150 Year SISK - The Irish Times Special Report

THE IRISH TIMES SPECIAL REPORT
FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2009
STRENGTH DIVERSITY EXPERIENCE
delivering excellence in construction on the Nations buildings for 150 years.

We operate across all sectors of the Irish construction market; Civil Engineering Commercial Education Energy Healthcare Hotel Industrial Leisure Pharmaceutical Public Buildings Residential Retail
John Sisk & Son Ltd.
St.Marys of the Rosary, Nenagh 1896
Cork City Hall 1936
Dept. Industry & Commerce 1942
Mr.John Sisk, Founder
Central Bank, Dublin 1978
Wexford Bridge 1959
Dundrum Town Centre 2005
Royal Hospital, Kilmainham (Restoration) 1980
Galway Cathedral 1965
Offices throughout Ireland: Dublin, Cork, Dundalk, Galway, Limerick, Sligo, Waterford & Belfast
Visit www.sisk.ie for further information and our anniversary website with historical timeline and video.
Inside
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Laying the foundations Family company Sisk has traded through wars and times of boom and bust to shape Irelands architectural landscape Family values Group chief executive Liam Nagle on the Sisk Group philosophy, and growth and continuity in a volatile industry Social conscience Giving something back to the community is a core value at Sisk, which is involved in a variety of charitable projects Rich diversity Expanding the business, whether into other countries or healthcare, has been crucial to the success of Sisk Portrait Sisk founder John Sisk, whose father died during the Famine Making history Sisks buildings reflect various chapters in Irish history, from church and State to the Celtic Tiger boom Working together With the States ability to borrow to fund infrastructure severely limited, public-private partnership has a role to play On home ground The rebirth of Lansdowne Road as the state-of-the-art Aviva Stadium has provided an exciting challenge for Sisk
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Docklands turnaround The revitalisation of Dublins Docklands has provided Sisk with some of its most prestigous buidings Portrait John Valentine Sisk, who in 1880 began working as an apprentice at the age of 13 with his father Gaelic pride Croke Park is Sisks most admired and renowned project. What went into creating the iconic stadium on Dublins northside? The Cork connection From its first appearance on a 1687 lease, the name Sisk has had a profound influence on the urban landscape of Cork city Portrait John G Sisk, who opened the companys Dublin office in the 1930s Medical matters Aware that the boom could not last forever, Sisk group used the good times to make a successful expansion into the healthcare industry Portrait Current chairman of the group George Sisk recounts four decades in the family business and international expansion The test of time Sisks conservation and restoration arm ensures some of Irelands most important stone buildings are preserved for the future
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Great in Britain Sisks UK operation is celebrating its silver jubilee, with more than 400 people and has numerous prestigious projects to its name
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SISK AT 150 EDITOR: Madeleine Lyons PRODUCTION EDITOR: Rachel Collins PRODUCTION AND DESIGN: Emma Somers CONTACT: Special Reports Department, The Irish Times, Tara St, Dublin 2 TEL: 01-6758000 E-MAIL: specialreports@irishtimes.com ADVERTISING: Dermot Tierney at Special Reports Bureau TEL: 01-873 4233 E-MAIL: dtierney@irishtimes.com Image above: Construction of the American Air Museum in Cambridgeshire in the UK Front cover images, from left: National Conference Centre, Spencer Dock, Dublin; St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin; Dundrum Town Centre, Dublin; Central Bank, Dame Street, Dublin; Centocor facility, Ringaskiddy, Co Cork; distribution for Bosch; Croke Park Stadium, Dublin; Sisk Healthcare
THE IRISH TIMES Sisk at 150 | March 13, 2009 | 3
SISK AT 150 LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS

