Rock Road Stone Company Ltd is a leading Irish stone masonry and paving company which provides its clients with high quality and cost effective stone masonry and paving services. Building Ireland caught up with Rory Galligan and Martin Gargan to learn all about the business which was proud to recently obtained IS0 9001:2015 accreditation.
Rock Road Stone Company Ltd is a registered member of the National Guild of Master Craftsmen and Building Limes Forum Ireland.
The company was set-up in 1997 and is based in Moynalty, Co Meath, with their workforce holding extensive experience when it comes to working with stone as well as paving & stone cladding.
Since ‘Day One’, Rock Road Stone Company Ltd has placed high value on quality workmanship and services, aiming to maintain the high standard of quality throughout all projects at all times, with an emphasis on client satisfaction.
With that in mind, it’s no surprise to see that the company has recently been certified as ISO 9001:2015 compliant.
Heading up the business these days is Martin Gargan and Rory Galligan, whom were both good enough to take time from a hectic schedule to fill Building Ireland in on the details of this thriving firm.
“We have recently been certified as ISO 9001:2015 compliant and it’s probably safe enough to say that we’d be the only stone mason company in Ireland with it,” pointed out Martin Gargan whose brother Jamie founded the company 22 years ago.
“Right now, business is going well. We weathered the storm of the recession and a lot of that is thanks to a client base which has been very loyal to us down through the years.”
Rory, who has become director of the business in recent years, echoes those comments, citing experience and reputation as crucial factors in gaining crucial repeat business from clientele.
“We have the knowledge and the experience because we’ve been at this for over 20 years now,” he stated.
“We give every project the attention that it needs and stone masonry and paving services is our speciality. We stick to what we know here and like to think that we provide our clients with a top class service.”
He added: “The success of the company to date is based on past performance and, of course, our reputation as well.”
Indeed Rock Road Stone Company can say that it has over 20 years’ experience in stonemasonry in both private and commercial projects at home and abroad.
The company has completed projects throughout Ireland, as well as in France, Germany, England and Scotland, and have a vast experience in all aspects of random rubble, dry built stone, ashlar, thin stone and cut stone.
With highly experienced stonemasons and pavers, the firm is consistently carrying out work to the highest standards with its stonemasons trained in the use of lime mortars and in a range of pointing and building techniques.
Rock Road Stone Co are renowned for sourcing only the highest quality stone from both Irish quarries and internationally as well.
“Specific skills are required,” Martin stated plainly. “We use a laboratory in Scotland for our analysis of lime mortars and with stone cladding we make a point to use Irish and international stone for it.”
When it comes to stone cladding, Rock Road Stone Co can provide clients with the full package, sourcing stone from Ireland, Europe and further afield.
They have a skilled team of stone cladding installers and have completed numerous projects nationwide, including Holy Cross Church, Dundrum, St John’s Nursing Home, Dublin and Newman House, St Stephen’s Green.
Through its suppliers, the company can provide fixing details and designs for cladding systems to cater for all of its clients’ needs.
As for the services in Conservation and Restoration, Rock Road Stone Co are able to source stone to match the original stone used in the building for areas where the stone is too deteriorated to salvage. After that, they can carefully restore the stonework using a mix of the original stone and the stone they have sourced to match.
Using lime mortar mixes for building and repointing, they can have the original mortar in the structure analysed in order to ensure the correct type of lime mortar is used.
The company’s experience includes conservation and restoration to castles, bridges, churches, grave yards, ruins, farm houses, out houses and boundary walls.
Past work on the Slane Castle Distillery involved repair and restoration works to the conversion of existing buildings and construction of new building for a purpose built whiskey distillery and visitor attraction.
Duggan brothers were the main contractors on the project, which lasted two years and the work carried out by Rock Road Stone Co was featured in a New York Times article organised by the famous Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey brand.
Other past exposure in the media has seen Rock Road Stone have featured on RTE’s ‘About the House’ for its conservation work on church, having also been involved in the installation and restoration of some of Ireland’s most famous monuments.
As for projects that the company are currently immersed in, Rory outlined:
“At the moment we’re working on the Dáil Building for Duggan Brothers. With this project there are a lot of traditional methods behind it, there’s kind of a humbleness to it.”
A little over three years ago, the company worked on the installation of bronze casts of the Proclamations of the Irish Republic mounted on Irish limestone mounts for Meath County Council to commemorate the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising in six locations across the Royal County.
Rock Road Stone Company also supplies and fits gabion baskets all across the country. Holding a knowledge of types of stone available and building styles, they can provide interesting and attractive gabion baskets to all types of projects, from small residential feature walls to large commercial infrastructure project.
Drogheda Train Station, Louth, Kingscourt Secondary School, Cavan and Stephenstown Link Road, Dublin are just some of the projects which have been carried out to date.
It’s safe to say that the full package is very much on offer, so if it’s high standards of quality stone work that you’re looking for, look no further than Rock Road Stone Company Ltd in Co Meath.
Rock Road Stone Co Ltd
Newcastle,
Moynalty,
Kells,
Co Meath
A82 KN76
Phone: 046 9242956 / 086 8696621
Email: [email protected]
Hours
Monday—Friday: 9:00AM–5:00PM
Saturday & Sunday: Closed
Taken from Building Ireland Magazine, October, Vol 5 No 10
