transformation - Sisk 150

transformation 

FROM 1995 to the peak of the boom in 2007, the average price of housing and 

commercial property roughly tripled in ireland. To satisfy this unprecedented 

demand, the scale of development here went through the roof. The rest as we know 

is history, but on reflection, this period will also be remembered as a time when 

the country was physically transformed. in 1994 the construction industry had an 

annual output of €5 billion, by 2007 this figure had escalated to €36 billion. 

John Sisk & Son benefited from much of this activity, playing its part in all sectors of 

the State’s development – motorways, sports stadia, pharmaceutical and industrial 

facilities, retail developments, public buildings, hotels, offices and apartments. in 

2007 Sisk turnover peaked at €1.35 billion. 

This is the story of Sisk’s role in ireland’s recent physical transformation. 

CROKE PARK & THE AVIVA STADIUM AT LANSDOWNE ROAD 

When the GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) started the rebuilding of Croke Park in 

1992, there was little sign of the economic boom that would start in 1995 and last 

right up to 2007. “Liam Mulvihill, director general of the GAA and his colleagues were 

true visionaries,” says Tom Costello, managing director of John Sisk & Son ireland. 

The decision to revamp Croke Park came for a number of reasons, key among them 

was concern over stadium safety following a number of high profile disasters at 

Hillsborough in 1989, Heysel in 1984, and Bradford in 1985. 

There had also been a fractious All ireland game between Galway and Dublin in 

1983, where it became apparent the ground was not equipped to safely handle 

emergency situations. 

The GAA’s 125th Anniversary 

celebrations at Croke Park, Dublin. 

Photograph: Matt kavanagh 

courtesy of The irish Times

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1 3 

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“The former stadium made few concessions to architectural consideration or 

aesthetics and never had the footprint of artistic expertise and experience. This 

is why we insisted that the proposed Croke Park project would be the focus of 

the best architectural expertise and would be a fusion of design, aesthetics and 

functionality,” wrote Liam Mulvihill, then director general of the GAA, in Architecture 

Ireland magazine. 

initially the international firms of HOk architects, and Lobb, sports specialist, were 

employed to draw up a masterplan for the project. Then local architectural firm 

Gilroy McMahon was appointed to see the job through. 

Opposite: 

1. Croke Park before redevelopment 

2. The 82,300 capacity stadium upon completion 

3. The elaborate roof support steelwork 

Above: The traditional pre-match parade of 

players before the senior all-ireland hurling final 

2009 between Tipperary and kilkenny, with the 

Hogan Stand in the background 

The day after the 1993 All-ireland football final between Derry and Cork the Cusack 

stand was demolished. By May 1995 the new stand was ready. The next phase, the 

Canal End (now the Davin Stand after Maurice Davin, first president of the GAA), was 

completed in 2000, followed by the Hogan Stand in 2002 and finally Hill 16 in 2005. 

Throughout the 13 years redevelopment the stadium hosted all major hurling and 

football matches. 

The stadium accommodates 82,300 people and has hosted extraordinary events 

such as the opening of the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games, a truly 

memorable rugby match between ireland and England in 2007, two memorable 

U2 tours along with the annual spectacles of hurling and gaelic football matches.

180 BUilDiNG a BUSiNESS


Left: Aviva Stadium, Lansdowne Road, 

August 2009 

Right: (l-r) Tom Costello, managing 

director of John Sisk & Son ireland; 

Tánaiste Mary Coughlan, TD; and 

John Power, director general at the 

institute of Engineers ireland on the 

occasion of Sisk becoming the 100th 

firm in ireland to be accredited for 

continuing professional development. 

The presentation took place on site at 

Lansdowne Road 

Des McMahon of architects Gilroy McMahon and a former Tyrone footballer was 

duly rewarded for his creative work at Croke Park when he was presented with the 

RiAi Gold Medal in 2009. 

The original Lansdowne Road Stadium, opened in 1878, is the oldest rugby stadium 

in the world. When the tender to build the new stadium (now known as Aviva 

Stadium) came to the market in 2007, Sisk assembled a team under the direction 

of Michael Barnwell who had led the Croke Park project. The confidence of having 

completed Croke Park so successfully helped the team to take a balanced view of 

the challenges of building a stadium even though the trials and tribulations of the 

Wembley project were very much in the news at the time. 

