A brand refresh, a growing team of gifted, experienced construction professionals, and several significant project wins are some of the highlights marking the 60th year in business for Cleary Doyle.

Founded in Wexford in 1961 by Eugene Cleary and John Doyle Sr, Cleary Doyle’s first contract was the refurbishment of a local Wexford pub.

Since then, the company has built some of the country’s most significant and recognisable buildings. Through the 60s and 70s, the local company grew to become one of the largest multi-discipline contractors in the south east, and in the process, became a major player on the national stage.

By the 1980s, Cleary Doyle was pioneering Design & Build contracts in Ireland, with its projects increasing in scale and complexity through the 90s and into the 2000s.

Its iconic projects include Blackhall Stud Farms, Kildare (1993); St James Hospital, Dublin (1995); Dublin Zoo (1998); Dublin Castle (1999); the Japanese Gardens Visitors Centre, Kildare, (1999); Institute of Technology Carlow (1999); Kellys Hotel Sea Spa, Wexford (2004); Druids Glen Hotel, Co Wicklow (2005); Killeen Castle and Golf Club, Co Meath (2005); Whites Hotel, Wexford (2005); Cork Civic Offices (2006); UCD Health Sciences Complex Phase 3, Dublin (2007); The National Opera House, Wexford (2008); Powerscourt House, Co Wicklow (2008); and the Orchard Gardens apartment and retail development, Cork (2009).

Cleary Doyle team

While Eugene Cleary and John Doyle Sr maintain an interest in the business today, with John still active as a non-executive director, John P Doyle and Brian Byrne, joint managing directors, now head up the senior management team.

Cleary Doyle directly employs over 50 highly skilled professionals, many with vast experience in the construction industry. Cleary Doyle has a strong focus on encouraging and assisting its team members to maximise their potential through education and having direct input on project decisions.

Brian Byrne explains: “We foster a spirit of teamwork on all of our projects. We have regular company reviews where all employees are invited to discuss their projects, report on their role and encouraged to add more value.

“We also encourage and facilitate upskilling and training for all our staff. For instance, we have some of our team completing construction management degrees, post-graduate diplomas in BIM and being mentored through their charterships in the SCSI and CIOB. Our senior management is entrusted with mentoring our new employees whether they are project managers, site managers, quantity surveyors or members of the support team in head office.”

Cleary Doyle is on a major recruitment drive at the moment to fill positions for project managers and quantity surveyors.

“We have a strong team in place at Cleary Doyle,” Byrne explains. “And, with a number of exciting projects in the pipeline, we are expanding this team with more skilled construction professionals at all levels.”

Recently completed projects

Over the past couple of years, projects Cleary Doyle has delivered for clients include:

– Construction of a 33-unit social housing project in Castlecomer, Co Kilkenny for Kilkenny County Council (€6.5m)

– Construction of Abbeyview House, Monkstown, Co Dublin, an 11-unit social housing scheme for Cluid Housing (€3.5m)

–  Refurbishment of Arklow Courthouse for Wicklow County Council, (€1.0m)

– Construction of Jameson Heights, Kilmacanogue, a 22-house social housing scheme for Wicklow County Council (€4.5M)

– Construction of a new learning building and the refurbishment of dormitories and an infirmary building in Clane, Co Kildare, for Clongowes Wood College (€4.5m).

Current works on site

Cleary Doyle has a mix of project types on site at this time.

In Cherrywood, Dublin 18, the contractor is on site with a €12.5m development at Cherrywood Business Park for Spearstreet Capital. The brief for this includes masterplanning and the construction of new meeting pods, sunken garden and canopy, and façade and internal refurbishment work.

In Tallaght, it is refurbishing an existing pharmaceutical facility and constructing an extension for Henkel Ireland, a €1.8m project.

At 5 Dame Lane, Dublin 2, Cleary Doyle is carrying out a €4.5m refurbishment and fit out of a 15,000 sq foot office space for Eir.

