.
“Dad was never a big man for advertising. His motto was that you would get the next job off the strength of the last one. That’s how we operate. He always said that if you finish a house and get invited in for a cup of tea, then that’s the measure of a job well done.”
Although the price of a new build house is astronomical today compared to what it was 20 years ago, Liam Faherty Construction treats every project the same, with quality, service and a personal touch as unconditional prerequisites. “All our subbies are local. We try to build local, so we also use local trades,” Brian adds. “We all work together as a team and with the tradesmen we have on board, you don’t have to be looking over their shoulders all the time – you know what the quality will be.”
Although they took on an unprecedented nine new builds last year, in general Liam Faherty Construction will build four to six houses per year, depending on how complicated each project is. “Three of the five we’re on at the minute will be finished over the next couple of months,” Brian concludes. “We have three more booked in, ready to start and will usually stagger them, starting one each month, then take a couple of months without starting any, then move on to the next block of three.
“There’s huge demand for building at the minute and big demand for labour. Good men are not easy to find but we work with a lot of small local firms, with tight and dependable crews. It’s a real pleasure to work with these people and we know we wouldn’t be where we are today without them.”
Liam Faherty Construction Ltd.,
Drumree,
Dunshaughlin,
County Meath.
Tel: 086 389 3293
Email: [email protected]
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, June 2025, Vol 11 No 6
featured, Liam Faherty Construction Ltd.
