Quirkes Homevalue Centre in Cahirciveen, Co Kerry provides its customers with a wide range of best-value and high-quality building materials. Building Ireland learned all about the operation from its owner Matt Quirke, who has been immersed in the business for nearly three decades now.
Based in the Deelis, Cahirciveen, Co Kerry, Quirkes Homevalue Centre is fast approaching 30 years in business.
Matt Quirke set-up the hardware end of the group after coming home from England in 1990 and today Quirkes Homevalue Centre is known for only sourcing from the most reputable brands, companies, factories and distributors.
They will provide you with a wide range of the most high quality building materials, such as timber, lead, fixings, adhesives, ironmongery, locks, aggregates (in one ton bags) blocks, bricks, gutters, mesh, rebar, steel, lintels, Toffolo expansion joints, felt, a full range of adhesives and silicone, fencing, roofing, cladding.
It’s a far cry from when the Quirke family first started out in this line of work, as Matt himself explained when Building Ireland caught up with the Co Kerry native recently.
“The business originally started off with my father from block-making,” he outlined.
“I came home from England in 1990 and opened up the hardware store. I went on and joined AHL in 1995 and things grew from there. After the turn of the millennium, the population started to come back in this rural area from England and America and right now we’re quite busy.
“We’re employing 10 people here and almost all of our customers would be local. We have the full shop for them here – from the foundations to when you put the key in the door.”
Indeed all of Quirkes Homevalue Centre’s suppliers meet the highest modern standards in terms of, safety, appearance, durability and the environment.
Quirkes Homevalue Centre is a member of the Associated Hardware Homevalue group which means that, as members of that group, they can use their shared knowledge and buying power to deliver the right products at competitive prices.
The store’s competitive pricing has become somewhat renowned around the south Kerry region and, looking at 2018, Matt says he can’t have much complains about how business went throughout the year.
“It has come on. We’ve plenty of vacant houses and schools so we now have to base ourselves on tourism,” he stated.
“Our biggest work would be on individual one-off houses. Housing is so cheap in south Kerry right now that you have a lot of old houses being purchased and then renovated.”
Quirkes Homevalue Centre itself had to do a bit of renovating back in 2011 when a fire “absolutely wiped out everything”, as Matt himself puts it.
The company rebuilt its premises in full over the year-and-a-half with the feeling that they’d erected one of the best presented builders providers and homeware centres in the country, and it’s still the feeling to this day.
It’s part of the Quirke family’s intriguing history over the past four decades, with the group itself having originally been founded by in the 1970s, as it build on the foundation started by Frank Quirke who founded Michael F Quirke and Sons in 1951.
The Quirke Group, via Michael F Quirke and Sons, based at Rangue, Killorglin, Co Kerry, supplies concrete, blocks and aggregates to the building industry in Kerry, Cork and Limerick.
Quirke Builders Providers was established by Matt Quirke in 1990. The company provides a wide range of materials to the construction sector, as well as providing a full retail service for the home-ware and DIY customer.
In 1995, Quirkes Builders Providers joined the Associated Hardware Homevalue association. Being members of that group allows them to secure the knowledge and economies of a large group and pass those benefits to their customers while retaining their independence.
In 2007, Quirkes Builders Providers entered an arrangement with Micapel Slate of Brazil whereby Quirkes have exclusive rights in Ireland to the full range of first class natural slate products provided by this excellent supplier.
Following the fire which unfortunately happened in the Deelis premises seven years later, the Quirkes rebuilt and are still very much proud of the role that they play in supplying their local community.
They take an active role in supporting community groups in the locality and also provide a delivery service to the entire south Kerry region.
“The Quirkes have been involved in construction since my father’s time,” Matt proudly stated.
“We provide a very good service and the Quirke family staff are always on hand here for our customers. We’ve good delivery drivers here and a workforce that is spread all over south Kerry.
“The fire that we had here in 2011 was devastating but we got great help from our customers after it. Through their loyalty and words of encouragement, we kept it going and everything worked out in the end thankfully.
“At the time, I was saying to myself am I right in the head to be going out again, but I’d delighted that I did.”
The rebuild has certainly paid off and Matt has ensured to give back to the local community where he can…
“We do sponsor a lot of community stuff here. A lot of local clubs whether it be GAA, fishing or whatever – it’s healthy habit,” he said.
“You have to support local and, if you do, they’ll support you. We feel we have everything our customers need here. We can offer them steel all the way through the house to paint, basically everything.”
So, if you’re looking for a wide range of best-value and high-quality building materials, be sure to call in to the modern, comfortable and easy to use premises at Quirkes Homevalue Centre today where you will find the knowledgeable and friendly staff ready to help you with your building and homeware needs.
Quirkes Homevalue Centre
Deelis
Cahirciveen
Co. Kerry
Tel: 066 947 2087
Taken from Building Ireland Magazine, March/April, Vol 5 No 3
