As T&A Civil Engineering & Building Contractors celebrates 25 years as a limited company in 2026, the East Cork-based business is looking to the future as much as it reflects on its past.
Founded by Tom and Antoinette O’Donnell in 2001, the company has grown from a small family operation into one of Munster’s most respected civil engineering and building contractors.
Built on a reputation for quality workmanship, reliability and a hands-on approach, T&A has developed an impressive portfolio of projects across the residential, commercial and public sectors.
Now, as the business reaches this significant milestone, there is another important chapter beginning. Tom and Antoinette’s eldest son Chris is becoming increasingly involved in the company and is playing a major role in its continued development, ensuring that the next generation of the O’Donnell family is already helping to shape the future.
While T&A officially became a limited company in 2001, Tom’s experience in the industry stretches back further. Before establishing the business, he had spent years working as a sole trader, building a strong reputation throughout the region.
Coming from a dairy farming background, Tom originally combined agricultural work with construction before eventually making the decision to focus fully on the business as demand continued to grow.
“Opportunities were plentiful at the time. Resources were easier to secure, and skilled labour was far more accessible than it is in today’s market,” Tom recalled.
That decision to establish T&A as a limited company proved to be a defining moment. It allowed the business to move beyond the limitations of sole trading and compete for larger projects, while still retaining the personal service that had helped build its reputation.
Antoinette remembers that period as a challenging but exciting time.
“The early days certainly demanded a lot of hard work, especially while raising a young family and navigating the challenges of securing finance,” she explained. “However, because Tom had already built a strong personal reputation, transitioning from a sole trader to ‘T&A’ was a natural next step. Incorporating as a limited company was a turning point; it gave us a distinct corporate identity and opened the doors to tender for larger projects, particularly within the public sector.”
That progression has been reflected in the company’s growth over the past 25 years.
Today, T&A has a dedicated team of 28 direct employees. They are supported by a trusted network of subcontractors, many of whom have partnered with the business from the beginning.
The company’s workload covers a wide geographical area across Munster, with a strong presence throughout Cork and surrounding counties.
“The business operates across two core divisions,” Antoinette outlined. “Our Civil Engineering division manages essential infrastructure, including siteworks, roads, paths, paving, and base preparation. Parallel to this is our Residential division, which delivers private one-off homes and group housing schemes for both the private and public sectors.”
Beyond residential developments, the company’s capabilities extend to specialized builds. “We construct a variety of bespoke, turnkey homes, and we also regularly undertake capital works for schools and other commercial buildings,” she added.
Supporting this work is a modern fleet of plant and machinery, including 18 tracked machines, with the company investing heavily in reliable equipment to meet the demands of today’s construction sector.
Residential construction has become an increasingly important part of the business.
“We currently have a strong pipeline of private residential projects, specifically individual, bespoke houses,” Tom noted. “These include a mix of complete turnkey finishes and builder’s finish handovers. In addition to these private builds, we are also operating as the main contractor on several larger development sites.”
One of the company’s major ongoing projects is with Cirio Homes, where T&A is carrying out the civil engineering works associated with almost 400 homes across two developments between Cobh and Douglas.
The company is responsible for the complete civils package, including roads, paths and foundations, before progressing projects to the base level for ICF house construction.
Alongside its private sector work, T&A has also developed strong relationships with local authorities and public bodies.
“We just handed over a housing development to Cork County Council in Aghabullogue and we’re starting a new housing project in the next couple of weeks in Aghada for the Council as well,” Tom said.
The ability to deliver projects for a wide variety of clients has been one of the company’s strengths, allowing it to maintain a balanced workload across different areas of construction.
Like many companies operating in the sector, however, recruitment remains a major challenge.
“Labour now is our biggest drawback,” Tom explained. “We could take on twice the work now but labour shortage is restricting us.”
Despite those challenges, the company continues to move forward with a strong pipeline of work.
A major reason for T&A’s success has been its commitment to remaining closely involved with every project. Even as the company has expanded, Tom and Antoinette have maintained a direct involvement with clients and construction teams.
“We believe in doing the job right the first time,” Tom stated. “While challenges can arise on any project, our policy is to face them head-on. If an issue ever comes up, we return to the site immediately and resolve it without hesitation.”
That practical approach, combined with strong communication, has helped the company develop long-standing relationships with clients.
For Antoinette, communication is one of the most important aspects of the business, emphasized the vital role of communication across all levels, including employees, clients, suppliers, and subcontractors.
“A major frustration in our industry is unreturned calls,” she explained. “While we cannot always pick up immediately due to meetings or other commitments, we make it a strict policy to always return every call.
“Effective communication and truly listening to our clients’ requests are one of the cornerstones of our business.”
As T&A enters its next phase of development, succession planning is a key focus.
Chris O’Donnell, Tom and Antoinette’s eldest son, is now playing an increasingly important role within the company and is becoming central to its future direction.
Chris is central to driving the company forward. Having grown up in the business, Chris brings a lifetime of hands-on experience to his role as project manager. He serves as the primary point of contact for staff, clients, subcontractors, engineers, and suppliers.
According to Tom, Chris is “highly involved and driving it on very much at this stage.” This active management style reinforces T&A’s core family values while providing seamless continuity for all project partners.
In time, Chris will become the second generation of O’Donnells to lead the business, providing continuity for staff, clients and partners while ensuring the company’s core values remain unchanged.
Looking ahead, the outlook is extremely positive.
“If you look at what’s on the books, we’ve two years’ work or more in front of us,” Tom pointed out.
The ambition is to continue growing, secure larger projects and maintain the standards that have built the company’s reputation.
“The hopes for the business are to tender for larger scale projects and to ensure clients will put their trust in us to carry out the works,” Antoinette added.
“Celebrating 25 years in business is a milestone we couldn’t have reached alone. As a building and civil engineering company, our success relies entirely on the strength of our network. We are incredibly grateful to our dedicated office team, skilled site staff, trusted subcontractors, suppliers, engineers, and quantity surveyors.
“Most importantly, we thank our clients for their enduring trust. Every project is a collective effort, and we simply would not be here today without the hard work, loyalty, and expertise of everyone involved.”
After 25 years as a limited company, T&A Civil Engineering & Building Contractors remains a business built on strong foundations. From its origins as a sole trader operation to its current position as a respected Munster contractor, the company has grown through hard work, adaptability and a commitment to doing things properly.
With an experienced team, modern resources, a strong order book and the next generation already stepping forward, the future looks bright for T&A and the O’Donnell family.
T&A Civil Engineering and Building Contractors Ltd.
Main Street,
Conna,
Co. Cork,
P51 P5K2.
Tel: +353 (0) 58 69995
Mob: 087 8354284
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.tabuildingandcivilengineering.com
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, November 2026, Vol 12 No 12
featured, T&A Civil Engineering & Building Contractors
