– Building a Legacy: ClearyDoyle at 65
As ClearyDoyle marks its 65th anniversary, Joint Managing Directors Brian Byrne and John P Doyle speak to ROBBIE COUSINS about their company’s “family-first” workplace culture, navigating industry capacity constraints, championing homegrown timber innovation and steering the firm toward 2030.
As ClearyDoyle Construction marks its 65th anniversary this year, the contractor stands as a compelling study in resilience, innovation, and people-centred leadership over the generations. Operating primarily across the east and south-east, the firm has more recently become a specialist in the efficient delivery of quality low-energy social housing, Design & Build (D&B) schemes, high-end private restorations and conservation work.
Led by joint managing directors Brian Byrne and John P Doyle, ClearyDoyle’s guiding philosophy is deceptively simple: family comes first, and the company comes second. In an industry often defined by high-pressure deadlines, skilled labour shortages, and tight margins, ClearyDoyle has cultivated a workplace culture rooted in emotional investment, diversity and genuine goodwill.
From navigating historical downturns with complete financial integrity to introducing homegrown Irish timber into modern housing frameworks, the company’s trajectory reflects both a respect for its founding legacy and a clear vision for 2030 and beyond.
ClearDoyle philosophy
When new employees walk through the doors at ClearyDoyle, the initial orientation sets a distinct tone.
Rather than beginning with corporate KPIs or productivity metrics, Joint Managing Director Brian Byrne initiates a straightforward conversation about priorities.
“My opening statement to any new employee tends to be along the line of ‘When you’re with ClearyDoyle, your family is first and working at ClearyDoyle is second’. If a member of the team’s personal life is not right, they are not going to be right for the work. We place family and the wellbeing of the person at the forefront of our approach to support our people. We take this holistic approach as we see it as the true investment in our people.
“At ClearyDoyle, we view employee investment as a dual responsibility covering financial reward and emotional wellbeing.”
John P Doyle highlights the genuine workplace support given to employees. “Investing in our people means supporting emotional wellbeing in addition to financial compensation. Obviously, people are paid well for the work they do, but fundamentally it is about ensuring they are happy within their own lives.”
This culture directly impacts recruitment and retention. In an industry where qualified personnel are continuously targeted by recruiters, candidates frequently choose ClearyDoyle based on word-of-mouth reputation. Byrne recalls an interview with a recent recruit, “She told us she had checked ClearyDoyle out with five different people. Every single one told her the same thing. Her abiding question at the end was simply: ‘Why wouldn’t I work for ClearyDoyle?’ To me, wearing the badge and logo brings genuine pride. In the south east of the country on every road you drive or every area you enter, you see completed buildings left behind over the past 65 years. That built legacy is something anyone who has worked for ClearyDoyle should be proud of.”
ClearyDoyle legacy
Marking 65 years in business is a milestone achieved by few regional Irish contractors. Founded by Eugene Cleary and John Doyle (John P Doyle’s father), the firm’s original core values and approach to work – site cleanliness, high presentation, respect for staff and subcontractors, and construction quality – remain central to daily operations.
During company-wide town hall meetings held several times a year, the leadership team reference the standards set by the founders. “The vision and ethos of the original founders still exist as a practical guide for what we are doing today,” notes John P Doyle. “Even though the business has evolved, those core principles remain deeply relevant.”
Reconnecting beyond the payroll
The strong sense of community within the workforce extends beyond active employment. Former employees and retirees have organised an independent network to schedule regular get-togethers and informal reunions.
“Staff who have left the company or retired set up their own independent group to organise ClearyDoyle get-togethers,” explains Brian Byrne. “They organised it entirely themselves. To see retired staff keeping that connection alive under the name of John Doyle and Eugene Cleary is remarkable. You simply don’t see that too often in corporate life.”
To celebrate the 65-year milestone, the company is hosting a series of events over the year, including a recent summer barbecue at the exclusive Newbay House Hotel in Wexford. The event welcomed current employees, former colleagues, their partners and children, and it featured activities for families, with overnight accommodation for those travelling.
John P Doyle reflects on the impact of these gatherings: “Companies hold standard Christmas parties to give a little back, but this turned out to be far more personal. People brought their partners and children. The goodwill generated from an event like that pays back tenfold, when it comes to retaining staff.”
Social housing & local authority delivery
Over the past decade, ClearyDoyle has adapted its business model to match evolving government capital spending priorities. Residential schemes – specifically D&B social and affordable housing contracts – now account for the vast majority of the company’s workload.
The company works closely with local authorities and approved housing bodies (AHBs), including:
– South Dublin County Council (ClearyDoyle’s largest recurring client by volume and value)
– Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council
– Wicklow County Council
– Wexford County Council
– Waterford City and County Council
– Kilkenny County Council
– Clúid Housing Association
The evolution of design & build frameworks
Since transitioning towards formal D&B delivery frameworks around 2020, ClearyDoyle has refined its technical capabilities. Public sector clients provide exemplar designs and performance requirement schedules, leaving the contractor to optimise structural design, environmental efficiency and buildability.
John P Doyle outlines how the delivery model has matured: “If you compare where we are in 2026 versus 2020, we had only begun formal D&B delivery. Sustainability was a phrase many in construction struggled to define practically. Today, we actively lead client design discussions. On recent schemes, we introduced sustainable alternatives, such as homegrown Irish timber, directly to the table through collaborative partnerships.”
By leveraging modern methods of construction (MMC) – including panelised timber frames, light-gauge steel, and precision precast concrete – ClearyDoyle now completes 70% to 80% of structural work off-site. This shift reduces site wastage, minimises neighbourhood disruption, accelerates housing handovers and improves Building Energy Ratings (BERs).
