Murphy New Homes has been one of Ireland’s leading one-off residential house builders for over 60 years. Also specialising in constructing small to medium-sized estates, the third-generation family business’ services range from designing your home and applying for planning permission right through to completing your new home on site.
Based in Banteer, Co. Cork, Murphy New Homes was founded by Sean and Noreen Murphy and is now fronted by their son Willie. Willie’s children Aisling, Aoife and Liam are also now in the business today. The company employs 50 people directly who are supported by 100 tried and trusted subcontractors who work mainly for Murphy New Homes. So, in total, 550 people are employed.
“My father built his first one-off house in Banteer in 1966 at a cost of £2,500. The same house would cost €244,000 to build today. That’s how much things have changed,” Willie says.
“Down through the years, we’ve become a one-stop shop for all your one-off residential house build needs. Everything is done inhouse. We have our own design, drawing, quantity surveying, planning, scheduling, purchasing, survey and percolation teams. Our brochure has 32 different house designs to choose from. Alternatively, we can design your dream home from scratch.
“We have 155 one-off new house builds that are either started or are in the planning stage. Our target for 2024 is 120 starts.”
Murphy New Homes builds houses for two distinct sectors – one-off residential builds and estates ranging from four to 80 units. The builder classifies a one-off house as a standalone project on a client-owned site. Its primary market for one-off is Co. Cork as well as parts of Limerick and Kerry. In fact, Murphy New Homes accounts for around 15% of all one-off houses built in Co. Cork every year.
Over the last 60 years, the family business has built a brand of being a very reliable and competent builder which builds homes of the highest quality. This legacy means that potential customers now approach Murphy New Homes about designing and building their home due to the public awareness of its stellar reputation. This brand is underpinned by the consistent high quality of the build and reputation for its after care service.
In recent years, the Co. Cork company has invested significant time and money in improving all of its methods of working so that it can provide an even higher quality of build, and also grow and expand the number of houses it can build in the sector. It also plans to explore opportunities in the one-off sector outside of its Cork heartland.
“Our success and longevity are down to our reputation for constantly producing the best build possible and our exceptional backup service and as a family-run business, customers have the peace of mind of knowing that we’re only a phone call away,” the affable Managing Director explains.
A recently completed flagship development Murphy New Homes built was Arbutus Montenotte. This stunning development of 16 high-end units in a much sought-after area of Cork city was shortlisted in the prestigious ‘Residential Project of the Year – Large’ category at the 2021 Irish Construction Industry Awards. The next estate after that was Barter’s Wood in Tower, Blarney. This development consisted of 54 units which were a mix of detached and semi-detached homes.
Current projects include a 16-unit development in Ballyclough, which is expected to be completed in early 2024, and a development of 25 detached homes in Curragh, Kanturk, that is expected to be completed by the end of 2024. In addition, planning has been secured for 44 units on the site of the old Sunset Ridge Hotel in Killeen’s, Cork city, and for 34 units at Kerry Pike just outside Cork city. The Sunset Ridge Hotel has now been demolished.
The demand for residential houses has never been greater in Ireland which is very positive for the sector. There are, however, many challenges involved in building a new house, including rising material costs, delays to the planning process and a lack of skilled and unskilled labour. Skilled professionals such as engineers, CAD technicians and quantity surveyors are difficult to come by.
To counteract this and to make construction more sustainable from an environmental point of view, Murphy New Homes intends embracing modern methods of construction.
“We have done a lot of research on different methods of modern and alternative construction and see it as one of the ways forward. It also reduces build time which is good news for people who are renting,” Willie continues.
“On the other hand, though, it is incredibly difficult to get a tried and tested system approved or over the line with the regulatory bodies here in Ireland. While timber frame is widely known as an alternative to block, other methods such as diverse types of modular or off-site construction are slow to be established into the mainstream, it is something that the Irish Government urgently needs to look at because at the moment. There is far too much red tape involved.”
As a business, Murphy New Homes is constantly striving to improve and stay ahead of the curve, and to be in a position to produce better results for its customers. The long-established company is proud of its reputation and exceptional customer service. It is a testament to its quality service and its ability to cater to each client’s individual budget that Murphy New Homes is now building homes for the second and third generation of its previous clients.
As Murphy New Homes continues to go from strength to strength, Willie would like to take this opportunity to thank his customers and suppliers for their continued support as well as the entire Murphy team for their hard work, dedication, and expertise.
Murphy New Homes
Clonmeen,
Banteer,
Co. Cork,
P51 TV08.
Tel: 029 56311
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.mgroup.ie
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, February 2024, Vol 10 No 2