“it was a great project to win and it has been a great project to work on. Right from 

the start the client, design and project teams have shown an absolute commitment 

to the project and a pride of being involved in what will be a stadium to match or 

even exceed any stadium internationally,” says Michael Barnwell. 

in summer 2010, 50,000 patrons can look forward to their first match in the Aviva 

Stadium and admire the splendid quality of the design and construction. 

HOk Sport, who were also involved at Croke Park, were the architects in conjunction with 

Scott Tallon Walker at Lansdowne Road. Engineers Buro Happold did an outstanding job 

in the design of the very complex structure. The main package contractors were SiAC- 

Cimolai (steelwork), Williaam Cox (cladding), Mercury (mechanical) and kentz (electrical). 

“While the completed projects may look similar, the creation of Croke Park and 

Aviva were very different,” says Costello. “The skill level in the industry has developed 

hugely in the past 10 years. Now the management of safety, schedule and quality are 

right up there with the best in the world. The challenge is to maintain this valuable 

resource in the country.”

182 BUilDiNG a BUSiNESS 

1 

Aviva Stadium at Lansdowne Road 

1, 3, 5. Architect’s impressions of the finished stadium 

2. The Sisk team responsible for construction of the 

Aviva Stadium 

4. Tom Costello managing director of John Sisk & Son 

ireland, John Delaney, chief executive of the FAi, 

Philip Browne, iRFU chief executive, marking one 

million accident-free hours on site 

2

3 

4 

5


SHOPPING CENTRES 

The retail landscape in ireland changed hugely from 1990 to 2005 with the 

development of out-of-town shopping centres and retail parks. Sisk played a 

significant part in the construction of new shopping centres and Paul Hackett, 

director in the eastern region, became the ‘retail expert’. Having worked with Brian 

keogh on The Square in Tallaght (designed by BkD Architects) in 1990, Hackett 

subsequently directed the Sisk teams at Blanchardstown Shopping Centre for 

Green Property (designed by A+D Wejchert), Swords Pavilions for Flynn O’Flaherty 

(designed by O’Muire Smyth), Liffey Valley for O’Callaghan Properties and Grosvenor 

Estates (designed by Lyons, Sleaman Hoare), Whitewater in Newbridge for Ballymore/ 

Mountbrook (designed by Henry J Lyons) and Dundrum Town Centre (designed by 

BkD Architects). 

Opposite: Dundrum Town Centre, Co Dublin 

Above: Whitewater Shopping Centre, 

Newbridge. A good example of SiSk Group 

companies combining well in overall delivery 

“There is a real buzz about building shopping centres,” says Hackett. “The opening 

date is set, it cannot change, there’s a mad panic in the last four or five weeks and 

then the relief and excitement and, hopefully, praise when it opens to the public.”

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Dundrum Town Centre is the largest-ever commercial 

development in ireland and one of the most 

comprehensive suburban regeneration schemes ever 

undertaken in either ireland or the Uk. 

• 17 acre site 

• 281,747m 2 structure 

• 20,000 tonnes of steel 

• 220,000m 3 of overburden 

removal 

• 400,000m 3 of rock 

removal 

• 15,591 tonnes of 

reinforcement 

• 69,055m 3 concrete to 

foundations, walls and stairs 

• 28,389m 3 concrete to 

suspended slabs 

• 90,000m 2 retail area 

• 12 screen multiplex 

cinema 

• 23,000m 2 office space 

• 3500 space underground 

carpark 

• More than 30 restaurants 

• 200 seat theatre 

• Medical centre 

• Daycare centre 

• Adult education centre 

The centrepiece is a town plaza, featuring an 18thcentury 

mill house and mill pond, restored to their 

former glory. 

The contract also included a section of the Dundrum 

by-pass. 

At peak Sisk provided more than 100 management 

personnel, and there were 700 construction workers 

on site. 

Dundrum Town Centre under construction. 