WORDS BY EMMA CULLINAN PHOTOGRAPH BY BRYAN OBRIEN
04 | THE IRISH TIMES Sisk at 150 | March 13, 2009
Towering success
Since they began trading in 1859, the Sisk familys influence has been felt right across the country, building some of Irelands most iconic buildings
St Cronan church in Roscrea and its interior is similar to that of Cormacs Chapel in Cashel both in Co Tipperary. The building also has a miniature Irish round tower at one end. In October 1921, just months before the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty that would lead to Irish independence, the founder of the business, John Sisk, died at the age of 84. In his will, he left money to his family and the firm to his partner and son, John V. As Ireland was getting to grips with going it alone, John V, too, was now solely in charge of the companys destiny, although his second son, John G, was to play a large role in the future of the company. John G joined the firm at the age of 20 as an apprentice engineer. One large job at the time was the construction of the new Cork City Hall, which was to replace the one burned during the War of Independence. It was designed by Dublin architects Jones & Kelly in a traditional style and has references to the Custom House in Dublin, which was designed by James Gandon in 1781 (and which Sisk was to later renovate). The foundation stone at Cork was laid on July 9th, 1932 by amon de Valera, who opened the building four years later on September 8th, 1936. Much of the dressed limestone on the City Hall faade was quarried in Little Island, delivered with an early electric crane and, at the cutting edge of technology, sliced with large circular and swing saws. During the build, one of John Gs tasks was to scour the papers for jobs for which the company could tender, but there was often nothing for weeks on end. Once asked if these were bad economic times, he quipped: There were no economic times. There was no social security and often they would have to get breakfast for men who came to work and fainted with weakness. John G decided to open an office in Dublin soon after becoming engaged to Mary Magdalen and the couple set up home in Ranelagh. As company secretary, she was to prove crucial to the success of the Dublin operation, although it got off to a slow start. The company worked on a few smaller projects, including Corpus Christi Church in Whitehall, Dublin, before landing the prestigious job of constructing the first purpose-built offices for the new independent Irish government: the then Department of Industry and Commerce in Kildare Street. A competition to design the building was held in 1934 and was won by architect JR Boyd Barrett (Michael Scott also entered). The design was conservative and slipped neatly into its surroundings, staying with the neo-Classicism that predominated in Ireland at the time, despite the spread of Modernism across the world. Continued on page 6
HE SISK building company was founded in 1859, just a decade after the famine. Since then it has traded through wars and depressions to remain a wholly Irish-owned company, diversifying into other fields such as healthcare and distribution. It all began with a young man named John whose father Patrick died during the Famine. Patrick was believed to have been a plasterer, taking the building line back even further. At the age of 11, John became an apprentice to a plasterer called Richard Martin, a Quaker. John began the building company just before his marriage to Kate Burke in 1859 and one of the first Sisk projects was a building for the Cork Distillery Company on Morrisons Island. John and Kate had six sons, four of whom entered the building trade. Nicholas worked as a plasterer and tiler; William was a carpenter and woodcarver (his work can be seen in the Bunnyconnellan Hotel in Myrtleville, Co Cork); Richard was a plasterer and, later, foreman; and John Valentine started out as an apprentice carpenter and set up on his own in 1900. Six years later, when his father became ill and the original business was in trouble, John Valentine returned to the family firm and formed a partnership with his father: John Sisk & Son. By then the company had worked on many convents, churches and houses, including Crosshaven Convent, Bon Secours convent and offices for the then Cork Examiner and a home for its owner, Thomas Crosbie.
As Ireland was getting to grips with going it alone, John V, too, was now solely in charge of the companys destiny following his fathers death in October 1921
After John V, as he was fondly known, became a partner, the company grew rapidly and had a solid grounding in Cork by the early 20th century, having worked on church buildings (including the galleries at St Finbarrs South Chapel in Cork in 1881 and the spire of Holy Trinity church in 1890) and the Munster and Leinster Bank building in South Mall. The classical building employed the builders craftsmanship with materials that came from around the world, as well as local stone, including Little Island (Cork) limestone. In 1859, the Gothic revival was in full swing. But when Sisk began much of its significant work, architectural styles were changing and, with them, building methods. Over its lifetime, the company has followed the changes from cut-stone to bricklaying and
Liberty Hall in Dublin (left); Cork City Hall (above); John G Sisk (top centre) meets then-president Eamon de Valera (top left)
then reinforced concrete structures. The Honan Chapel in Cork, a key building on which the company worked, was both stylistically and structurally positioned at the heart of changes in architectural styles and politics. Beside University College Cork, it was paid for out of the Honan family bequest in 1914. Ireland was breaking away from British rule and the chapel drew on Celtic influences. It was also influenced by the Arts and Crafts Movement, which referenced handcrafted objects at a time of increased industrialisation. The chapels Hiberno-Romanesque style drew on 12th-century buildings for inspiration. Its facade is a copy of the 12th-century Romanesque
SISK AT 150 LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS
Continued from page 5 Yet the building has elements that speak of its time, with Art Deco and Art Nouveau constituents. During the construction of the Kildare Street building, Sisk won the contract to build Cavan Cathedral in 1938. Again this involved specialist craftsmanship, not least on the decorative stonework. Sisk established a drawing office in Dublin to predetermine the size, shape and finish of each of the thousands of stones in the building and to identify their location in the structure. As with the Kildare Street job, Cavan Cathedral was built during the second World War and many of the materials were difficult to procure. Despite that, it was a lucky job, said John G. I bought all the timber a few weeks before rationing, half from Belfast and half from Dublin. I bought all the Portland stone before the quarries closed, also all the copper for the roof one week before it was controlled and under ration. The most amazing piece of luck was the marble. This was ordered from a very decent Italian, Oliviero Danieli. My father rang me from Cork one night and said: I think that Mussolini is going into war, you had better do something about the trainload of marble columns [which had come through Belfast] or they will be seized as contraband of war. I left that evening and was on the Border at the Great Northern Railway station soon, saw the customs man and explained the position and offered him a cheque for the duty of 8,000-odd. I then saw the station foreman and gave him 5 to shunt the wagons of marble to our side of the Border and stayed there until he did so. The next morning Italy was in the war: some timing . . . by the skin of our teeth. A couple of years before Cavan Cathedral was completed in 1942, the structure of the company
His son, Hal, is proud of his father and puts much of the businesss continued success down to his bravery: John G ventured where others merely speculated.
changed and John V, then in his 70s, gave most of the shares to his son, John G. In 1958 John Sisk & Son began work on another cathedral, in Galway, which also involved complex craftsmanship. A booklet to mark the opening of Galway Cathedral gives an indication of how tastes were changing: Many would have preferred a bolder, more contemporary design as being expressive of the new developments in church life. One must remember, however, that the building took six years to complete; its walls were already some height before conservative became a really bad word. In 1967, three years after finishing Galway Cathedral, the company won the contract to build the Central Bank on Dame Street in Dublin, working with cutting-edge technology and structural forms. The structure, that was effectively hung from its apex, was designed by Stephenson Gibney Associates. The bank was finished in 1978 following a public inquiry, a few planning applications and
appeals, and Stephenson complaining about the ferocity of attacks on his character. As with the Central Bank, the hospitals constructed as part of the new 1948 coalition governments building programme tended towards a contemporary style. At last, large-scale Irish buildings, with their white concrete walls and rectangular plans, were looking to modernism and continental Europe for inspiration. The designers of the Sisk-built St Vincents Hospital, Downes and Meehan architects, took inspiration from the Brgerspital Hospital in Basel. Crumlin hospital, built by Sisk in 1946, was designed in a very different style by some of the architects at Robinson Keefe Devane (RKD), who had worked on Galway Cathedral; partner Andy Devane had studied under Frank Lloyd Wright in the US. On July 20th, 1961 Sisk began building Liberty Hall, Irelands first skyscraper and the tallest tower in Dublin at 17 storeys (60m). Liberty Hall designer Desmond Ri OKelly said the building was inspired by Frank Lloyd Wrights Johnson Wax building in Wisconsin but that its wavy roof was not a reference to the nearby Busras, designed by Michael Scott and built by Sisk between 1945 and 1953. It was designed in the International style that
Clockwise from above: the Arts building in UCD; Offaly County Council; the Central Bank on Dame Street in Dublin; the Department of Industry and Commerce on Kildare Street; Galway Cathedral
had emerged in Europe and the US before the war a style in which Dublin airport was also designed, by a team led by Desmond Fitzgerald. Not long after the completion of Busras, John V, then in his 90s, became ill. He died on July 2nd, 1957. John G had not only lost a father but a friend; the pair are said to have possessed something nearing telepathy when communicating at meetings. The Modernist work continued and included the Arts Block and Administration Building at UCD in Belfield in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The buildings were designed by a 27-year-old Polish man called Andrzej Wejchert, working with local architects RKD. Sisk also worked on the Arts
TIMELINE
1837 John Sisk is born on September 30th. From the age of 11 he learned his trade from Quaker plasterer Richard Martin 1845 Start of the Great Famine, during which Johns father Patrick died 1859 John Sisk starts the building company and marries Kate Burke they have six sons, four of whom later work for their father 1861 Civil war starts in the US 1868 John Valentine Sisk is born. Although three of his brothers also work for the company, it is John V who later goes into partnership with his father and is left the company after his death 1884 Founding of the GAA more than 100 years later Sisk will build Croke Park 1911 John Gerard Sisk (John G), who will later take over the company, is born 1912 Sisk builds the Munster and Leinster Bank, designed by architect Arthur Hill, in Cork city 1914 The first World War starts and impacts the supply of building materials. Sisk employed to build bunkers 1916 Sisk builds the Honan Chapel in Cork 1921 Irish civil war; death of John Sisk; Cork City Hall burned down during the fighting
SISK 150
Block in Trinity College Dublin, from 1968 to 1979, Ahrends Burton and Koraleks (ABK) second project at the university, the first being the now iconic Berkeley Library. ABK and Sisk also teamed up on St Andrews College in Booterstown, Dublin, in 1968. When times were hard in Ireland, Sisk set up in other countries and has worked in Africa, Germany and the UK, where it still has a substantial
business. The company also diversified over the years, into distribution for Bosch, specialist architectural glass and healthcare. It also set up a civil-engineering arm to build infrastructure such as roads and waste-management systems. When the economy picked up in the early 1990s, Sisk was well-placed to build key boom buildings, such as Croke Park and Lansdowne
Building the foundations of society

Schools and third level Gonzaga College (1948-1958) Clongowes Wood College dormitory and science block (1958-1968) Dublin City University library (Scott Tallon Walker, 2000) UCD Nova Building (Kavanagh Tuite, 2002) Cork School of Music (Murray Laoire, 2005) Social projects Sisk was involved in a variety of council-housing projects in Dublin as well as the 9.5 million Ballymun project. Industrial facilities Sisk built many industrial facilities following the attraction of inward investment by the IDA including Potez, Pfizer, Hewlett Packard, Wyeth, Bausch and Lomb, Allergan and Johnson & Johnson Shopping centres Sisk built many of the countrys shopping centres during the boom including Blanchardstown, Pavilions, Liffey Valley, Whitewater, Scotch Hall and The Square, as well as Dundrum town centre in Dublins southside. Dundrum is Sisks largest building project to date, valued at 420 million. At its peak 1600 people were involved in its construction. Civic offices Dn Laoghaire/Rathdown town hall (McCullough Mulvin and RKD Architects) Limerick County Council HQ (Bucholz McEvoy) Offaly county offices (ABK) Athlone offices (Keith Williams Architects)
Road stadium, which is now on site. The company also built many of Irelands shopping centres and civic offices around the country. When the recent downturn hit, Sisk was in the fortunate position of having some large jobs on site, including the Lansdowne project and Spencer Dock, to the north of the Liffey, with its conference centre, by architect Kevin Roche. Across the river, Sisk is building the Grand Canal theatre, by architect Daniel Libeskind, and the compa-
Not long after the completion of Busras, John V, then in his 90s, became ill and died on July 2nd, 1957. John G had not only lost a father but a friend
ny has just won a contract for the Mater hospital. The man who had expanded the company from Cork to Dublin (and later beyond), John G, died in 2001 at the age of 90, but he had already handed over to the next generation in 1974. His son Hal is proud of his father and puts much of the businesss continued success down to his bravery. John G ventured where others merely speculated, he says.
SISK AT 150 LIAM NAGLE

