Along with being a familiar face from TV, builder Peter Finn is a company director at MDS Construction Ltd. The company has a history of delivering high-end projects on time, within budget and with a client-focused ethos.
Peter and his business partner Mark Flynn have adopted what they believe is a new and modern approach to how building your home or business premises should be carried out. They involve the client / buyer as much as possible in the build to ensure they’re getting a property that is tailored to their specific needs.
“COVID-19 has only accelerated this approach,” Peter says.
“It has changed everything, including our routines and how we live. People are spending more time at home now. Working from home has become the norm for many and has led to a need for office space in their homes. Clients / buyers want to incorporate their own elements into their house design.”
This autumn, MDS Construction will be launching (from plans) its new ‘A’ rated development ‘Ring Fort’, which is an exclusive development of 16 semi-detached homes in Rathmolyon, Co. Meath. The development will offer all the relaxation and serenity of a small town, with affordability and the convenience of access to Dublin city and county nearby. Everyone’s way of living is different, and Peter and Mark think it is only right that the buyer should have an influence on the layout of their new home. So they’re offering alternative internal layout options for those who buy off plan. DNG New Homes will be handling the sales on their behalf.
An ability and willingness to evolve and move with the times has been central to the MDS (Michael Duffy & Sons Construction Ltd) Construction success story. The company was set up in 1972 by Michael Duffy and after Michael passed away in 2005, Peter Finn and Mark Flynn took up the reins and have kept MDS on an upward trajectory by providing an unrivalled service to the construction industry. The services they offer include new builds, renovations, conservation, commercial fitouts and education sector projects.
Peter notes: “Mark and I joined MDS around 2001 and haven’t looked back since. We have over 50 years’ combined experience in construction. I served my apprenticeship as a carpenter with a small house builder and got an excellent education on the full house build concept before going out on my own for a few years. I then linked up with fellow tradesmen Mark and Michael to develop MDS Construction into one of the leading construction companies in the country.”
“We have developed strong and long-lasting relationships with clients and design teams that has attracted a lot of repeat business, which is testament to the quality of our work. It’s all about unity and we encourage an ethos of clients, design team and us as main contractors all working together towards a successful end goal.
“Having a good, solid team around you is crucial to the success of any business, and we haven’t been found wanting in that regard,” Peter adds. Passionate about high quality workmanship, MDS Construction employs 15 staff directly and also work closely with various proven & trusted sub-contractors.
“Along with our Financial Director Clara Flynn, we directly employ our own Projects manager / Surveyor, Civil engineer, office admin, site foremen and a team of highly skilled trades personnel. It’s a real team effort. We also enjoy an excellent working relationship with a number of top Designers, Architects and Engineers.”
MDS is a member of CIRI, CIF and Home Bond. From tender process to onsite management and on to the finished product, the MDS team ensures that the highest level of professionalism is there each step of the way.
MDS has an extensive portfolio of projects that showcase the high-level finished product it achieves every time. High-profile projects have included the recent refurbishment of the Treasury Room (which exhibits the Book of Kells) in Trinity College Dublin, the re-laying of the famous cobbles to the Front Square Trinity College, the complete restoration of No. 4 Merrion Square along with the completion of various other highly sensitive conservation projects in the greater Dublin/Kildare/Wicklow areas, the complicated relocating of the entire Fair City film set on the RTE Donnybrook Campus, renovation of a tenement house featured on the ‘Great House Revival’ TV show and, of course, the numerous projects that have featured on RTE through Peter’s TV work.
Peter has become something of a celebrity builder through his many television appearances over the years. He currently stars as co-presenter in the RTE makeover show ‘Home Rescue’ and completed numerous projects on ‘Room to Improve’ with Dermot Bannon.
‘Pete the Builder’ is currently filming the fourth season of the hit TV show ‘Home Rescue ’which is due to screen on RTE ONE in October of this year. Peter teams up with Architect & Designer Roisin Murphy to help homeowners across Ireland tackle their house design and clutter issues.
“We are only given three days to help people sort out their homes, so it is a real rollercoaster of emotions and battle against the clock,” he explains.
“Roisin comes up with the design concepts and then we do the construction surgery once the ‘Clutterbuster’ crew have cleared the way. There are always a few disagreements along the way but that is bound to happen in the pressure of a tight timeframe and an even tighter budget, but it is always very rewarding in the end when you see how much positivity the participants get from our work. We genuinely change the way they live.”
“I thoroughly enjoy the TV work and would like to think that I represent the construction industry in a positive light. It all started when I appeared in six episodes of ‘Room To Improve’ alongside Dermot Bannon. I wouldn’t let Dermot have his way all the time and the producers, Coco Television, must have liked that because they asked me work on the Home Rescue show on the back of it.”
Being a TV personality has opened many doors for Peter who is a brand ambassador for The Grafton Group and has partnered with other elite brands Helly Hansen Workwear and Festool Power Tools.
Peter enjoys keeping fit through Martial Arts at SBG HQ and also won an All-Ireland GAA football title with the Dublin Masters in 2018.
Mark Flynn may not enjoy the same profile as his business partner but is nevertheless well-known in the construction sector and is a major contributor in all MDS projects, often personally Project Managing the companies most sensitive projects. Outside of work, Mark is a leading member of the Dublin & Wicklow Mountain Rescue team and had the honour of being elected team leader to the group for numerous terms.
The partnership between Peter and Mark makes for a winning combination!
MDS (Michael Duffy & Sons) Construction Ltd
Inis House, Unit 13,
Old Quarry Campus,
Kilshane Park,
Blanchardstown,
Dublin 15.
Email: [email protected]
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, September/October, Vol 6 No 5