The largest contract to date for John Sisk & 

Son, valued at €420m


Dundrum Town Centre 

1. Atrium at south end of the centre 

2. View from Dundrum by-pass 

3. Central atrium of the shopping mall 

4. Food court 

Opposite: 

5. Plaza lake and fountain at the centre’s 

entrance 

6. Restaurant Precinct 

3 

1 

2 4

5 

6


Left: Whitewater Shopping Centre, 

Newbridge, Co kildare 

Opposite: Scotch Hall Shopping Centre, 

Drogheda, Co Louth 

Bernard O’Connell, retired executive chairman of construction, and previously 

construction director in the eastern region adds: “Project delivery is one of the great 

strengths of Sisk. if we say we will do it, then we will. We can draw on the resources 

of the company to supplement the team in the drive to the finish line.” 

in 2000, work began on the State’s biggest shopping centre in Dundrum, Co 

Dublin. When the €420m centre was completed in March 2004 at the height of 

the economic boom, it opened with now legendary media attention and fanfare. 

Developer Joe O’Reilly and his team travelled all over the world to research the best 

retail experiences and used that knowledge in the creation of Dundrum Town Centre. 

At the early stages, it resembled a giant quarry as 300,000 cubic metres of granite 

were excavated to accommodate basement and underground parking. in the final 

months, when Sisk had 1,600 people working on the project and a further 1,300 

were employed by fit-out contractors, the village of Dundrum witnessed a daily 

spectacle when almost 3,000 workers in their yellow safety vests would invade the 

area at lunchtime for sustenance to carry them through the long evenings ahead. 

Sisk’s project manager, Philip Howard, won a gold medal in the CiOB Construction 

Manager of the year award for his role in the project. “Teamwork was key to the 

success of the project. At times we held weekly principals’ meetings with Joe O’Reilly, 

Pat Lafferty (of Lafferty Project Management), Paul Hackett and Tom Costello. Our 

‘Spectacular Partnerships Bonding Sessions’, which included the key people for all 

teams, were very timely and successful at key stages of the project,” says Howard. 

in Drogheda, Douglas Wallace designed the Scotch Hall Project for Edward Holdings 

and in the early 1990s Arthur’s Quay in Limerick, Merchants Quay in Cork and 

Golden island in Athlone were built, along with the Crescent Centre in Limerick 

for Clancourt. Just as Sisk had built religious buildings at the early part of the 20th 

century, it was transferring its skills 100 years later to the new religion of shopping.


Retail 

1. The signing of the Blanchardstown 

Centre contract as appeared in our 

newsletter from 1993. Seated (l-r) 

Michael MacCormac (chairman, Green 

Property), kevin kelly (managing 

director, John Sisk & Son Ltd), John 

Corcoran (MD, Green Property). Also 

included in the photograph are: J. 

Mckenna, D. McDowell, S. Vernon, 

B. Collis, k. Wylie (directors of Green 

Property), and D. Grehan (financial 

director, John Sisk & Son Ltd) 

2. Fine Jewellery Hall, Brown Thomas, 

Dublin 

3. Clare Hall, Malahide, Co Dublin 

4. Liffey Valley, Lucan, Co Dublin 

5. The Square, Tallaght, Co Dublin 

1 

2

3 

4 

5



Opposite: Athlone Civic Centre, 

Co Westmeath 

Top right and left: The Marine institute, built 

for the Office of Public Works at Rinville, 

Oranmore, Co Galway 

CIVIC bUILDINGS 

One area in which Sisk built up a reputation was the building of civic offices. While 

many developers took advantage of the boom years to create new buildings, public 

authorities were also responsible for some remarkable structures. 

Local county offices were built countrywide, many of excellent architectural design. 

The bar was set pretty high early on and, luckily for ireland, most local authorities 

strove to meet the design standards set. 

An early scheme which Sisk built was the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown civic offices 

designed by McCullough Mulvin and RkD Architects. The building was on a 

corner site behind the Victorian town hall and post office and next to the former 

harbourmaster’s house. The final building, completed in 1996, provides 8,500sq m 

of office accommodation in three blocks. 

The £13.6 million Fingal County Hall, designed by Bucholz McEvoy with BDP, pushed 

out the boundaries of irish design. The building is naturally ventilated, uses lots of 

natural light and it includes a curved glass facade that sweeps around a 150-year-old 

cedar tree. 