WORDS BY BARRY McCALL
Family fortunes
VER THE past 150 years, Sisk has been responsible for some of the most famous and iconic buildings in the country including Liberty Hall, Busras, Cork City Hall, the Central Bank, the new Croke Park stadium, Nenagh Cathedral and many of the countrys largest industrial plants. Today, the company logo can be seen on landmark projects such as the National Conference Centre on Dublins Spencer Dock and the new Lansdowne Road stadium. Sisk is also one of the largest privately-owned companies in Ireland. In 2007, turnover exceeded 1.6 billion, with 2,800 people employed across its operations. Possibly the most remarkable thing about the company is its longevity. In a notoriously volatile industry that swings from boom to bust with alarming regularity, Sisk can celebrate
For 150 years Sisk has followed a simple but effective strategy and the groups chief executive, Liam Nagle, has no intention of abandoning this philosophy in the future
150 years of near unbroken success and growth. Group chief executive Liam Nagle has no doubt about the key reason for that success. Sisk is a family business. This is vitally important as it allows us to take a long-term view in terms of strategy, he says. It also makes us culturally unique. Everyone working in the business knows who the Sisk family are and understands the company and family values. One of the areas where this has very visible benefits is in staff retention when you walk around any one of our offices or sites youll find people who have been with us for 20 and 30 years and more. The long-term view he speaks of is facilitated by an ownership structure that is very different to companies quoted on the stock market. I would not for a moment criticise the plc model of ownership, says Nagle. But it does help that we are not driven by quarter-on-quarter results. We are as aggressive as anyone else in terms of growing the company, but we can afABOVE: Liam Nagle, chief executive of Sisk. Photograph: Brenda Fitzsimons OPPOSITE PAGE (from top): Busras, which was built between 1945 and 1953; the National Conference Centre, Photograph: David Sleator; the Aviva Stadium at Lansdowne Road Stadium under construction ford to take a longer-term view and I believe this gives us a competitive advantage. And long term means just that. The business is now owned by the fifth generation of the Sisk family and I am very much aware that my job is not just to deliver results this year, or next year, but to continue building the business for future generations thats a pretty awesome challenge, he says. Our vision is to create a diversified business built around our historic strength and culture; a business that delivers results for all of its stakeholders, including the Sisk family, our staff and our clients. The relative simplicity of this vision is reflected in the groups strategic plan. Our strategy is fairly simple, Nagle says. We will continue to do what we already do well and continue to invest in the various businesses in the group. We will continue to diversify into sensible areas. And we will start to behave more as the Sisk Group and make our 10 companies
TIMELINE
a washing machine in Origo or tendering for a job in the construction business, the expertise is out in those companies and we are very conscious of not interfering with that. Looking to the future of the group, he believes that Sisks history holds the key to its longterm success. The Sisk group has managed its way through civil wars, depressions, recessions and World Wars and we have done this through diversifying and continually looking for new and different things to do, he points out. We travelled abroad to the UK in the 1980s, to Africa in the 1970s and 1980s, and to Germany in the 1980s and 1990s when work was thin on the ground here. In Ireland, we constantly diversified and moved into different areas such as civil works. For example, we recently moved into the road building area and were part of the consortium responsible for the new Cashel Bypass and we are currently involved in the construction of the Shannon Tunnel. Over the decades, we have demonstrated the ability to change in order to win work; we have a great reputation for the delivery of good-quality work, on time and on budget and that reputation is now standing to us in the tougher times. 1929 The Wall Street Crash; John G remembers buying meals for hungry workers during the 1930s recession 1931 John G joins the company, having graduated in engineering from UCC 1936 Company incorporated, with John Vs sons Raymond and John G becoming directors 1937 Sisk sets up Stone Developments to ensure a secure and good quality stone supply to the firm 1938 Sisk & Son moves to Dublin. After a sluggish start it lands valuable contracts, including the first office of the independent government and Cavan Cathedral (right); the company lands its highest value job to date, Castlerea Mental Hospital, at 180,000 1940 Sisk devises a way of mixing coal duff (small particles) and pitch (solid petroleum), used to fuel trains during the Emergency; John G becomes managing director 1941 The Emergency (the second World War); Sisk is contracted to build air-raid shelters 1946 Sisk commissions a logo from British firm Reynolds Stone, which also designed 5 and 10 notes. Sisk asked for a design that would work on notepaper and site hoardings. The design, which cost 50, has lasted to this day
SISK 150
The Sisk group has managed its way through civil wars, depressions, recessions and World Wars by diversifying and continually looking for new things to do
We like to think that when people want something done properly theyll come to Sisk. This ability to change is particularly important in the current environment, where tender prices have dropped by more than 20 per cent over the past 18 months. Even in the good times, we were only earning profits of around 3 per cent of turnover so we have to become even more efficient, he says. He cites the Lansdowne Road stadium project as an example. We planned that project from the end to the beginning rather than the other way around. This means that the porta-cabins that we put down at the beginning of the project havent been moved once and will not be moved until we take them off site. Just a few years ago, we would probably have moved them four or five times by now, adding cost in the project. It is strategic thinking like this that keeps us ahead of our competitors. His recipe for future success includes two key ingredients: keeping the cost base at the right level and making the company as efficient as possible. In addition, we aim to win a decent share of the business thats out there; we will make sure that clients know about Sisk and our longevity and reliability; and we will probably look at travelling again and looking for work abroad. Thanks to the growth in the Irish economy over the past few decades, the scale of the projects we have been involved in here at home has grown greatly and this has given us the experience and expertise to be able to go after larger projects in the UK and in mainland Europe.
greater than the sum of their parts. It is a simple story, he says. It is not a complex strategic plan. The last aim of behaving more like a group does not herald any fundamental change in culture. On the contrary, this move is also driven by the long-held values of the company.
We are very consciously not creating some kind of a corporate centre which is distanced from the operating companies in the group. All of our people are empowered to make decisions and grow their businesses. It is out there at the coalface that business is won and done and delivered. Whether its selling
SISK AT 150 SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

WORDS BY SANDRA OCONNELL
One good turn
As a family business, Sisk has always believed in giving back to the community. The group is involved in a variety of projects from community housing to toymaking HABITAT FOR HUMANITY
OUR COMMITMENT to CSR isnt just about giving money to projects, it is about using the skill base we have in Sisk to help make a difference, says Liam Nagle, Sisk chief executive. One of the most tangible aspects of Sisks CSR activities this year will be its help building 16 affordable homes for people in need in Ireland. Working with international agency Habitat for Humanity, which has provided shelter for more than one million people worldwide, the houses will be built in Elmdale in Ballyfermot, Dublin. Dublin City Council is giving us the land and Sisk is helping us build them, says Habitat for Humanity executive director Kevin McGarry. The three-bedroom, 92sq m houses will have front and back gardens and will be owned by the residents, with the aid of special mortgages organised for them by the charity and EBS. These are people who are working but whose income would not be enough to be entertained by a mortgage provider ordinarily, says McGarry. Each buyer will also commit to putting 500 sweat-equity hours into their home. Habitat for Humanity will work with each family throughout the term of their mortgage, providing help and support. Sisks input makes a fantastic difference because their expertise will ensure the houses are built professionally and to the highest standards. It also brings down the price of the home for the buyer, says McGarry. These are not houses we are building, but homes. Not estates, but communities. What we are doing will benefit each family for generations to come. Sisks CSR initiative not only looks at local projects but at programmes overseas too. This year a group of volunteers will travel to Mozambique, also with Habitat for Humanity. The charity has built 300,000 homes around the world since its inception in 1976. For two weeks volunteers will help build between 10 and 15 homes in partnership with local communities there.
ORPORATE SOCIAL Responsibility (CSR) is a new term for an old concept; that of being a good neighbour. Its something the Sisk Group has worked towards in a low-key way for decades. In one long-running project, staff volunteer each year to build toys in the companys joinery workshop in the run-up to Christmas. These are then distributed to charitable organisations around the country. This year, to mark the groups 150th anniversary, Sisk is embarking on a major new CSR initiative, partnering with charitable organisations around the country as part of a comprehensive volunteering programme. We plan on recognising the great milestone of our anniversary in a number of ways during 2009, ways which will be consistent with our values and ethos as a family business, says Sisk chief executive Liam Nagle. Representatives from across the business have identified a number of local community and charitable organisations, as well as one overseas organisation, to work with. Each of these partner organisations has identified a project or challenge they need help with that would create a meaningful impact, says Nagle. Continued on page 12
Sunflower Days
AS PART of the groups CSR initiative, Sisk employees will be volunteering for street collections in aid of the Irish Hospice Foundations two Sunflower Days in June. All funds raised locally will stay local, helping develop hospice services in that region. Further fundraising initiatives are also planned to collect money for the Childrens Palliative Care programme.
SISK AT 150 SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
CHRISTMAS TOYMAKING
FOR ALMOST half a century, trainees at the Sisk joinery have manufactured and delivered countless numbers of toys to hospitals, hospices, womens shelters and childrens charitable organisations around the country at Christmas time. It has been very low key, not something we publicise, says Dave Treacy, who heads up the companys training unit. Typically we start into toy making in October and our aim is to have everything delivered by the second week in December when the lads dress up in Santa suits and head off in their trucks. Toymaking aside, Treacy believes the very fact of having a training centre is a good indicator of the groups commitment to training and development. It is part of our ethos. Every year we take in a number of school-leavers and train them up as carpenters and joiners over a four-year apprenticeship. Most of our senior site managers have come up through the in-house training system this way. As carpenters are often among the first and last to be on site during the building process, they get a great overview of all aspects of building, he said. Those trained up in house this way are the best they have the trade background and think the Sisk way, which is to say, they believe in quality and in getting the job done right.
Clean Coast Project, Bray

