MMC Eco Homes is delighted to be a finalist in the ‘Innovation in Construction Company T/O up to €20m’ category at the upcoming Irish Construction Excellence Awards for its successful delivery of one of Ireland’s most efficient, sustainable and cost-effective homes in Renmore, Galway City.
Showcasing MMC Eco Homes’ pioneering use of offsite SIP construction, the home demonstrates how modern construction can dramatically outperform traditional methods in speed, quality and carbon performance. Manufactured with millimetre precision in the company’s European factory, erected on-site in under a week and delivered at approximately €750 per m² for the panelised envelope, the project proves that high-performance, low-carbon homes can remain accessible and affordable.
Achieving verified net carbon emissions of 41.4 kgCO₂/year, compared to +1715 kgCO₂/year for a typical new build, the home sets a new benchmark for environmental excellence. Renmore has since become a flagship case study for modern methods of construction in Ireland, earning national attention and industry praise. Through innovation, precision and collaboration, MMC Eco Homes is redefining what is possible in Irish homebuilding—delivering exceptional quality while driving the sector towards a more sustainable future.
Whether you’re building your forever home or developing multiple units, MMC Eco Homes offers faster, smarter and energy-efficient solutions that are A-rated, airtight and assembled on-site in less than five days.
“We pride ourselves on our ability to deliver precision-built, sustainable and value-for-money homes in days,” says Ciaran Walshe, who sold his house, gave up a well-paid job and put all his savings into setting up MMC Eco Homes with manufacturing industry expert Paul Iredale in 2020.
“We are committed to building affordable, environmentally-friendly homes to help alleviate the housing and climate change crises. Our mission is to achieve this while helping to reduce fuel poverty and our impact on the climate through continuously looking at new modern methods of construction, and the latest renewable energy products in a cost-effective manner.
“We deliver a premium product, but not at a premium price. Our quality is proven. It’s hard for anything to go wrong in terms of air-tightness because we provide the full structural envelope. Our system makes building easy again.”
The Irish Construction Excellence Awards are the original and premier recognition of performance excellence for the contracting sector in Ireland, and provide an opportunity for the industry to showcase and reward best practice across the full range of construction disciplines and project categories. MMC Eco Homes employs 30 people both in their Galway office, which is located in the old Connacht Tribune building in Market Street, and in Lithuania, where Paul Iredale oversees the running of the state-of-the-art manufacturing facility.
The MMC Eco Homes team is supported and supplemented by the same tried and trusted subcontractors and industry partners, including Big Man Modular, Moycullen Expert Construction Services and Daithi O’Donoghue.
“We’re proud and delighted to be up for an ICE Award. It reflects well on our work, systems, product and amazing team of professionals,” Ciaran enthuses.
At the heart of the award-nominated Renmore Project is MMC Eco Homes’ advanced Structural Insulated Panel (SIPs) system — high performance polyurethane-core panels that deliver superior thermal insulation, airtightness and sustainability. Developed through in-house R&D and partnerships across Ireland and Lithuania, MMC’s SIPs system enables Net Zero Carbon performance.
This innovation was born from a clear mission: to redefine affordable, sustainable living in Ireland. One of the most cost-effective Net Zero Carbon homes ever delivered in Ireland, the Renmore home demonstrates that environmental responsibility and financial accessibility can co-exist. The three-storey family dwelling was designed, manufactured and completed within four-and-a-half months, leveraging MMC’s off-site precision production and rapid on-site assembly.
Renmore is a mature residential area with limited access, neighbouring boundaries and street constraints. Transporting and erecting large SIP wall and roof panels required careful logistical planning to avoid disruption and ensure safe delivery and cranage. To this end, MMC carried out detailed pre-planning, created a panel-by-panel delivery sequence, coordinated traffic management measures and used a truck-mounted crane to minimise footprint. This became a blueprint for future tight-site builds.
The main structure went from slab to roof level in days rather than weeks. The challenge was coordinating multiple trades around this accelerated timeline, as traditional sequencing didn’t apply. MMC implemented structured daily coordination between design, factory and site teams. This allowed it to maintain factory precision on-site while keeping ahead of M&E, airtightness and fabric-integration requirements.
Local subcontractors and even some design-team members were more familiar with blockwork methodology. Explaining the thermal, structural and airtightness principles of SIPs was essential to avoid legacy assumptions leading to design conflicts or delays.
The project aimed for exceptional energy performance, and MMC’s SIP envelope delivered a net energy rating significantly below zero—far exceeding regulatory requirements. To safeguard this, airtightness and moisture management were critical.
MMC Eco Homes has come a long way in the last six years and is determined to remain on an upward trajectory.
“We’re focused on the residential sector and plan to scale up and work with more small to medium-sized developers,” Ciaran explains.
“We’ve grown the business organically and don’t owe a penny to anyone, which keeps us and our clients safe. We’re equipped to increase production dramatically. We’re currently delivering 25 A-rated homes a year, most of which are bespoke one-offs but we’re also building an apartment block in Ratoath, Co. Meath. Our goal over the next few years is to double production and deliver 50 high-quality units per annum.
“From the unparalleled energy efficiency of our SIPs to the rapid, weather-independent build times, each USP is tailored to meet the evolving demands of self-builders and developers.”
The affable Galway man continues: “Both Paul and I are passionate about using the latest construction technologies to build eco-homes at affordable prices. I studied Accountancy in UCG, but come from a construction background and later studied Construction Management in TUD. I worked for McCabe Builders in England before the recession and set up my own construction company after that. It was then that I realised that using offsite SIP construction was the solution to the labour shortage and rising building costs.
“Paul is a qualified chemical engineer who has over 25 years’ experience and expertise in SIPs. He worked on high-rise towers at the London Olympics in 2012 and I knew him as a supplier before we joined forces and developed our fully-palletised system, which continues to go from strength to strength.”
In summary, MMC Eco Homes is a wholly Irish-owned company offering fast, smart and more energy-efficient builds for the residential market. Working with skilled tradespeople knowledgeable in modern methods of construction MMC and sustainable building materials, the Galway-based firm can deliver new housing in a fraction of the time of traditional methods.
MMC Eco Homes
15 Market Street,
Galway,
H91 TX3X
Telephone: +353 (0)91 396 330
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.mmcecohomes.com
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, July 2026, Vol 12 No 7