Bucholz McEvoy subsequently designed the Limerick County Council headquarters, 

just outside Limerick city in Dooradoyle. The 7,100sq m building, completed in 

2003, has a strong emphasis on eco-friendliness and an expressive facade; a 75m 

long, 15m high timber screen hanging from curved steel beams, at an angle of 30°. 

in the west, John Sisk & Son ireland, under the excellent stewardship of Noel Golden 

and Jim Tuohy, gained a fine reputation for complementing innovative civic building 

design with on time delivery and high standards of finish and workmanship.


Civic Buildings 

1. Laois County Council 

2. North Tipperary County Council 

3. Athlone Civic Centre 

4. Limerick County Council 

5. Civic Museum Galway, as seen 

through the Spanish Arch 

1 3 

2


4 

5


Offaly County Council headquarters in Tullamore won an RiAi award for ABk 

Architects for the Most Sustainable Building & Best Public Building in 2003. This 

5,200sq m building also included a timber lattice around part of the building. it took 

18 months to build and was finished in late 2002. 

The following year Sisk completed the North Tipperary County offices, again with 

ABk, which won an Opus Architecture and Construction Award. Soon afterwards Sisk 

completed another civic centre in Athlone, by keith Williams Architects which won 

two RiAi awards and an Opus Architecture and Construction Award for its splendidly 

designed civic centre. 

Left: Legal Aid Board head office, Cahirciveen, 

Co kerry 

Right: Government offices, Dundalk, 

Co Louth 

Opposite: The Sisk/CMP Team at the 

Convention Centre, Dublin 

DUbLIN DOCKLANDS 

There is nowhere in ireland where the built environment has changed more than 

Dublin’s docklands. 

in the early 1990s the international Financial Services Centre (iFSC) was developed 

in the north docklands, and Sisk completed George’s Dock in 1996. Then Dublin 

Docklands Development Authority (DDDA) carried out remediation of the south 

docklands in 2001/2002. When a joint venture of Sisk and Park Developments 

secured the job to develop the Hanover Quay site with the DDDA in 2003 there 

was no development in the area from the Ferryman Bar to the Docks. This mainly 

residential development set new standards in apartment design and specification 

and included Diarmuid Gavin’s award-winning garden which was transported from 

the Chelsea Flower Show. 

The Hanover Quay development garnered awards for Residential Development 

of the year 2004 in the Property Awards and RiAi Silver Medal for architects’ firm, 

O’Mahony Pike in 2009. The partnership between Sisk and Park has been very 

successful starting in Mount St Anne’s in Milltown where Sisk was contractor, likewise

traNSFormatioN 199

3 

1 4 

2 5


6 

Residential 

1. Alto Vetro, a 16 storey glazed 

residential block, Grand Canal 

Dock, Dublin 

2, 5. Award-winning Hanover 

Quay apartments, Dublin. A 

joint development with Sisk/ 

Park Developments. it includes 

Diarmuid Gavin’s eclectic 

design for the courtyard of the 

Hanover Quay apartments, first 

shown at Chelsea Flower Show 

3. The Old Chocolate Factory, 

kilmainham, Dublin 

4. Cedarbrook Partnership 

residential development, 

Cherry Orchard, Dublin 

6. St. Anne’s Milltown, Dublin 

7. Greystones marina, 

Co Wicklow 

7


Riverside One: McCann Fitzgerald 

This page: Riverside One, offices of McCann 

Fitzgerald solicitors


at Addison in Glasnevin. When Jim Barrett, former Dublin City Architect, moved to 

build an affordable housing scheme at Cherry Orchard, Sisk/Park were the successful 

tenderers. it was an imaginative scheme delivering high quality and affordability to 

its residents. The next challenge for the Sisk/Park joint venture is Greystones Marina. 

Left: Grand Canal Square offices. The ‘Wall 

of Letters’ is an artistic expression of Daniel 

Libeskind’s appreciation for James Joyce’s 

work. The 100 letter words, known as 

‘thunderwords’ are regarded as the essence 

of Finnegan’s Wake 

Right: Architect’s impression of the Grand 

Canal Theatre entrance 

Of all the docklands buildings, the office buildings of McCann Fitzgerald solicitors 

stand out. Tim Bouchier Hayes managed the project on behalf of his partners. it is 

well recognised that the completed building, finished to the highest quality with 

attention paid to every detail, is a testament to Bouchier-Hayes’ vision and hard work. 