SISK VOLUNTEERS are helping to clean up the coastline in Bray, Co Wicklow. Working with Clean Coast Project organisers, the volunteers will help restore the cliff walk between Bray and Greystones. The work involves maintaining paths, rebuilding walls, cutting back overhanging bushes, repairing fences and cleaning up litter.
Depaul Trust
The Sisk Group is providing resources to the Depaul Trust, which works with some of the most marginalised homeless people in Dublin and Belfast. The Depaul Trust provides accommodation, outreach services, training and medical assistance for homeless people.
CLUID
THE SISK Groups construction expertise makes it a perfect partner for housing organisation Cluid. Sisk will work with Cluid to help provide practical assistance such as painting, decorating and generally improving the standards and appearance of social housing for low-income families and older people.
TIMELINE
SCHOOLS BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP PROGRAMME
THE SISK Group is participating in the Schools Business Partnership Programme, which is run by the non-profit organisation Business in the Community. Through its Skills @ Work programme, staff offer pupils day in the life talks, CV workshops, mock interviews and company visits for pupils. In this way, children in disadvantaged areas see first-hand the link between education and work, helping encourage students who might otherwise be tempted to leave school early to complete their studies. 1948 Sisk wins its first 1 million contract, for Galway Sanatorium 1954 Sisk is appointed distributor of Bosch powertools in Ireland 1957 Sisk begins to work in Africa 1958 Sisk joins with Dutch firm HBM (Hollandache Beton Maatschippis), a pre-stressed reinforced concrete specialist to form civils company, Ascon; Sisk works on its first industrial project for heating company Potez 1959 Sisk celebrates its first 100 years in business
SISK 150
IRISH HEART FOUNDATION

ONE OF the most important initiatives the Sisk Group will be involved in this year is in helping provide cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training to 27,500 transition year students around the State in association with the Irish Heart Foundation. Heart attack is the most prevalent cause of death in Ireland but the quicker a patient who has had a heart attack gets assistance, the better the outcome, explains Conor Healy, sales manager with Cardiac Services, part of the Sisk Group. According to Michael O'Shea chief executive of the Irish Heart Foundation: If a person is collapsed for five minutes, their chance of survival could be reduced by as much as 50 per cent. Knowing a simple skill like CPR could make all the difference. The support from (Sisk) Cardiac Services and other donors is extremely vital to the success of this important project." The CPR 4 Schools programme has already proved successful in the US and Norway. Studies show each pupil will teach, on average, three other people the technique, bringing their knowledge home and sharing it with family members, says Healy. The schools programme makes use of a mannequin, booklet pack and a DVD, which takes just 20 minutes to play; Sisk is helping by contributing funds. It is a very important project for us to be involved in because . . . awareness of CPR will be raised in the community and lives will be saved, Healy says. Dr Ross Murphy (right) addresses an Irish Heart Foundation Conference on sudden cardiac deaths. Photograph: Bryan OBrien
1964 Sisk adds to its portfolio of stone quarries by buying a quarry at Old Leighlin in Carlow, now the headquarters of Stone Developments; Sisk builds its own headquarters; John G sets up a training centre that supplies crafted timber to many Sisk jobs and also makes toys for charities at Christmas 1965
Sisk finishes work on Irelands tallest building, Liberty Hall, which opens on May 1st with a reading of the Proclamation of Independence 1966 George Sisk becomes managing director in Cork; Sisk builds Galway Cathedral; Sisk goes into partnership with Cubits to build flats at Ballymun (below); it establishes specialist glazing company, now known as Williaam Cox
School of the Holy Spirit, Kilkenny

IN KILKENNY, Sisk is helping to create a sensory garden as an educational, therapeutic and healing environment for the School of the Holy Spirit, which provides education for children with special needs. The garden will contain features such as sculptures and interactive water features that make different sounds. Pathways and walls will have different textures and shapes to feel. It will also grow fragrant flowers and herbs, making for a stimulating play space for a childs every sense. Sisk is also partnering with Respond! to help create community gardens in housing estates in Drogheda, Co Louth, and Galway city.
SISK AT 150 PORTFOLIO

Buildings and beyond
Diversification and innovation have been crucial to the continued success of Sisk here and abroad
that they would be well looked after. The Sisk Group also takes a different approach to acquisitions from many other firms. Most firms look to generate synergies and gains from acquisitions very quickly, Nagle explains. We are different. We have what we term a soft integration approach where we keep the acquired businesses intact and invest in them. We believe this is better in the longer term. While the move into healthcare product distribution was driven by a desire not to be over-reliant on the construction and property sector, the establishment of the Stone Developments business came about as a result of the needs of the core business. Stone Developments is a leading producer and supplier of Irish limestone to the Irish, British and European markets. It operates quarries in Carlow and Kilkenny and has production facilities in both Ireland and Belgium. It is also a leading stone-cladding contractor in Ireland, supplying and fixing Irish- and international-sourced natural stone. Back in the 1930s, one of our major contracts was the construction of the mental hospital in Castlerea in Co Roscommon, says Nagle. The architect insisted on a particular limestone finish to the building, which required a consistent supply of stone. John G Sisk, who was in charge of the business at the time, bought a quarry in Ballinasloe to ensure this consistent supply and that grew into the stone business. After that, a quarry was opened in the Dublin Mountains and today we have the Carlow and Kilkenny quarries. The Origo electrical and electronic goods distribution business started out similarly from a need by the company to import electrical equipment from Bosch in Germany for its own use. Another division closely linked to the needs of the core business is Williaam Cox, a 50:50 joint venture between Sisk and CRH. Its main business is the design, manufacture and installation of large-scale architectural glazing and cladding solutions. It is also a leading supplier of smokeand heat-ventilation systems, daylight products and cladding systems. Among this companys most significant contracts at present is the glazing for the new Lansdowne Road stadium. Along with the Irish and UK construction companies, the groups portfolio of businesses is completed by property investment company Korine Property. It is mainly a partner of choice for
N THE early 1990s, when the former East Germany was undergoing a construction boom following reunification, Irish visitors to the country were often surprised to see the Sisk GMBH sign on sites. This is just one example of the Sisk Groups willingness to diversify and travel in order to sustain and grow its business. Today the Sisk Group comprises 10 separate companies spanning construction, domestic appliances, healthcare and property. The healthcare division typifies the way in which the companys diversification strategy has worked over the years. The reason for our diversification strategy is that it was recognised that the significant growth which had been experienced in the construction sector was not sustainable and that we had to look to other areas for future growth, says Sisk Group chief executive Liam Nagle. The logic of the diversification into healthcare was that the country has a growing older population which is very health-conscious, as well as the fact that the sector is counter-cyclical to the construction and property areas, he adds. Also, being a distribution business it was a good fit with our existing Origo division, which was already in that area. We already understood what it took to make a good distribution business and we were able to bring this experience to build the healthcare division. The Sisk healthcare division currently comprises four separate companies: M.E.D. Surgical, which specialises in the distribution of surgical products to operating theatres; Cardiac Services, a leading supplier of diagnostic and therapeutic healthcare equipment; Tekno Surgical, a supplier of orthopaedic, aesthetic and general surgical products; and Synapse, which supplies equipment into a number of critical clinical areas, including cardiology, endovascular and neuroradiology. The healthcare division is very new, Nagle points out. We only made the first acquisition in 2006 and we made five acquisitions within two years and have built up the division into a business with 100 million turnover per annum and 200 staff. Part of the reason why we were able to do this is because Sisk is a family business. We were able to talk to other family businesses on an equal footing and they were happy to sell some of their family jewels to us, knowing
We were able to talk to other family businesses on an equal footing and they were happy to sell some of their family jewels to us, knowing that they would be well looked after
landowners or businesses that wish to develop or redevelop their property on a joint-venture basis. Korines experienced management team can help landowners wanting to realise potential from property. Recently Sisk also opened offices in Dubai and Abbu Dhabi where it has had very positive discussions about potential projects. In its diversification drive over the years Sisk has consistently resisted the temptation to become a builder developer. Our focus is on construction in partnership with our clients, Nagle says. Why should we go into competition with developers who are also our clients? In the past, we have looked abroad for new business and we will do so again. We are currently on the preferred bidder list for the new football stadium in Warsaw. If successful, this could mean that the 2011 football UEFA Cup Final is played in a Sisk-built stadium in Dublin, while the 2012 football European Championship final is played in a Sisk-built stadium in Warsaw.
TIMELINE
1969 UCD moves to Belfield. Sisk wins contracts to build the Arts block and library 1978 Sisk builds the Central Bank in Dublin 1979 Sisk erects the papal cross (right) and altar in Dublins Phoenix Park 1984 Sisk sets up building company in the UK 1989 Sisk heads to Germany as the Berlin Wall comes down; secures contract to upgrade Schnefeld airport
SISK 150
1994 Work begins on Croke Park for the GAA 2000 Sisk consolidates its property development division under the company name of Korine 2005 Sisk finishes the Dundrum shopping centre its largest single project to date, valued at 420m 2006 Sisk buys MED Surgical and Cardiac Services to enter the healthcare market
Diversity through partnership