In Wicklow, it has a €4.5m Design & Build contract for the rapid build of 22 social housing units in Newtownmountkennnedy; and a Design & Build contract for the rapid build of 36 new social houses at Greenhill Road in Wicklow town, with a project value of €6.5m. Both of these projects are for Wicklow County Council.

Covid-19 impacts

John P Doyle says that Covid-19 has had a major impact on the whole industry over the past 16 or so months.

“We have changed how we manage projects on site,” explains John P Doyle, “But our site teams have done a fantastic job in adapting to the new conditions and in doing all that is required of them to operate under the new standard operating procedure we introduced, while at the same time working together to deliver to the high standards that we all expect of ourselves at Cleary Doyle.

“In addition to on-site practices,” he continues, “We have had the challenge of adjusting our procurement procedures to try to offset the delays that the industry is experiencing on the availability of building materials, as well as addressing the shortage of skilled professionals in the sector.

“It has not been easy, but as a result of the changes we introduced, we have safer and more efficient operating procedures in place across the organisation, and we look forward to building up momentum over the coming months as more projects come online.”

Cleary Doyle rebrand

As part of the celebration of its 60th year in business, Cleary Doyle has unveiled a new brand identity to reflect its forward-thinking outlook, young, experienced and diverse workforce and growing capability as a modern, ambitious building contractor.

John P Doyle says that the “Cleary Doyle” rebrand highlights the contractor’s core values and work culture, where teamwork, reliability, integrity, and quality define the Cleary Doyle approach to project delivery.

“It has always been Cleary Doyle’s vision to be the contractor of choice for public and private sector clients. We achieve this by working hard as a team every day to deliver the best product, and by creating partnerships based on reliability, integrity, and quality to provide consistent customer satisfaction.”

Planning for the future

Like any well managed business Cleary Doyle’s senior management team regularly reviews and assesses its performance against a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) and uses this exercise to evaluate future business opportunities. John P Doyle says that Cleary Doyle is perfectly positioned to continue to expand its operations as planned into the future.

“We acknowledge that integrating new technologies into our operations is essential to grow and be competitive over the coming years,” explains Doyle. “All our sites are linked to our head office, each equipped with high-speed broadband to access our secure cloud-based server. We have had an excellent response from our site teams on this, who have shown great enthusiasm to adopt new practices and technologies and learn with the ongoing development of the company.”

National Development Plan

Looking at prospects for the construction industry for the coming years, Brian Byrne comments that the National Development Plan (NDP) has been dealt a major blow by the pandemic, with the vast majority of the construction industry being closed for months.

“The timeframe to delivery of the NDP programme has been thrown into flux as a result of so many sites being shut down for long periods as a result of the pandemic. Now, as we once again are ramping up to deliver NDP elements, there are huge issues with the availability of workers, skilled professionals and tradespeople, and an unprecedented jump in the cost of building materials. As a sector, we need a new plan for the industry and indeed the country to pull back this lost time.”

Growth prospects

John P Doyle says that despite the challenges presented by Covid-19, Cleary Doyle has continued to grow, which he attributes to the company’s ethos and the dynamic individuals that make up the Cleary Doyle team.

“Cleary Doyle continues to be a large employer in the industry, both directly and indirectly. The calibre of people that are coming through the business gives me great confidence that we will continue to grow in the coming years.”

In conclusion

The last word on the current chapter of the company he co-founded 60 years ago this year must go to John Doyle Sr.

“When we started in 1961, we could never have imagined the journey that we would take and the impact that Cleary Doyle would have on our industry. I am very proud of all that the company has achieved over the past 60 years, particularly the fact that we have maintained a supportive familial culture. This has always been important to Eugene and I. The current generation that makes up the company and how they support each other in everything they do means this tradition will continue long into the future.”

For more information about Cleary Doyle, visit www.Cleary Doyle.com