Sustainable innovation
A notable achievement in ClearyDoyle’s recent portfolio is the Deansrath residential housing project in South Dublin. The scheme served as a flagship demonstration of homegrown Irish timber utilisation in public housing delivery.
Building on the success of Deansrath, ClearyDoyle has integrated low-carbon, Irish-sourced timber into subsequent D&B developments, even where specifications initially defaulted to imported materials. “On our next D&B projects following Deansrath, homegrown timber wasn’t explicitly specified in the client brief,” notes Doyle. “We brought the proposal to the table ourselves to lower the carbon footprint and support local supply chains. The client welcomed the initiative.”
Private sector distinction
Beyond large-scale social housing frameworks, ClearyDoyle maintains a high-end commercial, industrial, restoration and private estate portfolio. The company’s reputation for quality often leads to direct, negotiated private contracts rather than competitive tenders.
The Croke Park perspective
While demand for housing across Ireland remains high, construction contractors navigate systemic delivery challenges. Brian Byrne and John P Doyle identify utility connection delays and national labour constraints as primary bottlenecks that can have significant effects on project schedules.
To illustrate national trade capacity limitations, Brian Byrne offers a perspective on Ireland’s total construction workforce: “Consider the national picture: on a major match weekend at Croke Park, two sold-out games bring in roughly 160,000 to 170,000 spectators. That crowd size roughly matches the total construction workforce across the island of Ireland – around 170,000 people. Those 170,000 workers are tasked with building everything for a population of 7.3 million people: civil infrastructure, housing, schools, hospitals, and data centres.”
The ClearyDoyle team are fully aware that as total site headcount cannot scale indefinitely, contractors must find efficiency through digital tools, off-site prefabrication and modern construction methods, but they must continue finding new pools from which to draw staff.
Diversity in action at ClearDoyle
Addressing national labour shortages requires expanding the talent pool. While women represent roughly 11% of the overall Irish construction sector workforce, women account for 21% of total staff at ClearyDoyle.
Female professionals at ClearyDoyle hold key positions across technical, operational and managerial disciplines:
– Purchasing management (100% female-led procurement team)
– Quantity surveying & commercial management
– Site engineering & project management
– Data analytics & operations
Attracting a new generation
ClearyDoyle conducts career outreach in secondary schools across the south east to introduce young women to construction professions. Brian Byrne highlights the need to increase awareness of technical career paths like quantity surveying among students and career guidance counsellors.
He comments, “When my daughter chose to study quantity surveying, her school career guidance teacher didn’t even know what a quantity surveyor was. Since then, I’ve spoken at local schools, and four more young women from that same school have entered quantity surveying degree programmes. Construction offers long-term careers right here in Ireland. We need to communicate that early to students.”
ClearyDoyle also provides internship opportunities for students from institutes of technology and universities across the south east, and it supports continuous professional development (CPD) for junior staff.
The road to 2030
ClearyDoyle maintains a balanced core operational structure designed to navigate market cycles.
With approximately 70 to 73 direct employees on the payroll (including 24 female professionals) and an additional 130 to 180 specialist trade subcontractors active daily, the company manages 200 to 250 wage packets every week.
This operational model provides the scale required to execute complex housing schemes while maintaining direct oversight of site safety, workmanship and project delivery.
Becoming Ireland’s “Contractor of Choice”
Looking ahead toward its 70th anniversary in 2031, ClearyDoyle’s leadership remains focused on controlled, sustainable growth. Rather than chasing turnover volume across unfamiliar sectors, the firm aims to deepen its expertise in D&B residential schemes, commercial developments and heritage restorations.
When asked where he sees the business by 2030, Brian Byrne summarises the ambition: “I want us to be regarded as the best at what we do. I want ClearyDoyle to be the top Design & Build residential contractor in Ireland, the best commercial contractor and the leading restoration specialist. We don’t chase every sector or just follow the money. We focus on delivering high quality so our clients know they are in safe hands.”
This strategy relies on building direct relationships with clients based on performance rather than corporate entertainment.
“We don’t play golf or bring clients to corporate matches,” Byrne continues. “ClearyDoyle has been around for 65 years without needing corporate entertainment. We will keep paddling our own canoe.”
John P Doyle concludes by reiterating the company’s long-standing positioning statement: “Our aim has always been straightforward: to be recognised as the contractor of choice for public and private clients alike. By prioritising our people, maintaining high build quality, and treating partners with respect, we ensure that legacy continues.”
In conclusion
As ClearyDoyle celebrates 65 years of business, its experience offers useful lessons for the broader Irish construction industry. By demonstrating that commercial growth and a family-first workplace culture can go hand in hand, joint managing directors Brian Byrne and John P Doyle have positioned the firm as a steady, progressive force in Irish building delivery.
By combining MMC, low-carbon sustainable practices, a diverse technical workforce, and a clear operational focus, ClearyDoyle continues to build communities and deliver homes across Ireland.
ClearyDoyle Milestones & Key Metrics
History: 65 years of continuous operations
Core delivery focus: Social Housing (D&B), Commercial, Conservation & Restoration
Primary geographic reach: South Dublin, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Wicklow, Wexford, Waterford, Kilkenny
Direct workforce: 73 direct employees (including 24 women)
Daily on-site operational scale: 200- 250+ personnel across site networks weekly
Female representation: 21% (Nearly double the national construction industry average of 11%)
Off-site production quantum: Over 70%-80% MMC on key projects
Key public clients: South Dublin County Council, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, Clúid Housing.