THE STORY of the Sisk Groups diversification is nowhere better exemplified than its Origo electrical and electronic goods distribution company. It started life in 1954 as the LMC Company and its core activity for some years was importing and distributing construction equipment, together with ancillary activities. Not long after the end of the second World War, says group chief executive Liam Nagle, John G Sisk was looking to bring in power tools from Germany and visited a trade fair in Cologne. He struck up a relationship with Bosch and began buying their tools. A few years later he was offered the distributorship of Bosch power tools for the Republic . . . This gave rise to the LMC Company. The company became known as Beaver Distribution in the late 1960s, by which time the Bosch power-tools business had grown substantially. During the 1970s, further Bosch products were added to the Beaver portfolio, including domestic appliances, automotive products and the Bosch-owned Blaupunkt brand of car audio systems. With the continued growth of the business, the company moved in 1974 to a new distribution and service centre on the Greenhills Road in Tallaght, Dublin. This allowed it to exploit the growing market for its Bosch products. Additional brands such as Skil, Qualcast, Dremel, Stihl and Viking were added to the companys portfolio, along with the Toshiba in-home entertainment range. In 2003 the company moved again, this time to a purpose-built distribution facility in the Magna Business Park in City West, Dublin. On January 1st, 2006, the company was re-branded Origo. The new name is synonymous with the companys ambitious plans for growth. The name, which derives from the Latin word for source, was carefully chosen to strike a positive chord with the companys large customer base. Origo is a great example of our relationship-based business model, says Nagle. Back in 2006 we celebrated 50 years of doing business with Bosch and we have only had written contracts with that company for 15 years. This shows the quality and strength of the relationship that exists there. Bosch is another family-owned company and although immensely larger than Sisk, the relationship is one of equals. We very much punch above our weight because of our family-owned status. We can pick up the phone here and speak directly to some of the top people in Bosch. We would not have that level of access were we a different type of company.
2007 Healthcare expands with the purchase of Tekno Surgical, Beaver Medical and Synapse Medical 2009 Sisk (as part of a consortium) is building a 675m tunnel beneath the Shannon; building continues on the Aviva stadium at Lansdowne Road; work continues (with Treasury Holdings) on Spencer Dock scheme of offices and apartments in Dublins docklands
SISK AT 150 PORTRAIT

WORDS BY EMMA CULLINAN
FamilyFocus John Sisk
HE FOUNDER of Sisk & Son was born to Patrick and Mary Sisk on September 30th, 1837. Tragedy came to him early in life when his father died during the famine. At the age of 11 he was apprenticed to a Quaker plasterer, Richard Martin, and Quaker traits were brought to bear on the building company he established in 1859, just before he married Kate Burke. John Sisk had a social conscience (he cared for the less fortunate through various societies) and he was anti-alcohol and anti-smoking. Employees who smoked were quick to hide their pipes when the boss approached, although one of them was a bit slow off the mark and, as Sisk came close, he quickly put the pipe on to a brick course and mortared over it. John and Kate had six boys: Nicholas in 1860; Maurice, 1863; Richard, 1865; John Valentine, 1868; William 1869; and Thomas Francis, 1871. Sadly, just as Sisk had lost his father when he was young, the boys were to lose their mother Kate early; she died in 1885. Four of the sons went into the building trade, while Maurice studied medicine and Thomas died young. Nicholas worked as a plasterer and tiler in the family firm and then rose to foreman on a salary of six shillings and sixpence a day. William was a carpenter with Sisk and a talented woodcarver. Richard began his career with the firm as a plasterers apprentice on four shillings a day and later became a foreman. He then set up his own building
company but returned to Sisk in 1911. John Valentine also began his career as an apprentice carpenter and set up on his own, in 1900. However, six years later, when his father became ill and the original business was in trouble, he
returned to the family firm and it was he who became the son in the name, John Sisk & Son. The founder of the business, John Sisk, died at the age of 84, in October 1921. In his will, he left money to his family and the firm to John V.
SISK AT 150 HISTORY & SOCIETY

Building society
Whether ecclesiastical, symbols of independence, or temples of industry and trade, Sisks buildings tell the story of 150 years in Ireland
AR FROM just bricks and mortar, architectural landscapes can reveal a countrys history, mapping the path of politics and the economy, reflecting the personality of a nation. Because of the companys longevity and geographical spread, Sisk buildings reflect the various chapters in modern Irish history. Many of its early buildings in Cork were churches. Although Ireland was a relatively poor country, the Catholic Church was able to provide the finance for substantial buildings made from hand-crafted materials. Construction of churches continued well into the 20th century and Sisk has the distinction of building three cathedrals: one in Africa and two in Ireland (Cavan in 1938 and Galway in 1966). Galway and Cavan were some of the last leviathan church buildings commissioned by the church in Ireland and the bishops of both buildings were aware they were reaching the end of an era. It is believed the then Bishop of Kilmore Patrick Finegan accelerated the Cavan cathedral project in the knowledge that war was coming and funds for the build would be difficult to get afterwards. He was responsible for much of the fundraising and his successor Bishop Patrick Lyons, who took on the role in 1937, dedicated himself to the project. As a later bishop wrote in a letter: I frequently thank God, because if he had not built then we could never have done it since. The choir sang a hymn of thanksgiving as the large bronze cross was hoisted through 200ft of steel scaffolding to the top of the spire. The Bishop of Galway instigated a campaign to build his cathedral in 1922, years before its construction. He went as far afield as the US and Australia to seek finances, returning from Boston with 30,000 and from Melbourne with 8,860. Work began in 1958. An earlier church built by Sisk linked religion with the countrys move towards independence: the Honan Chapel at University College Cork. The buildings Hiberno-Romanesque style looked back to traditional Celtic churches. In Cork, Sisk continued its involvement in
Clockwise from above: The Administration Building at UCD, Belfield; the laying of the foundation stone at the Honan Chapel, UCC on May 18th, 1915, by Dr OCallaghan, Bishop of Cork; Dundrum Shopping Centre in Dublin, Photograph: Matt Kavanagh; Noel Browne (right) signing the contract for the Galway TB Sanatorium in 1948, with John G Sisk. It was the first 1 million contract in the Republic
structures that marked Irelands move away from Britain with the new City Hall. (The previous City Hall was burned down during the War of Independence.) The company then went on to construct the first building for the new independent government, the Department of Industry and Commerce. Such buildings marked a change of emphasis from the church to the State as a source of building finance. In the 1940s TB spread across Europe and devastated Ireland, instigating a large governmentled building programme. I am faced in Ireland today with a problem of gigantic proportions, said then minister for health Noel Browne in May 1948. I am faced with a waiting list of over 1,000 persons who are awaiting admission for treatment to sanatoria. While the Irish government addressed the issue, it could not raise all of the finances needed and controversially opted for sweepstakes to help pay for the building of sanatoria. Sisk constructed
many of them, such as the Blanchardstown sanatorium and the Southern Regional sanatorium. When the cure for TB was found, these buildings were converted to standard hospitals. Bespoke hospitals were also constructed, including Mount Carmel in Dublin, St Lukes in Clonmel, Cork Regional, St Jamess in Dublin and the new St Vincents Hospital in Merrion, which replaced that in the centre of Dublin. Schools and colleges also moved out of the city centre, including University College Dublin, which transferred to the Belfield campus in the late 1950s. Sisk built a number of the early structures there including the Arts Block and the library by architect Andrzej Wejchert. Sisk maintained a consistent moral profile and reliability right through the project. They embraced the project with great gusto. They were masters because, in addition to precast technology, they also had in situ concrete and the quality of the white concrete by Sisk was astonishingly beauti-

