Celebrating 40 years in business, Murphy & Kelly (Thomastown) Ltd is a leading mechanical contracting solutions provider which has experienced unprecedented growth in recent times.
A one-stop shop specialising in the supply and installation of heating, plumbing, ventilation, air conditioning, renewable energy, oil and gas systems, the Co. Kilkenny-based company has doubled its workforce from 57 to over 100 in the past 18 months alone. Co-founder Denis Kelly continues to run the family business along with his son Steven and nephew Dean Kelly. Their top-class team is supported and supplemented by a select group of tried and trusted subcontractors.
The award-winning company is active across many sectors and works alongside all the main contractors, including John Sisk & Son, Duggan Brothers, JJ Rhatigan, Mythen Construction, Townmore Construction and Tom O’Brien Construction.
“We’re delighted to celebrate 40 years in business. It’s a great milestone to reach, especially when you consider the many challenges we’ve had to come through over the years,” director Steven Kelly enthuses.
“It’s an exciting time for us. Not only has our mechanical services department grown in recent years but we’ve also further developed our ventilation department, ventilation management and fabrication workshop operations, doubling our staff numbers in the process. We’ve invested heavily in new machinery and technology, including modernising our CNC plasma cutters. We’re going from strength to strength. I would put that down to the quality of our work and the huge amount of repeat business we get.
“We’ve come a long way since Denis Kelly and Eamonn Murphy – who retired in 2011 – started out with three or four staff in 1985. Central to our success has been the loyalty of our people. They’re our greatest asset. We look after them and they look after us.
“We have three crews operating out of Dublin, Cork and Thomastown. Thomastown is centrally located in the South East, between Dublin and Cork where most of our work is concentrated.
“We’re also very proud of the long-lasting relationships we have forged with our valued subcontractors and suppliers. We’d be nothing without them either,” adds Steven, who is primarily responsible for estimating, purchasing and quality control.
Murphy & Kelly prides itself on being trustworthy and efficient. A partnership with the company will give you peace of mind and a one point of contact for all your mechanical services requirements. It has successfully completed a long list of prestigious projects ranging from schools and colleges to hotels, healthcare centres, churches and car showrooms. Among its current projects are Thomastown Community Nursing Unit, CBS Kilkenny, Central Hotel in Dublin, Waterpark College in Waterford and Nenagh Primary Care Centre.
Thomastown Community Nursing Unit (CNU) consists of 95 ensuite bedrooms with a working kitchen, day rooms, dining rooms and family rooms. LPHW and domestic hot water is generated by three air source heat pumps and back-up with five LPG boilers. Each ensuite bedroom has a dedicated HRU.
The Thomastown CNU is one of seven CNU’s being delivered by Sisk through PPP (Public Private Partnership) throughout Ireland as part of the HSE’s CNU programme. The programme will deliver residential care facilities comprising both short and long-stay beds at facilities across the country. To maximise the use of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) techniques, the building superstructures are being manufactured off-site using precast concrete. When complete, the building will be A2 Building Energy Rating (BER) minimum. The consultant engineer on this project is EDC.
Another current project that’s close to home is CBS Kilkenny. This is a new three-storey building providing classrooms, specialist rooms, fitness suites, GP area, PE hall and multiple external sports playing areas, including a new link road to the school. The main contractor is JJ Rhatigan, while the consultant engineer is Lawler Consulting. LPHW and domestic hot water is generated via high efficiency air source heat pumps and backed up with two LPG boilers.
Murphy & Kelly is also collaborating with Duggan Brothers and IN2 on the complete refurbishment of the existing Central Hotel in Exchequer Street, Dublin. The project consists of 129 suites over five floors along with a basement nightclub, ground floor bars, restaurant and café. A green approach is the centre of attention here with all LPHW and DHW needs being generated via rooftop heat pumps and PV panels. No fossil fuels will be used on site as all kitchen equipment will run on electricity also in lieu of gas. With client comfort in mind, all equipment is designed to run with as little noise as possible, with all ducting and plenums acoustically lined for further noise reduction.
Waterpark College in Waterford is a new three-storey school extension project being delivered in conjunction with Mythen Construction and Hayes Higgins Partnership. The extension will provide additional classrooms and specialist classrooms such as home economics, science labs and construction study rooms along with the complete refurbishment of the existing 1939 building, 2000 building and sports hall.
Furthermore, Murphy & Kelly is the mechanical contractor on the Nenagh Primary Care Centre project. This is a two-storey new build for Tusla services with seven new heat pumps located on the roof (five LPHWs and two DHWs). Segregated shared space over the two floors allows for combined use by Tusla and HSE to provide much-needed Tusla operating offices along with additional clinic spaces for the local community. Townmore Construction is the main contractor with Woods PS the consultant engineer.
Some of Murphy & Kelly’s recently completed projects include Roscrea Primary Care Centre (Townmore Construction), Mountrath Modular School (Vision-Built) and Newtown Modular School, Waterford (Vision-Built) as well as the refurbishment of a plant room and two wards at St Luke’s Hospital in Kilkenny for the HSE, allowing the hospital to offer over 40 additional bed spaces.
Murphy & Kelly is no stranger to winning coveted awards. There was double delight for the family business at Ireland’s Plumbing & Heating Awards in Clontarf Castle in November 2023 when it was named Medium Contractor of the Year and also won the Green Technology Project of the Year for the second time in three years for the Mount Congreve Visitors’ Centre refurbishment in Waterford.
Passionate about mechanical contracting, Murphy & Kelly would like to take this opportunity to thank its clients and suppliers for their continued support as well as its staff and subcontractors for their hard work, dedication and expertise.
Here’s to the next 40 years!
Murphy & Kelly (Thomastown) Ltd
The Fairgreen,
Thomastown,
Co. Kilkenny.
Telephone: 056 7724294
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.murphyandkelly.ie
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, February, Vol 11 No 2