The Scott Tallon Walker design is one they can be very proud of. Arup’s were civil, 

mechanical and services engineers. “The job really went according to plan except for 

a bit of panic carpet laying on the night before occupation. All hands were on deck 

late into the night. The boardroom, which is located on the top floor, is a really fine 

space with a wonderful aspect onto the River Liffey,” Tom Costello says. 

Adjacent to the McCann Fitzgerald offices is the Grand Canal Square Development for 

Joe O’Reilly’s Chartered Land. “O’Reilly is intent on leaving a legacy of some of the finest 

buildings in the city and this is no exception,” says Costello. it comprises some 37,000 sq m 

of offices and a theatre designed by the internationally acclaimed architect, Daniel 

Libeskind. The theatre, which fronts onto the Martha Schwartz-designed square, will 

be a valuable addition to the Dublin cultural scene when it opens in March 2010. The 

South Docklands has become home to many of the large legal practices, the most 

recent arrivals are BCM Hanby Wallace and William Fry Solicitors as tenants of Grand 

Canal Square.



Opposite: An architect’s impression of the 

magnificent auditorium at the Grand Canal 

Theatre 

Above: PwC’s spacious new office 

accommodation at Spencer Dock 

Following pages: The Spencer Dock site 

including 60,000sqm office accommodation, 

586 apartments, 27 penthouses, 110 social 

housing units and a 40,000sqm conference 

centre. Total cost of construction exceeds 

€600 million 

A prominent project in the Docklands regeneration is the Spencer Dock 

Development. Sisk and Treasury Holdings had worked closely together since the 

redevelopment of the Treasury Building on Dublin’s Grand Canal St, so for the Spencer 

Dock Development, John Ronan and kevin kelly came up with the idea to form a 

joint venture contracting company comprised of Treasury and Sisk to build Spencer 

Dock – CMP (Construction Management Partnership) was founded. The overall 

development, with a build cost of more than €600m, includes 60,000sqm of offices, 

including PricewaterhouseCoopers with 21,000sq m, Fortis with 6,500sqm and the 

Central Bank with 7,000sqm. The residential portion consists of 586 apartments, 27 

penthouses and 110 social housing units. 

Both office and residential elements of the scheme were designed by Scott 

Tallon Walker with O’Connor Sutton Cronin as engineers. The fit-out of 

PricewaterhouseCoopers offices was designed by Liam Mullally of Mullally Leonard 

Partnership and was completed in an amazing 11 months.


traNSFormatioN 207


Richard kiely, general manager of CMP, has spent five years on Spencer Dock. “The 

success of the job was down to teamwork, and the CMP model of developer and 

contractor working in partnership determined from the outset how the job should 

be approached,” says Richard. 

The landmark building in Spencer Dock, with its enormous glass drum, is the National 

Convention Centre. Dublin Chamber of Commerce spent 30 years promoting the 

idea of an international convention centre for Dublin. Designed by kevin Roche 

John Dinkeloo & Associates, this PPP (public private partnership) scheme is the first 

major public access building to be constructed since the foundation of the State. 

Costello says full credit for the successful delivery of the Convention Centre must go 

to Dermod Dwyer and his team, the CMP team and all the design team, who, with 

Roche Dinkeloo also includes O’Connor Sutton Cronin, Bruce Shaw and McArdle 

McSweeney Associates. 

The Convention Centre, Dublin by night 

Opposite: Cork School of Music. The sound 

of music pervades every corner of the 

building thanks to the magnificent 

instruments made available 

OTHER PUbLIC bUILDINGS 

it might appear that Sisk abandoned its Cork roots during the boom, and focused on 

the capital, but this was not the case. While much of the work done in the region is 

in the pharmaceutical sector, the honour of building the new Cork School of Music 

went to Sisk.

traNSFormatioN 209


The Cork School of Music and a bundle of five schools were some of the first PPPs 

(public private partnerships) in ireland. Jarvis with Sisk as design build contractor 

were the successful bidders for both. 