ful, says Polish-born Wejchert As modern Ireland emerged, and education and industry became the drivers of growth, Sisk was behind many of the key buildings that sprung up through the 1960s and 1970s, including St Patricks teacher training college in Drumcondra, Dublin; St Flannans School in Ennis, Co Clare; St Andrews College, Booterstown, Dublin; Alexandra College, Milltown, Dublin; and, in a sign of the times, a spate of comprehensive schools in 1970 in Cork (Mayfield and Millstreet) and Kerry (Tarbert). While many early-20th-century Irish church buildings clung to the past in their design, these new hospitals, schools and colleges brought a new style of architecture into the Irish mainstream. In the 1980s recession, construction practically halted and Sisk essentially stopped building schools between 1979 and 1996. This trend was reflected across the board, with hotel building almost stopping between 1977 (Imperial Hotel, South Mall, Cork) and 1990 (Waterville Lake Hotel refurbishment, Kerry). It was a similar story with offices and banks. Sisk got around the problem by building overseas, and in time it also benefited from a policy that encouraged foreign investment here. The Lemass governments policy for economic development included attracting funds from abroad. When the country attracted overseas businesses to establish offices and factories in Ireland, Sisk was well-placed to help build them, says Padraic White, formerly of the IDA (Industrial Development Authority), the State agency responsible for seeking foreign investment. Ireland managed to encourage such investment by delivering on its promises and one of those was to have buildings completed on the date agreed. Sisk, with its track record, picked up a number of these contracts. The buildings were a long way from the early hand-crafted stone and timber buildings created by Sisk. These structures, for the likes of compu-
ter and pharmaceutical companies, were far simpler in profile and more complex in terms of internal spaces, with their dust-free clean-room environments. Since the 1960s, Sisk has built more than 250 industrial buildings across the State. When construction picked up again during the 1990s the Celtic Tiger years were marked by the explosion in shopping centres; Sisks concentration on religious buildings had, over 100 years, transferred to the new religion of shopping. The boom years were also characterised by the emergence of talented architectural practices and a new if minority interest in good
The Celtic Tiger years were marked by the explosion in shopping centres; Sisks concentration on religious buildings had transferred to the new religion of shopping
design. Certain local authorities and government departments played a huge role in commissioning good architects and Sisk built many architecturally significant buildings, such as Limerick County Hall by Bucholz McEvoy; Athlone Civic Offices by Keith Williams Architects; and both the Marine Institute and Civic Museum in Galway by OPW architects. Commercial projects included Hanover Quay by OMahony Pike Architects, and Croke Park stadium by HOK, Lobb and Gilroy McMahon Architects. Other modern landmark buildings Sisk was involved in include Busras by Michael Scott and the quirky Met Offices in Glasnevin by Liam McCormick. Added to this was Irelands tallest tower at Liberty Hall; Sisk was later to build down river from it at Georges Dock in 1996. Over the years Sisks buildings have mapped the economic growth of Ireland, and today many of these structures form core parts of our built environment. The landscape of the two cities where Sisk has its main offices Cork and Dublin is defined by Sisk buildings. Along the Liffey, there is Busras, Liberty Hall, the new Guinness visitors centre and, further back, the Central Bank. The company also carried out conservation work on the Royal Hospital Kilmainham and the Custom House. In Cork, Sisk buildings are weaved throughout the city and have a large presence on the river with City Hall, by Jones and Kelly, and the new School of Music, by Murray OLaoire architects. There are few people in Ireland who have not at some point stood in a Sisk-constructed building, be it a school or third-level institution, a hospital, a church, or perhaps more in keeping with recent trends a shopping centre.
SISK AT 150 PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS

