Celebrating 30 years in business, Duane Construction Ltd is one of the best-known construction companies in the west of Ireland. Building Ireland learned all about the highly-respected business recently from its owner and founder, Seán Duane.
When Seán Duane founded Duane Construction Ltd back in 1989, it was a business venture which he very much built from the ground up.
Now, an even three decades on, it’s an award-winning company which has become known for its construction of high quality residential and commercial buildings in and around Galway.
Since ‘Day One’, Seán and the team at Duane Construction Ltd have always prided themselves on three things; the quality of the work they carry out, the depth and experience they provide and the honesty with which they approach each and every job.
Seán Duane himself was good enough to take time out from a hectic schedule as of late to fill Building Ireland in on what his company’s all about, along with some of the recent projects they’ve been working on lately.
“We’re based in Gortroe, Ardrahan, Co Galway and we’re established 30 years now,” he explained. “Right now we have 15 direct employees and then could have anything up on 60 with subbies here.
“We’d be working on hotels, churches, and a lot of private work – everything in the construction game. It’s mainly housing we’re doing right now.
“I like the restoration work as well. We always had a big interest in that kind of work and the detail of it, so we’ve a good bit of work on with it at the minute.”
And ‘work’ is something Seán has simply never shied away from throughout his entire life, having left school in his mid-teens before becoming immersed in the construction industry and then starting up his own company.
From there, Duane Construction Ltd grew year on year as it began to gain notoriety around the west of the county for the quality of its work and all-round professional service.
For Seán, the company’s growth and success is something he and his family are hugely proud of.
“I’ve no college degrees. I left school when I was 16 and I’m turning 64 this year,” he stated plainly.
“Myself and my wife Mary are the directors of the company, which we started in 1989, and we’ve together managed to grow it to where it is today.”
Seán’s daughter Michelle also works with the company, which serves to further strengthen its status as a family business, and the success of this business has been attributed to the hard working team of highly qualified professionals and industry veterans which Duane Construction Ltd employs.
Couple this with the fact that the company has built long-lasting relationships with some of the country’s most talented and conscientious building professionals, and it’s not hard to see why this firm has remained at the forefront of the Irish construction industry in terms of technical capability and adaptability.
Right now business is quite good, according to Duane Construction’s owner and founder.
“It’s good now. We have a lot of housing projects on at the moment, including seven town houses on Presentation Road,” Seán said.
“We’ve a 41-housing project in Oranmore and another 12-house project going on just outside the city as well.
“We’re also working on new offices at Sean Dockery Architects, who would be a well-known architect in Galway city. It’s a rebuild project and we’ve also worked for architects like S. Hanniffy and Associates and Helena McElmeel in the past.
“O’Neill-O’Malley are clients we’ve worked for as well along with Gerard Carr & Associates and John Britton Consulting.”
Duane Construction remains very much proud of what they build and the work it has carried out around Galway and played a big part in shaping the landscape of the county’s villages, towns and the city itself.
From the construction of contemporary dwellings and commercial premises to the careful restoration of historically important buildings, the company’s construction and renovation capabilities are on display all across Galway city and county.
To put it simply, honesty, a strong work ethic and dogged determination in the face of highly technical challenges have ensured the continued success of Duane Construction.
So what is it that has the company’s clients choosing them first ahead of other competitors out there?
For Sean, it comes down to a combination of factors, with value for money and that personal touch each playing as big a part as anything else.
“It might come down to our pricing,” he said. “I think I suited this business right to the ground when I started it. We’re hands on here and make on the spot decisions.
“Every day brings up a new challenge that you have to deal with – from a Kango hammer to talking to the neighbours. You have to deal with people every day and I think we’ve always done that well here.”
He added: “I’ve really embraced the internet over the last few years and have found that it’s great for construction work. Our website (www.duaneconstruction.com) has been going well and you can see the projects that we’ve completed on there.”
In June, Duane Construction’s efforts were recognised on a national scale when they were nominated at the prestigious Irish Construction Industry Awards.
The company was nominated for Conservation Project of the Year for its work on Aran Sweater Market in Galway city and, while it missed out on the night at Dublin’s Citywest Hotel, the nomination itself was a proud achievement nonetheless.
Last year saw the same project winning the Engineers Ireland Heritage and Conservation Award for Heritage & Conservation, with the award itself being presented to Tobin Consulting Engineers and ACP Architectural Conservation Professionals for excellence in design and delivery.
It was a project which marked an important social, cultural and economic development milestone for the famous Medieval Quarter of Galway city. Having been completed in July 2018, archaeologists unearthed a substantial foundation, of what is currently believed to be the oldest known evidence of building in Galway and this foundation is believed to be that of the first Norman stronghold in the city.
“The award project has a tremendous history. Honestly, I don’t pass much remarks on them (awards) but if they come up that’s great,” said Seán.
“The award we won in 2016 was a big one for us and the award in November last year wasn’t for your typical construction project, so it’s nice to get that recognition too.”
In 2016, there was success for Duane Construction at the 34th annual Irish Concrete Society Awards with their project Canal House, having been selected from a total of seven entries.
It recognised excellence in both design and construction in concrete, with the jury having reviewed 26 projects over three award categories – Elemental, Infrastructure and Building.
Going on form, it’s safe to say that the awards just might keep coming for Duane Construction given the excellent work the firm continues to carry out year after year.
Qualities are found all across the company and its technical staff and construction team approach every project with the same attitude that has made this business what it is today.
Duane Construction guarantees clients a high quality build supported by an efficient service based on trust and honesty, so be sure and give them a call for all your construction needs today!
Duane Construction Ltd
Gortroe,
Ardrahan,
Co Galway
Mobile: 087 259 4453
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: www.duaneconstruction.com
Taken from Building Ireland Magazine, August, Vol 5 No 8