The term ‘place making’ is sometimes used to describe the development of the 

built environment in cities. The Cork School of Music is a major addition to the 

‘place making’ of Cork City. The building, beautifully designed by Murray O’Laoire 

Architects, has been universally welcomed, acclaimed and enjoyed by the people of 

Cork. To mark the opening of the building Sisk and Murray O’Laoire commissioned a 

work, Light Ensemble, by artist, Vivienne Roche. 

Above: Cork School of Music on the 

banks of the River Lee 

Opposite: The Ritz Carlton Hotel at 

Powerscourt, Co Wicklow. A Treasury 

Holdings Development 

“There is something really special about buildings which are used by the public,” 

says Costello. “Hotels and shopping centres for example as opposed to offices or 

industrial buildings are viewed, used and enjoyed by the public. Very few buildings 

are genuine visitor attractions. The sports stadia and the national conference centre 

will undoubtedly be much visited as indeed the Libeskind-designed theatre on 

Dublin’s Grand Canal Square looks likely to be one also, while the most visited 

building in ireland currently is the Guinness Storehouse.” 

The original Storehouse was built in 1904 and remained in commercial use until 

the late 1980s. Guinness had the idea of converting it to a visitor experience as 

its millennium project. “RkD Architects drew on all its creative genius to design a 

building, including the magnificent Gravity Bar, which has been a huge success for 

Guinness and looks as good today as it did when it opened almost 10 years ago in 

2000,” says Costello.

traNSFormatioN 211



HOTELS 

Consumer demand and tax incentives fuelled the development of hotels in towns 

and cities around ireland. Of the many hotels built by Sisk, two in particular stand out. 

Enda O’Rourke led the Sisk team who delivered a project of the highest quality 

for Ritz-Carlton and Treasury Holdings in the grounds of Powerscourt House in Co 

Wicklow. “The only hotel of comparable quality is the Ritz-Carlton Tokyo,” says John F 

Hogan, director of Ritz-Carlton Hotels. 

Meanwhile Gerry Barrett’s glamorous g Hotel in Galway strongly reflects Gerry’s 

vision, Douglas Wallace’s creativity and Philip Treacy’s style. The hotel has been 

widely critically acclaimed for its inventive finishes and unique use of space. 

OffICES 

Commerce is the lifeblood of a city and as Dublin thrived, Sisk built hundreds of 

thousands of square metres of offices. 

As well as the Spencer Dock, McCann Fitzgerald and Grand Canal Square buildings, 

Sisk also built the AiB expansion at Ballsbridge, Park Place on Hatch Street for 

Clancourt, Church Street Development for John Byrne and Connaught House for 

Treasury Holdings. 

The €130m AiB building, designed by RkD working with Arup and Delap and Waller and 

cost managed by Bruce Shaw, consists of more than 32,500sq m of new build, designed 

to provide state-of-the-art accommodation for 3,500 people. The main atrium, some 

30m high, and an open plan area of 50m by 70m is the focal point of the building. RkD 

and Arup are justifiably proud of the sheer elegance of the steel roof design. 

Relationships have played a big part in the Sisk success story. The relationship with 

the kenny family, initially Charlie and now his sons, Conor and kevin, goes as far back 

as 1974 when the first phase of the Crescent Shopping Centre in Limerick was built. 

Costello remembers with fondness the first phase of Parkway in Limerick for Charlie 

kenny. “i still don’t know how we did it but we built the centre [valued at the time 

at about €6m] in 22 weeks from clearing the site on May 14th 1984 to opening the 

centre on November 7th. i learned a lot from Dan Folan (general foreman for Sisk) on 

that job and on several other projects after that.” 

Clancourt’s Park Place is built on the ‘old Dunlop site’ on Dublin’s Hatch Street. 

Designed by kMD Architecture, it has a great aspect onto the beautiful iveagh 

Gardens. Declan kelly, Sisk regional director, and his team managed the project and 

the fit-out of Hibernian Aviva, including facilitating the move of 2,300 staff. Engineers, 

Michael Punch & Partners, and quantity surveyors, kSN, also played their part in a very 

successful project. 