Part of the solution
Public-private partnerships could play a major role in addressing the construction downturn
ture of the contract. There should be no hidden costs or price variations to be faced during the lifetime of the contract. The private-sector partner takes on all of those risks. In fact, the penalties for poor maintenance or performance can be quite onerous on the operator, meaning that the State is very much in a winning position. Up until recently the key driver for PPPs in Ireland was the need to accelerate the pace of infrastructure development. However, this is now changing to the urgent need to source private finance. While the attractions for a cash-strapped government of such finance are fairly obvious, there is another very compelling economic reason why PPPs are now at the top of the agenda, according to John Sisk & Son managing director Tom Costello. The potential job losses in the construction sector have been greatly understated up until now, he says. The Construction Industry Council (CIC) estimates that the job losses could be a multiple of the 55,000 figure recently quoted by the Construction Industry Federation. The CIC is an umbrella body for the sector The Cork School of Music is one of the Sisk Groups many PPP projects. Photograph: Anew McKnight/Murray Laoire Architects that includes representatives from the various professional bodies, such as Engineers Ireland and the Institute of Chartered Surveyors, as well as leading construction companies, such as Sisk. We estimate that the construction and directly related industries at their peak were running at 38 billion turnover annually and that this will fall to 14 billion in 2010, Costello explains. Peak employment was about 380,000 to 400,000 and the fall in activity will translate into at least 200,000 job losses. We have to manage this decline in construction by defining an optimum level of activity for both the industry and the economy generally and smoothing out the curve as we approach that target. A key part of the CIC recipe for managing this decline is for the Government to maintain capital spending on projects for which there is a clearly identified need. Where there is a need for schools, hospitals, roads, water schemes and so on, these should continue, Costello argues. But the Government shouldnt fund anything that isnt needed. That wouldnt make economic sense. Continued on page 22
UBLIC-PRIVATE Partnership (PPP) transactions have been used as a means of funding public infrastructure for a number of years. Roads and education have been the mainstays of PPP activity to date. PPPs are not a particularly new concept. At their most simple, they involve the private sector funding a particular piece of infrastructure that would normally be funded by the State. The private-sector partner will usually design, build and operate the piece of infrastructure for a set period of years usually 30 or more until it is handed back to the State. The payback for the private partner comes in the form of tolls on roads or annual fees paid by the State or public body for the road or building concerned. They have been likened to off-balance-sheet borrowing, where a company can raise funds without declaring it as borrowing. With a PPP, the State gains access to funding from the private sector for a specific project without having to account for it as borrowing. Another gain for the State is the fixed-price na-
We have to manage this decline in construction by defining an optimum level of activity
SISK AT 150 PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS
Continued from page 20 The CIC is realistic about the parlous state of the public coffers and is offering some alternatives to direct State spending. The first of these would be for the State to establish a specific infrastructure fund, which would be invested in by pension funds and others. The second mechanism that could be used to bridge the funding gap is the pure PPP solution. Roads PPPs have worked very well in Ireland, says Costello. As, indeed, have many other PPP projects, such as schools and so on. However, the fundamental starting point for these things is value for money. We need a more streamlined and standardised bidding process for PPPs which would eliminate much of the pre-construction cost from the contracts. Sisk has already been involved in a number of successful road PPPs, including the recently completed Cashel Bypass and the new Limerick Shannon Tunnel, which is currently under construction (see panel, below). The firm is also involved as one of the partners
in the MetroExpress consortium, which is bidding for the contract to construct, operate and maintain the controversial new Metro North line, which is planned to run from St Stephens Green via Dublin Airport to the north of Swords. At an estimated total cost of more than 3 billion, the project is the largest PPP currently out to tender in Europe and easily the largest such project to date in Ireland. Due for completion in 2013, an estimated 35 million passengers a year are expected to travel on the service, with trains every four minutes, increasing to every two minutes as demand builds. The journey time from St Stephens Green to Dublin Airport will be about 20 minutes. The journey time from Swords to St Stephens Green will be approximately 30 minutes. The MetroExpress consortium comprises a wide range of partners, including: John Sisk & Son; the Macquarie Group, a global expert in investing in and managing infrastructure projects; Bombardier Transportation, a specialist in rail-equipment manufacturing, systems and services; Transdev RATP, a key operator of public-transport systems; Alpine, an internation-
The fundamental starting point is value for money. . . We need a more streamlined bidding process which would eliminate much of the preconstruction cost
Right: The N8 Fermoy-Rathcormac road, completed nine months ahead of schedule in October 2006: Sisk, as part of the Directroute consortium, constructed 17.5 km of tolled motorway.
al tunnel construction firm; FCC, a Spanish construction firm; Mercury Engineering and AIB. The consortium recently submitted its bid to the Rail Procurement Agency (RPA), which is now assessing it and other competing bids. The next stage in the process will see the RPA select a preferred bidder and then enter into discussions and negotiations with that consortium in order to finalise a contract. This could take several months and it will be some time before the start date for the project is known. Costello says that Ireland could lose a lot more than jobs if the project doesnt go ahead. Ireland is now a model for Europe in terms of how we build our roads, he says. We are 10 to 20 per cent cheaper for road building than the UK, which has been acknowledged as the most competitive market in Europe . . . We have achieved this position because of the skills and the capability the industry has developed and built up over the past number of years. We cannot afford to lose these skills and go back to where we were in the 1980s and early 1990s. This is why it is absolutely vital that investment in infrastructure be maintained.
A miracle of engineering
HE 350 million Limerick Shannon Tunnel is very much a marvel of modern engineering technology, with the elements of the 675m tunnel section constructed on site and floated out onto the river and sunk into place. The Direct Route consortium John Sisk & Son (Holdings), Strabag AG, Lagan Holdings and Roadbridge was selected as the successful PPP consortium for the construction of the Limerick Southern Ring Road Phase II project in 2006 and work started in August of that year.
By combining international expertise with local capability we can be fully aware of all the risks when bidding
The project incorporates a 675m tunnel crossing of the River Shannon. It also involves the construction of 9.75km of dual carriageway, along with associated link roads and side roads, linking the N7 Limerick Southern Ring Road Phase 1 and N20 Cork Road with the N18 Ennis Road. It is envisaged that the new link will remove around 40,000 vehicles per day from Limerick city centre. The river crossing uses an
immersed tube tunnel. This type of tunnel construction is carried out in a number of phases. Firstly, the elements are manufactured in a casting basin on site. They are then floated out and sunk in the river channel. After that, the portals or entrances to the tunnel are built at either end. Each tunnel element is approximately the length of a football pitch (100m), as high as a two-storey house (8.5m), wide enough to accommodate two lanes of traffic in each direction (25m) and weighs in at 20,000 tonnes, giving a combined weight of 100,000 tonnes. The tunnel elements had to be floated out onto the River Shannon, as no crane is capable of lifting 20,000 tonnes. This is a very complex project, says John Sisk & Son managing director Tom Costello. Strabag has the technology for immersed-tube-tunnel construction . . . they had done it before in other countries and this was very important. This is an example of how PPP consortiums can deliver real value to the State. By combining international expertise with local capability we can be fully aware of all of the risks when bidding for contracts and develop realistic proposals for them. The good news for long-suffering motorists in Clare and Limerick is that the project is on schedule and due for completion next year.
ONSITE SISK
AS GENERAL manager on the Limerick Shannon Tunnel Project, Tom King (pictured, on left) is relishing a new set of responsibilities. There is a lot of interest in this project, so part of my job is to liaise with the public, he explains. This is a new dimension to my job; Im really enjoying it. Weve been publishing newsletters packed with information and updates, which are distributed around Limerick city and county. We also host tours of the project for groups. The Limerick Tunnel is a collaboration between four contractors, including Sisk, who collectively form a Public-Private Partnership Company (PPP-Co). The project has a 360 million capital cost and consists of 10km of dual-lane dual carriageway and 2.3km of single-lane dual carriageway. It passes under the River Shannon, connecting Rosbyrne and Cratloe. King, a qualified civil engineer with an honours degree from University College Dublin, has worked in the UK, the West Indies, Canada and Ireland. However, the Limerick Shannon Tunnel presents new challenges for Sisk. With regard to financing, one of Kings roles is to liaise with lenders and technical advisors to maintain a good credit rating for the project. Capital was raised through the issuing of bonds. In 2006, the project won a Financial Services Award for innovative financing. Meanwhile, health and safety concerns require the creation of complex transport management and engineering systems. I like that there are a number of dimensions to this project; I manage all these disparate elements and draw them together, says King. The Limerick Tunnel is scheduled for completion in September 2010. For more information, see limericktunnel.ie. THE IRISH TIMES Sisk at 150 | March 13, 2009 | 23
The reconstruction of the worlds oldest rugby stadium has created a formidable challenge and a fascinating project for the Sisk team
Super bowl
ommuters on the Dart have enjoyed a unique sight for the past 15 months: the rapid reconstruction and rebirth of Lansdowne Road Stadium. The ground, which was famously the oldest rugby stadium in the world, was demolished in 2007 and work began at the end of that year on its replacement, the newly titled Aviva Stadium, which is due to open next year. For Sisk, this presented an original challenge. Not only was it dealing with a piece of Irish sporting history, but the task ahead would present many logistical issues. The stadium is on a compact site, with natural and man-made obstacles to overcome. Timing was also an issue, meaning delays were not an option. Given the nature of the stadiums two primary tenants, the Irish rugby and soccer teams, it was a fitting challenge one that put Sisk under pressure, but that the firm met head on. The construction firm brought in staff with a wide range of backgrounds in order to manage the project. We had worked on all different kinds of projects, such as apartments, hotels, shopping centres, and a couple of guys were involved in Croke Park, says Maurice Flynn, assistant contracts manager with Sisk. We had two months before we came onsite from October to December 2007 to plan and sequence and schedule the project as a
The Aviva Stadium at Lansdowne Road in Dublin as it will look on completion
team, he says. There were a lot of challenges, logistics was one of them. We developed plans on a weekly basis and try to manage each subcontractor as efficiently and safely as possible. Room for manoeuvre at Lansdowne Road was, and remains, substantially limited. On one side lies the River Dodder, on another is the Dart line, while the ground is located in a heavily residential area. Working around these geographical obstacles required precise planning. The site is so small and compact that we dont have the storage room that you would have on a lot of other projects, says Padraic Egan, site agent. Were so near the road that the planning of all the deliveries and logistics is very important, he says. Each contractor is allocated different times and places within the site. There are areas where they take ownership for the week ahead. With the Dart line running right along the back of the West stand and through part of the entrance area to the ground, Sisks team had to take particular care in handling this challenge. Most of the work in close proximity to the Dart line was carried out at night. We put control measures in place to deal with any safety hazards, says Flynn. These included erecting a podium to protect the Dart from any works being carried out in the stadium. The logistical management has proven successful, as the new ground has sprouted up at a rapid rate.
SISK AT 150 LANSDOWNE ROAD

