Cavan-headquartered S&A Construction has established an excellent reputation over the decades for delivering a vast array of exceptional projects across all sectors. Building Ireland touched base with John McKiernan to get an update on this industry-leading family business, which has been particularly busy completing a series of stunning hospitality and healthcare projects of late.
Since its genesis in 1990, S&A Construction Ltd. has set the standard in delivering outstanding construction solutions, providing a complete one-stop shop service in-house, covering everything from site clearance and civils to handing over the key.
Proven specialists in commercial refurbishments, S&A boast an enviable track record in delivering all types of construction projects across the commercial, industrial, hotel and leisure, education and residential sectors.
Renowned for completing high-quality extensions, refurbs and fit outs – invariably carried out with the keenest attention to detail and meticulous workmanship – the highly-regarded Ballinagh-based general contractor has consistently delivered a large number of prestigious projects within the hospitality sector down through the years.
Recently, S&A had the distinction of delivering a much-needed extension to Millbury Nursing Home in Navan, County Meath. This extensive single-storey extension comprised a separate new building which doubles the capacity of the facility from 66 to 132 beds. True to form, S&A Construction were able to provide full services from start to finish, including all groundworks, installation of modular units, full fit out and landscaping, etc.
“It was a twelve-month project and we actually came in ahead of schedule on that one,” reflects John McKiernan. “At the peak, we would have had up to 65 men on site at Millbury and it worked out very well.”
One of the reasons why all projects undertaken are successfully finished to complete client satisfaction is that S&A Construction are not just builders. They also manage all their projects professionally, engage with clients, and have the machinery and manpower to provide full civils packages.
Another recently-completed project is the spectacular top-to-bottom overhaul of the new Laszlo’s Bar & Restaurant, which is part of Arthaus Hotel behind Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre in Dublin 2 – a project carried out in a live environment while the hotel remained open, without any complaints or incidents, with Health & Safety as ever a key consideration.
As we write, S&A are embarking on further prestigious projects, including office fit outs and a large commercial extension.
None of this would be possible without good staff and S&A Construction are very lucky in this regard, according to John: “We have a loyal team of 19 full-time staff at the minute and that’s growing all the time. Some of those people have been with us since the beginning. They are skilled and experienced and always bring the keenest attention to detail to their work. Everything is finished to the highest standard and everybody knows their role within the team and performs it to perfection.”
Having direct and immediate access to their own plant and machinery is another major asset… “We handle all civils and have a large civils department,” John confirms. “We have everything from one-tonne to 20-tonne diggers and all other machinery as well as expert operators for every piece of equipment. Having our own civils department means we can literally cover everything from start to finish, between our own employees and a team of excellent subcontractors that we have been using for years.”
In terms of catchment area, S&A Construction can cover everywhere from Cavan to Dublin and all surrounding counties. At the time of writing, they were active on projects in counties Longford, Meath, Dublin and Louth.
“We recently refurbished the Four Seasons Hotel in Carlingford and were back in the Slieve Russell fitting out a new bar, while we did a full refurb of the bedrooms at the Hotel Kilmore.
“We also recently returned for the second time to Clontarf Castle, refurbishing more rooms. A lot of this work is carried out with people staying in the rooms next door and our staff know how to manage and facilitate that. Health & Safety is paramount in the construction industry now and we take it extremely seriously.
“Our Health & Safety is implemented to a very high standard and we are constantly training and upskilling our staff through a variety of courses. There’s always some form of training taking place here and that’s a very important part of the business.”
S&A Construction has been leading the way in providing complete building solutions for more than three decades and the structures are in place to ensure that this vastly-experienced, client-focussed, second-generation family business continues to set the standards going forward.
S&A Construction Ltd.,
Garrymore,
Ballinagh,
County Cavan.
Tel: 087 7750178
Email: [email protected]
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, December 2022, Vol 8 No 12
