Fast approaching four decades in business, Boyle Construction is a family-owned company which is renowned for its dynamic and innovative approach towards projects. Building Ireland caught up with Martin Callaghan (Contracts/Projects Manager) and Shaun Sweeney (Contracts/Projects Technical Manager) to learn all about the proud Co Donegal firm, its current projects and recent annual Irish Construction Industry (ICI) Awards.
These are busy times at Boyle Construction and the plan for directors Martin Boyle (MD) and Michael Boyle and the rest of the team in Letterkenny, Co Donegal is to try and keep things that way for the foreseeable future.
Established by Donal Boyle and Eugene Boyle in 1984, 2024 will see this thriving construction business marking the 40th anniversary since its inception and, safe to say, they’re as excited as ever about the future up in their headquarters at Letterkenny Business Park.
Boyle Construction currently employs 65 staff directly and is immersed in projects all throughout the country’s northwest region.
Building Ireland recently caught up with two of the team in Contracts/Projects Manager Martin Callaghan and Contracts/Projects Technical Manager Shaun Sweeney to discuss the ins and outs of the business and what separates it from the competition.
“The company was originally founded by Donal and Eugene Boyle and they have passed on the mantle to Donal’s sons, Martin and Michael Boyle,” outlined Callaghan, who is a graduate from Letterkenny RTC, Sligo RTC, Bolton Street and Trinity and has been with the Boyle Construction team since 2020.
“We’re one of the few main contractors that are homegrown operating in Letterkenny and the northwest, mainly focusing on from the north of Donegal right down to the south of Sligo.
“We do a lot of educational projects and work for the HSE as well. We have just finished the project in Ballyshannon and have another project on for the HSE at the moment, which is a multi-storey carpark at Sligo University Hospital.
“We also just finished a project for the Department of Education which was Block L in IT Sligo and have another school under construction in Letterkenny Town, a Special Needs school which is a €12m facility called ‘Little Angels Special School’.”
This past June also saw Boyle Construction completing a five month contract on a fit-out at the office of PGIM, which is the global asset management business of Prudential Financial, Inc, located at the IFA Business Park adjacent to its own head office.
The company has carried out projects for another nearby client in Zeus Industrial Products (Ireland) Ltd and are currently at the enabling works stage of a 6000m2 extension to the factory. Boyle Construction were also the main contractor on the award-winning work carried out at Donegal Town Garda Station in 2021.
“We very much focus on local construction with local contractors and local supply chains,” Callaghan pointed out.
“The majority of our staff are from the Donegal/Sligo region. We’re very proud of our roots here and we’re very proud to provide the services to the public bodies here in the county and further afield.”
A proud Donegal company, Boyle Construction employs locally. Martin and Shaun are both Tir Chonaill County natives, with the former having spent some 10 years working in Dubai before returning home and starting as a QS with the company prior to becoming its Contracts/Projects Manager.
Shaun, a qualified Civil Engineer from the University of Ulster (Jordanstown), initially ventured to Australia but returned to Donegal by the end of 2003. Upon his return, he continued his career by contributing to various significant construction projects in Northern Ireland and the Northwest, including the Letterkenny Town Centre Development at Pearse Road, Letterkenny. His journey with Boyle Construction commenced in 2010 when he joined the team for the construction of the new Primary Care Centre in Glenties. Over the years, Shaun has advanced within the company, currently holding the role of Contracts/Projects Technical Manager.
Both men were key components in the delivery of the award-nominated South Donegal Community Nursing Unit project in Ballyshannon at the beginning of this past summer. (Incidentally, so were Seamus McLaughlin, Commercial Manager, Jonathan McDaid, Senior QS, Gail Carson, Health & Safety Manager, Seamus McGlynn M&E Manager, Pauric Kelly, Fit-out Project Manager, Gavin Neely, Site Foreman, and Declan Callaghan, Civils Foreman.)
Contracts/Projects Manager Callaghan shared some of the details behind the work that went in to completing the state-of-the-art, 80-bed community nursing unit situated on the Shiel Hospital campus in Ballyshannon.
“It started in August 2020 and involved an enabling phase where we constructed a temporary facility off-site for the patients of the hospital. That took around five months and then the project started in earnest on the Shiel site in and around St Patrick’s Day 2021,” he explained.
“We then had to internally demolish the entire listed structure. We stripped it back to its bare bones, had to deal with 100-year-old staircases, feature arches and feature entrances that all had to be protected. The works included piling, under-pinning, soil nailing and shotcreting.
“The existing building was completely fitted out whilst at all times protecting the structure in every way from vibration and it was quite a development, bringing it up to current standards and specification especially around the area of fire, and then constructing two brand new three-storey wings and a complementary link structure to connect the old to the new.
“This involved every form of technical construction that you could imagine. The new build element was straightforward versus that work that had to be done to the existing structure.
“We finished the project in May of 2023 and it’s not far off the €30m mark.”
Such was the success of the project that it was nominated for an award at this year’s Irish Construction Industry (ICI) Awards in its Contractor Health/Education Project of the Year category.
The announcement of the winners took place at a ceremony on Thursday, November 2nd at a Black-Tie Ceremony at the Mansion House in Dublin and Boyle Construction were very much honoured to be part of the occasion.
“From our knowledge, we’ll be one of the first Northwest entities to be shortlisted for a national level award,” said Callaghan.
“We’re not aware of any Donegal companies being nominated for anything like this in the past and we have had many local representatives approach us since the nomination and the whole community got behind us.”
So, all of that considered, the burning question is what has been the secret behind Boyle Construction’s longevity and ultimate success over these past four decades?
Shaun Sweeney, a dedicated team member for 13 years, firmly believes that the team’s outstanding reputation with clients is a direct result of the high-quality work they’ve consistently delivered. He emphasizes the collaborative approach with the design team in resolving any issues and providing proactive solutions to prevent problems from arising. Consequently, the design teams have consistently expressed their satisfaction, and they have readily recommended the team for other projects.
Callaghan added: “The company is a homegrown family business and, of course, relationships are key. We have forged fantastic relationships in the health service, the Department of Education and in the local architectural practices.
“We pride ourselves in providing a friendly professional service. If we run into any problems or issues on our projects, we approach the client very fairly and even handed. We have never once been involved in a dispute with any of our customers or had major problems with clients and we are quite proud of that.”
He concluded: “There are no smoke and mirrors with Boyle Construction. We are open and transparent in our dealings and that pays dividends for repeat business.”
Following on from the success of the South Donegal CNU, Boyle Construction have been shortlisted for appointment to the landmark project, the new 100,000 sq ft. 110-bed Community Nursing Unit (CNU) in Letterkenny valued at upwards of €50 million. This appointment signifies the company’s continued growth in the construction sector and the positive outlook for construction in the northwest for the coming years.
Boyle Construction
Letterkenny Business Park,
Ballyraine,
Letterkenny,
Co Donegal
F92 A466
Tel: +353 (0)74 91 37899
Fax: +353 (0)74 91 37820
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.bc.ie
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, January 2024, Vol 10 No 1
