Operating out of Togher in County Louth, BCCL Building Contractors is an exceptional contracting company fronted by Brendan Carragher – a man with an infectious enthusiasm for and vast experience of all things construction. Building Ireland touched base with this inspirational third-generation builder to find out more.
BCCL Building Contractors is in every respect an exemplary building firm, established and managed by a man whose zest and zeal for the art of construction knows no bounds.
Following proudly in the footsteps of his father Paul, and grandfather Frank before him, Brendan Carragher was a meticulous tradesman himself (still is!) and in January, 2021 combined genuine passion and vast experience to tremendous effect to give rise to a refreshingly sincere and professional contracting business that has hit the ground running and gone from strength to strength over the past five years.
Due to the consistently high standard of workmanship delivered, BCCL is in big demand for new builds, extensions, renovations and stone restoration projects across counties Louth, Meath, Monaghan, Cavan and North Dublin.
“My father was a building contractor in Dundalk – both he and my grandfather were carpenters by trade,” Brendan reveals. “Building is something that’s in the family and while I was at school I was always on sites helping out during the summer holidays. I then served my time after finishing school.”
For five years, the young Brendan focused his attention on carpentry – first and second fixing, roofing, etc. His brother was a brick layer and Brendan also amassed experience at that before the crash in ’08 took the wind out of everybody’s sails. He went to college and secured a Diploma in Engineering, with the intention of adding a Degree…
But calls started to come in offering work on extensions and renovations and the Louth man became busy on the back of strong demand for dependable building solutions. In early ’21, he established BCCL (Brendan Carragher Contracting Ltd.) Building Contractors, specialising in private houses, extensions, renovations and stone restorations.
“I was never out of work up until 2008, when all of a sudden everybody was,” he reflects. “I was always a bit OCD about the work and it had to be right. My mentality was that I was working for myself, for my own pride, and learning and trying to do everything right – that was the only way to look at it.
“Everybody has to make a living but I don’t do it for the money and never did. I do it for passion and pride and want to give people the comfort and happiness of having a home they love.”
With two trades and an engineering Diploma, few builders or contractors are more qualified… “I’m well tooled up and have massive experience going back to when I was still at school and out on sites with my father. He was in big demand and ended up working for Kerrs in Ardee and Brendan Duffy in Dundalk before retiring.
“I always loved being onsite with him and doing construction work together. I knew back then that all I ever wanted was to be like my father. I really looked up to him. He was a gentleman and a great working man with the right priorities and principles. Since I was a young kid, I was determined to try to follow in his footsteps.”
Brendan, who has done precisely that, is a hands-on builder and it would be an exercise in understatement to point out that he knows his way around a building site. “I’ve done everything in construction and it’s surprising how much you learn along the way. You don’t realise how much you have learned until you set up your own business. Of course, a lot of new stuff is coming along all the time – particularly on the plumbing side with heat pumps and renewables – and you have to keep abreast of all those changes and keep educating yourself.”
The workload these days is all private residential projects – new builds, extensions and refurbs. “We’re doing a good few new builds. I’ve a couple going in Trim at the minute,” says Brendan. “We’d generally have three projects up and running at any given time, at different stages of completion.
“We’re still only a new company, getting our name out there, but I’d like to one day get to the stage where I can start to give work to young lads and help to get them into building. There’s not a lot out there for young men who want to build at the moment. Tradesmen are few and far between and there are a couple of generations of trades missing.
“I was brought up at a time when trades liked to get young lads in and give them knowledge. I’d like to try to give them the knowledge we got. I’d love to eventually be in a position to be able to offer that.”
A small crew of three full-time men is at the heart of BCCL Building Contractors at present, along with a number of tried and trusted subbies. One thing that’s guaranteed on every project undertaken is a final product that exceeds expectations.
“I’ve been in building all my life and know nothing else,” Brendan notes. “That’s why I was so concerned when the industry went bang in ’08. This is all I know. I had just put down a deposit on land to build two houses and it was a tough time for all.”
As for the key to BCCL Building Contractors’ popularity with clients, Brendan concludes: “Experience is No.1. And good communication. It’s very stressful building houses and clients tend to want to make changes and the phone never stops ringing. You are constantly under stress but you have to get up every morning with the attitude that if there is a problem then you are going to deal with it.
“I try to remind myself that I’m doing this because I want to work in construction and care about building. It means a lot to me. I do everything possible to look after people and get the job done on time and within budget. It can be stressful for the client, too, so you have to look after them and reassure them. Once you have a happy client at the end, then that’s good enough for me and ideally you’ll get more work through word of mouth.”
It’s an approach that’s been working a treat for BCCL Building Contractors for five years and counting. Speaking to a genuine ad unassuming man like Brendan Carragher, one gets the distinct impression that this particular success story is only getting started!
BCCL Building Contractors,
Togher,
County Louth.
Tel: 089 2549628
Email: [email protected]
Web: bcclbuildingcontractor.com
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, June 2026, Vol 12 No 6
BCCL Building Contractors, featured
