Based in Dingle, Co Kerry, John McKenna Developments (Kerry) Ltd provides its customers with the full range of industry-leading construction services, including new builds, extensions, renovations, commercial projects and private residential developments. Building Ireland caught up with Managing Director John McKenna to hear more about this thriving construction firm which first became a limited venture a quarter century ago.
Business is good these days at John McKenna Developments (Kerry) Ltd and the plan for its namesake proprietor and the rest of the team in Lougher, Annascaul, Co Kerry is to try and keep things that way right through to next year.
Established as a limited company in 1999, the roots of the business date back to the 1980s when John McKenna had served his apprenticeship as a carpenter before expanding into general building.
Since then, the Kingdom native hasn’t looked back as his company has delivered excellent projects all throughout the county (and beyond its borders), earning an excellent reputation for its work along the way.
Building Ireland spoke with John recently to learn about the projects they are currently involved in down in Dingle and the overall hopes he has for his business going forward.
“I suppose I’m at this nearly 40 years now and, at the moment, it’s all subcontractors that I use here,” he outlined.
“We’re busy now at the moment. We did a job in Dingle that was open in July last year and we’re actually back in it now doing a restaurant there which will be opening soon.
“The virtual experience that we had worked on last year is called ‘Wave Dingle’, but I don’t know exactly what the restaurant is being called yet.”
Wave Dingle, also known as just ‘WAVE’, was the brainchild of the Keane family, whose business, Ó’ Catháin Iasc Teo, is the main processor and exporter of fish in Dingle.
It’s a family fun experience housed in the former fish processing plant in Dingle that enables its visitors to discover the ocean world off the Dingle coast in a unique, immersive experience, seeing it through the eyes of the men and women who have fished off these shores for millennia.
The project was one that John McKenna Developments (Kerry) Ltd were both delighted and proud to be a part of, as they fully completed works on it last summer.
Indeed, leaving a good job behind on every project, large or small, on a consistent basis has been a key component to the company’s success down through the years.
Repeat business and referrals through positive word of mouth is what sees John now operating with over four decades of experience in the trade.
Right now, he and his team are immersed in a nine-unit housing project on the outskirts of the Dingle peninsula which is set to be fully completed by the end of this year.
“We’ve another one going on in the Dingle there at the moment which is nine houses and it should be finished by Christmas,” John stated.
“There are always smaller jobs coming up for us but, after that, there’s nothing big at the moment here other than what we’re already on. It’s mostly renovations going on here at the moment because the new private houses are gone a bit quiet.”
At John McKenna Developments (Kerry) Ltd, the services on offer for clients include everything from new builds to extensions, renovations and conversions, covering both domestic and commercial properties.
Coupled with those services is the company’s capability to take on and professionally deliver private multi-unit housing developments, and, by 2025, it is set to have another completed development to add to its impressive project portfolio.
So, all of that considered, the burning question is what has been the secret behind John McKenna Developments (Kerry) Ltd’s success to date?
How has a small start-up grown into what is now a thriving general building firm that holds a golden reputation amongst its customers?
The way John sees it, it comes down to a combination of different factors, but he points to two in particular as having stood to him most down through the years.
“We do get a lot of repeat business where we are and doing work for them for the last 20 years you could say nearly,” the Kerry man pointed out.
“Maybe they find us reliable. I’d say reliability would be a lot of it and then prices as well, we try and stay competitive when it comes to that as well.”
Along with the reliability and competitive rates that his company offers, John also regularly engages the services of a tried-and-trusted team of subcontractors.
Generally, he tends to bring in the same subbies to his jobs time and again as he knows that they are reliable and produce quality work on projects.
Looking at the months ahead for his business, John is as optimistic as ever going forward as his company continues to deliver quality projects in the south west.
“You’d be hoping that things keep going the way that have been for us. We’ll keep going, we’re not stopping at all and we’ll just take on what we can and just keep it going,” he concluded.
John McKenna Developments (Kerry) Ltd,
Lougher,
Annascaul,
Co Kerry
Tel: 087 287 4442
Email: [email protected]
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, September 2024, Vol 10 No 9
