Established in 2015, Griffin Gaughan Ltd specialises in extension and renovation work from its base in Menlo village outside Galway City. Building Ireland recently touched base with company co-director David Gaughan to find out all about what is very much a thriving business.
This past August saw Griffin Gaughan Ltd mark five years as a Limited company and the plan for directors Eddie Griffin and David Gaughan is to continue moving their firm in the right direction.
Based in Monument, Menlo, Co Galway, Griffin Gaughan Ltd specialises in extension and renovation work all throughout Galway city and its outskirts.
Eddie and David started up as sole traders a little under a decade ago and have managed to grow their venture to the point now where they are now busier than ever, despite months of lockdown and worldwide impact of the Covid-19 pandemic this year.
Building Ireland caught up with David Gaughan to learn all about the ins and outs of the business and more on some of the projects the company currently has on-going.
“We’re based in the Menlo village outside Galway City and we’ve been a limited company since 2015,” David outlined.
“There’s just myself and Eddie Griffin here and we would have started as sole traders in 2011, focusing on extensions and renovations.
“That’s really our bread and butter here and it’s what we’d be known for with our clients more than anything else.”
Indeed, the company has amassed a glowing reputation for its extension and renovation work on projects all over Galway City.
It has helped to grow Griffin Gaughan Ltd into the business it is today, as the company is currently thriving with on-going projects for clients in Ireland’s sixth largest city.
It’s all a far cry from where David and Eddie started out in this line of work, having known each other from quite a young age.
“Sure look, I’ve been building since I was knee high,” David explained.
“Eddie and I would have gone to play school together. He’s a carpenter by trade and we took the decision back in 2011 to set up the company together.”
It hasn’t been one they regretted thus far, with business seemingly growing year on year for Griffin Gaughan Ltd since its inception.
“To be honest, it’s fairly busy here all the time,” David beamed.
“It’s all word of mouth for us because we don’t really advertise and we’d a good couple of years to get it off the ground before we became limited.”
Right now, the company is finishing off work on a new build project in Galway and is also immersed in a renovation project.
The vast majority of projects that Griffin Gaughan Ltd undertake are inside Galway, while the others are located on the outskirts of the city.
As 2021 nears closer, business could simply not be better for the company according to David, who is cautiously optimistic about the months ahead.
“It’s good enough now in that we’ll be busy with projects up to Christmas, but I suppose it’s still hard to know what next year will be like,” he said.
“Lockdown definitely had an effect on us because we would have had seven weeks or so where we were shut down.
“Since May 18th though, we’ve been absolutely flat out so we can’t complain about that.
“Hopefully, we can stay busy for the months ahead and the whole situation (with the Covid-19 pandemic) improves.”
2021 will mark a decade since David and Eddie took the decision to go out on their own as sole traders and, to date, things have gone very much according to script for the two business partners.
So, what has been the secret to success thus far?
For David, quality has always been key as well as maintaining a strong relationship with clientele.
“I suppose it’s the fact that we are just easy to get on with here,” he stated plainly.
“We would feel that we do good work here and I guess that helps you to stay in touch with clients over the years.
“Hopefully, things continue on that way here and we can keep satisfying clients with our work.”
Things are certainly looking good for the company as a fresh year approaches.
More projects are on the way for Griffin Gaughan Ltd and that’s a testament to the excellent work the business has carried out to date.
Looking ahead to the coming months in what are uncertain and unprecedented times, David himself is optimistic.
“We’ll be hoping to get more work and just keep tipping away,” he said.
“Hopefully the situation with Covid won’t affect things too badly and it can improve overall next year, because it certainly has had its affect throughout this year.
“Supplies and materials have slowed down a good bit and that’s having its own effect, but we’ll just have to try and keep the head down. That’s all you can really do.”
Hear, hear.
Griffin Gaughan Ltd
Monument,
Menlo,
Co Galway
Mobile: 087 771 3259
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, March, Vol 7 No 3
