Synonymous with workmanship of the highest order delivered with the keenest attention to detail and a personal touch, M&Q Construction is an exceptional family-run main contractor operating out of Newcastle West in County Limerick. The Quilligan family, who run the company, are also well-known in local GAA circles.
Delivering dream homes is what the Quilligan family and M&Q Construction are all about. The genesis of this industry-leading second-generation contracting company dates back three and a half decades and they have completed a spectacular portfolio of residential new build, extension and renovation projects across Limerick and beyond during this time.
Thomas Quilligan, who runs the business today alongside his brothers Michael, Darragh and their father Michael (Mike), says the ethos of looking after homeowners has always been to the forefront of everything M&Q does and stands for:
“As a family business first and foremost, thankfully we have always maintained very good relationships with all of our customers. The way we were brought up and the mantra that was passed down to us was that, at the end of the day, we are there to do a job and we have to do it properly and work with people.
“You have to remember when you are building a house that this is going to be your customers’ forever home. If there are changes that the client wants to make halfway through, it can be annoying, but you have to accommodate them and work with them any way you possibly can. It’s their home and we are there to get it ready for them.
“There’s always a chance that they are going to make changes along the way. This isn’t ideal but it’s all about keeping your customers happy. The changes can be large or small and they are generally never as straightforward as the client expects … sometimes they understand this and sometimes they don’t, but we always go out of our way to work with them and make sure to come around that corner nice and easy.”
The genesis of M&Q Construction goes back 35 years to when Mike Snr. initially started up a shop-fitting business alongside his brother-in-law, before breaking off on his own into building. Thomas, a carpenter by trade, who worked alongside his Dad during summer holidays from school and weekends going back as far as he can remember, officially joined full-time in 2009, a couple of years after his older brother Mike Jnr. Ypunger brother Darragh is also on board and the directly-employed full-time line-up is completed by Mike Snr. and a vastly-experienced in-house carpenter who has been part of the team since 2010, plus an apprentice.
When it comes to bespoke turnkey new builds, M&Q Construction invariably pull out all the stops. “We build from scratch and can provide everything from a builder’s finish to a turnkey finish. Mike is a plasterer and I’m on a roof today but could be helping him with plastering tomorrow. We have all the skills ourselves and cover a broad range of project types.
“As well as new builds, extensions and refurbishments, we also do a lot of work in this side of the country for Mac Zero, the modular homes experts. We’ve recently finished work out the back of their new modular building at Rathkeale Secondary School. We also carried out demolition work on an old building for BWG at Eurospar in Rathkeale, so it’s anything from commercial work to building a home or a feature wall inside. There’s nothing we can’t do.”
Generally, the work is delivered within a 60-minute radius of home, although a recent project has taken the M&Q Construction crew slightly further field, to Tower in North Cork. With regards to the extended team of tried and trusted subcontractors used, Thomas notes:
“We all fall in together nicely on the various sites and we always end up using the same lads time and time again because we know them and they know us. You don’t need a huge crew once you are organised.”
A healthy work-life balance is very important and Thomas keeps himself busy serving as a retained firefighter as well as his GAA activities – playing senior football and hurling for the local club. “The firefighting is something I really enjoy because it’s always nice coming back after helping somebody out. Myself, Mike and our father are also big into the GAA, which has been a massive part of our lives.
“In 2015, Dad managed us to our first Limerick senior football championship since 1992, and we’ve done alright since, winning four more. Michael also coached the Limerick ladies for the past two years and we just love being involved in the GAA.”
Sport is good for nurturing teamwork and those skills can of course be carried over into any business. “The GAA is very special, well it is in our club anyhow. When you have a good bond between the members of the team, you are up five points before you even start. The club is a big part of our lives and is always there for everybody, to make sure everyone is alright. It’s a good interest to have and you can definitely take a lot of learnings from it into work. It’s all going well for us, anyway, so we are happy with that.”
At M&Q Construction, things are brisk and busy, as indeed they have been since Thomas joined the family business 16 year ago: “We have always been busy, even through the recession. I started my apprenticeship at the start of the recession and have never once been off because we didn’t have any work on. Granted, you could be at home because it’s raining, but we always have work. There’s always something happening and we have never found ourselves under pressure looking for work.”
That’s a direct consequence of the Quilligans’ approach of always looking after customers. “In fairness, I think any reputable builder will go out and try to do their best when they run into problems that need to be sorted,” Thomas concludes. “There aren’t any problems that can’t be fixed, so it all comes down to your attitude and being prepared to work with customers and take the stress out of their lives.
“Building a house can be very stressful for the client and it is a massive investment. There is going to be a lot of anxiety and stress from their side and you have to do everything you can to talk to them and take away or minimise as much of that stress as you can. Some of these people won’t know the first thing about building, but they are investing in you to wield your experience and expertise to give them a dream home. That has to be your main focus.”
M&Q Construction,
Newcastlewest,
County Limerick.
Tel: 086 0773956
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, March 2026, Vol 12 No 3
