One of Connemara’s leading building companies has been in business over thirty years as Jackie Folan Limited continues to build on its already excellent reputation for providing top quality work on every project.
Established by Jackie Folan in the late eighties, the company has grown into a leader in its field of expertise as they provide specialised services in the residential, commercial and industrial sectors.
Jackie is semi-retired these days and the company is now run by his son Paraic who took time out of his busy schedule to speak to Building Ireland magazine.
Jackie Folan Limited has an extensive portfolio of construction projects ranging from small scale extensions and renovations to larger scale commercial projects. They are proud to say that they can cater for all your building needs.
Based in Carna, Connemara, Co Galway, this family run business carries out the majority of their work in the far west of Ireland.
“We would carry out about 90% of our work in Connemara,” stated Paraic. “We do a lot of one-off houses as well as school work and work for the OPW.”
The company employs ten direct, while they have a number of sub-contractors on the books that have been with them for many years now.
“A lot of the staff would be with us for years, while the sub-contractors would be similar. We know the quality of work they can do, and they know our expectations from them, so we work well together.
“We would have a good relationship with both our employees and the subcontractors which is very important as everyone has to be working together to ensure a project is completed to the highest standard possible.”
Paraic revealed that they are quite busy at the moment with a number of projects live including a school in Rosmuc, a number of private houses as well as work for the OPW.
“We are busy. We were off for about eight weeks during the lockdown, so we have been playing catch up since then, but there seems to be plenty of work out there. We are building a science lab in a secondary school in Rosmuc, while we have three private houses ongoing. Then we have a few small jobs for the OPW, so there is plenty to keep us going.”
AS CIF and CIRI members, Jackie Folan Limited is a company that does everything by the book as they have always been focused on the health and safety of their employees, but even more so due to the Covid-19 restrictions.
“We have put in place any regulations that needed to be implemented. The safety of our employees has always been a priority with the company and that has not changed.”
Paraic admitted that one issue within the construction industry which needs addressing is the lack of skilled workers available.
“It is hard to source skilled workers and it is becoming more and more of a problem. When the recession hit, a lot of lads either left the country and pursued other careers, while there were no apprentices going into the different trades, so there is a void there that needs to be filled.”
Overall though, Paraic is happy with the direction of the business as they continue to grow and their workload increases year on year.
“Yes, we would be pleased with how the business is going. A lot of our work comes through word of mouth. We would be working for many of the same clients for years now and we would have a good working relationship with them all.
“We have built our reputation on providing an excellent service, while completing all projects regardless of size to the highest standard possible. Our customers appreciate that and they know we will always get the job done on time and under budget where possible.”
Paraic revealed that from his father’s time, they always were conscious of growing too big and are happy to maintain their current level.
“We never stretched ourselves too much as we have never taken on jobs that we felt were beyond us. We have kept things tight and that has certainly stood to us. During the last recession, we had to scale back a bit and to be honest, we were barely ticking over, but we managed to come through it, and we are busy once again.”
There is no doubt that the future of the business is in safe hands as Paraic looks to build on his father’s legacy and continue to improve on their already high level of service.
“It is hard to know what the future holds, but at the moment there seems to be plenty of work on and hopefully that is the way it will be for a while yet. Like I said, we are happy with the direction that the business is going. Our repeat customers continue to come back to us, so we must be doing something right,” he concluded.
Contact Details:
Jackie Folan Limited
Carna,
Co. Galway,
H91 D456
Mob: 087 783 5810
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, January 2021, Vol 7 No 1