As the growth of residential development continued, Sisk formed its own residential 

division headed by Paraic keogh. As well as the projects for Park Developments 

Opposite: The Pink Salon at the g Hotel in 

Galway architecturally designed by Douglas 

Wallace the interior was designed by the 

world famous Galway milliner, Philip Treacy 

Above: Lobby fireplace and McGills Bar at the 

Ritz Carlton, Powerscourt, Co Wicklow


mentioned earlier, the residential division built the highest residential block in ireland 

at Central Park in Sandyford for Lalco having earlier built the Old Chocolate Factory at 

kilmainham for the same client. Henry J Lyons were architects for Central Park and at 

kilmainham, keogh says, Tony Reddy’s office did a great job in designing the mixed 

use development which also includes the Hilton Hotel and offices. 

Above: AiB Bankcentre, Ballsbridge, Dublin 

Opposite: Park Place, Hatch Street, Dublin 

As John Sisk & Son celebrates its 150th year it also marks the end of the most incredible 

construction boom the country had ever experienced. According to Costello: “Sisk 

had the good fortune through this time to construct many of the finest buildings in 

ireland, designed by wonderfully creative architects and engineers and built by some 

of the best and most competent people in the industry.” ■


150th Anniversary 

Volunteering Programme 

As SiSk Group considered the various options on how to commemorate its 

150th year in business, giving back to the community was a theme embraced 

by everyone and so the employee volunteering programme was created. 

Through the careful and untiring work of the SiSk Group human resources 

personnel a series of challenges was established against which volunteers 

could ‘sign up’ to complete. 

A high level of involvement was achieved with hundreds of employees 

giving of their time and skills to help those less fortunate. The following is a 

short account of some of the challenges completed. 

HAbITAT fOR HUMANITy OVERSEAS 

May 2009 saw the SiSk Group partnering with Habitat for Humanity (HFH) 

ireland to work on its ‘Global Village: Orphans & Vulnerable Children’ project 

in Mozambique. Ten SiSk Group staff members travelled to Mozambique for 

eight days to help ensure that the most needy and vulnerable of society are 

given the opportunity to grow up within their family units and communities. 

Each team member far exceeded their target for fundraising and this was 

added to by the SiSk Group. The overall total achieved reached over €46,000. 

All the materials were supplied and sourced locally, from the cement and 

blocks to the timber, stone and thatch, making the whole project sustainable 

within the wider community. The volunteers started on two houses, which 

they later learned were to house a family of nine; a widowed lady, with four 

of her own children, and four grandchildren, who are now her responsibility 

following the Aids-related death of her daughter. 

CLUID DUbLIN 

Cluid is a dedicated housing organisation which, through the provision of 

housing, aims to facilitate the creation of homes and communities where 

people want to live and settle. 

This project included 17 staff members across the SiSk Group. 

The overall goal of the project was to provide a ‘make over’ for the killarney 

Court Community Hall and associated rooms based in Dublin City Centre 

which were in need of painting and cleaning. 

SCHOOL Of THE HOLy SPIRIT 

School of the Holy Spirit is a special school which provides education for 

children with ASD, Asperger’s Syndrome, ADD, ADHD and other special 

needs in kilkenny and the surrounding areas. A school specifically designed 

to meet the needs of these students was completed in August 2009. 

its sensory garden provides experiences for multiple senses and contains 

features such as sculptures; interactive water features designed to make 

sound and play over the hands; different textures on pathways and walls, and 

shapes to feel. Landscaping and planting create a variety of space settings 

and sensory experiences. Elements of this garden include wind chimes, 

water whispering tubes, button operated tape recordings, herbs and other 

fragrant plants and magnifying and coloured glass lenses. 

Other challenges undertaken by the Sisk volunteers were bag-packing in 

Dunnes Stores in aid of the irish Hospice, School Business Partnership, Cork 

to Dublin cycle, Bray coastline cleanup, refurbishment of a De Paul ireland 

Hostel accommodation, and Habitat ireland house construction. ■ 

1. Schools Business Partnership 

2. Cork to Dublin cycle 

3. Sensory Garden keyhole at School 

of the Holy Spirit, kilkenny 

5. Cleaning coastline at Bray, 

Co Wicklow 

6. Cluid project at killarney Court 

Community Hall, Dublin 

4. Habitat for Humanity in 

Mozambique


1 

4 

2 

5 

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transformation - Sisk 150

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