WORDS BY EMMET RYAN
From October 2007 until now weve been working on the concrete frame of the bowl. Weve started on the roof on time, everything is going well so far, says Robert Young, project planner of the Aviva Stadium development. All the milestones that we set at the start have been met and we are still on target for our April 2010 completion date. When complete, this will be more than just a ground for sporting events. Conference facilities will be built in. The stadiums role as a concert venue will be improved with the North stands structuring specifically designed to cater for the erection of a stage. Its going to be a meeting point, similar to what Croke Park is, says Flynn. The scale of the project cant be underestimatTom Costello (left), managing director, of the Sisk Group, presenting a small memento to FAI chief executive John Delaney (centre) and IRFU chief executive Philip Browne to mark one million accident-free hours worked on the Lansdowne Road site
ed. There are more than 600 people currently working on site and this will peak at 700 before the stadium is completed. Despite these large numbers, the site has passed the one-millionhour mark without a single reportable accident. With this job, all the sub-contractors were on board from the beginning regarding safety issues. It was very much a group effort, says Amanda Cullen, safety officer on the site. In addition to a large workforce, theres also some hefty material being moved around. A lot is required in order to complete the four-tier 50,000 seater stadium, which will include 10,000 premium seats. This includes 35,000 cubic metres of concrete, 2,500 columns of which 250 are individually designed 3,000 tonnes of roof steel and four mobile cranes. One of the cranes being used is among the biggest in Europe. The historic importance of a task this size isnt lost on the staff working on the site. Were very conscious of the size of the job. Its almost a oneoff for the Irish economy. We mightnt get to work on a job of this scale again, says Richard McRedmond, a senior engineer on the project. Theres a personal side to this project for many of those involved, some of whom also worked on Croke Park. Its nice to be able to go back to Croke Park to
ONSITE WILLIAAM COX
Its nice to be able to go back to Croke Park to a match knowing that you were involved in that it will be nice to do that here too
a match knowing that you were involved in that, it will be nice to do that here too, says Frank Fallon, foreman on the site. On top of the memory, the project gives the team a chance to work on facets not typically found in most buildings. There are a few interesting systems that we get to put in that we might not see again for some time, such as outside broadcast systems, says David Bradley, building services engineer. To complete this kind of undertaking, Sisk has sought out international assistance to ensure the right result when the project is completed. Although its a stadium based in Dublin, its a global enterprise, says Colm Walsh, a senior engineer on the project. Some of the design team work from America and England, some of the sub-contractors come from Italy and we have supplies coming in from China and Australia. For the stakeholders in this project, the new stadium will create opportunities for the future. Therell be a massive economic benefit to the city. Well attract more high-prestige events, says Martin Murphy, stadium manager of the Aviva Stadium. The IRFU [Irish Rugby Football Union] and FAI [Football Association of Ireland] will have an investment that will present revenue streams that they can plug back into the grassroots of the game. If Murphy is proven right, then completion of construction, for the Aviva Stadium, will only be the beginning.
THE REDEVELOPMENT of the Lansdowne Road Stadium is a milestone for Ireland. For those at the coalface of the project, its an exciting time. Robert Collins, director of operations at Williaam Cox, an architectural glazing, daylight and ventilation specialist, is delighted to be playing a part in this transformation of Irish sport. Collins has worked with Williaam Cox for four years. He initially joined as plant manager, with responsibility for the distribution side of the business. Lansdowne is currently our largest contract, he says. Its a beautiful building with complex geometry. Were on site at the moment, installing internal architectural glazing for corporate and VIP boxes, and are due to be finished by May 30th. From April 20th, we will begin creating the facade and roof of the stadium. Work on the stadium began in 2007 and is due for completion in early 2010. There are currently 34 workers on site, but this will rise to 146 when the project is at its peak. There are, Collins explains, three distinct aspects to the company: architectural facades; Coxdome roof-light and smoke and ventilation products; and the distribution of plastic sheeting, cladding and signage materials. In addition to the Lansdowne Stadium, Williaam Cox which is half-owned by Sisk has plenty of other work to keep it occupied. It is involved in a number of commercial projects, including Douglas Village Shopping Centre just outside Cork city, Block G in Sandyford in Dublin and the Montevetro Building in Barrow Street in Dublin.
SISK AT 150 LONDON

WORDS BY IBHIR MULQUEEN
HILE SISK Group marks 150 years in business, the story of its UK branch is also cause for celebration. This year Sisk UK celebrates its silver jubilee, and a period for the business that represents another success story for the familyrun company. Paul Wilson, managing director of the UK operation since November, has watched it grow over most of the past 25 years. Unusually for an Englishman in the late 1970s, he had experience of working in Ireland, for a Cork-based contractor, between 1978 and 1983. He joined the fledgling Sisk UK operation in London in 1985, just a few months after it had been set up. Twenty-five years later and the operation has achieved a 250 million annual turnover and has more than 400 employees. Its headquarters are now in St Albans but it also has offices in Birmingham, Manchester, and, most recently, Bristol, as well as having Major Projects and Rail divisions. It has been associated with prestigious projects such as the Wembley Arena refurbishment, the Living History Museum in Basingstoke and the American Air Museum at Duxford in Cambridgeshire. The museum won the Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize for its innovative design, which includes the largest unsupported concrete arch in Europe.
The use of innovative methods in the early projects helped to build Sisks reputation as a major player in the UK hotel construction industry
According to Wilson, the project involved fitting together thousands of pre-cast concrete slabs, each weighing a couple of tonnes, to form the roof. Sisk UK has also made a name for itself in the booming hotel construction sector in recent years where meeting building deadlines is paramount. It has built 50 hotels in the London area, becoming one of the first users of concrete cellular construction methods when it built a 168-bedroom hotel in Croydon for the Hilton Group in two months in 1992. The project involved the use of tunnel-form concrete construction, enabling the building of four bedrooms a day. Pre-finished bathroom pods were introduced on the same 10 million project. The use of innovative methods in the early projects helped to build Sisks reputation as a major player in the UK hotel construction industry. Other notable hotel projects include the Four Seasons Hotel near Canary Wharf, the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington and the Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane. It has also been involved in major refurbishments at Kensingtons Copthorne Tara Hotel and Hyde Parks Royal Lancaster and it had the contract for converting the iconic County Hall, the home of the former Greater London Council, into two hotels, for Marriot and Travel Inn. We have always found a really good match
Great in Britain
As Sisk Group looks back on a century and a half of success, its UK arm is celebrating 25 years in the business
between the Sisk values and performance ethos and any client with a time-related income stream, says Wilson. These modular techniques are now widespread and Sisk is introducing them to the residential sector, making, according to Wilson, for cheaper, better insulated, fire-proofed and sound-proofed homes. Sisk UK has also been strong in the industrial and commercial sectors. Wilson points out that business ebbs and flows between the three areas from year to year. Big transport projects the company has been involved in include the North Greenwich Interchange Station alongside the Millennium Dome and the transport interchange for buses, trams and cars at Manchester Airport. Among other innovative projects com-
pleted in recent years are village schemes such as the Dickens Heath Village, in Solihull, and a holiday village at Penrith comprising 700 timberframed chalets. A former commercial director for the company, Wilson points to a number of factors contributing to its success. He finds the informality and openness of the Sisk model, which is combined with a hard business edge, to be a winning formula. A big part of the culture is you do not stand and look and tut about a problem. You embrace it and try to solve it. Sisk is about performance. If you can perform and deliver and it is done in a safe manner, with the end result one of high quality, then you will constantly get repeat business. In fact,
Clockwise from above: the UK Mariott County Hall; the Telstar building adjacent to Paddington station, built on the site of the former London Underground building which was damaged by fire; the award-winning American Air Museum in Cambridgeshire Opposite page: the 15-storey Chancery Place building in Manchester
repeat business is a hallmark of the firms success. Probably 70 per cent of our work is with repeat clients. We look to a client with a view to a long-term relationship, Wilson says. The structure of the overall company is an enabling factor for repeat business. Because Sisk is family owned, it can take a long-term view, resisting the temptation of making a quick buck on the first contract and, instead, focusing on building the relationship. In fact, your own costs go down when you are dealing with someone on a second- or third- or fourth-time basis, he adds. Supply-chain management is also a major part of the business and the geographic spread of the operation helps manage this by building relationships with local suppliers. With the vast majority of the business in design and build, risk management is now a key part of project management, ensuring the processes are in place to anticipate problems. It is all part of being a major player and Wilson is confident that, with a healthy balance sheet, the company will be able to weather the current recession. In the past we have gone through two recessions in the UK and actually grew through them rather than shrunk through them. Sisk UK is now targeting larger contracts, learning from the expertise of the Irish operation in how to handle them, and is developing the civil engineering and process engineering aspects of the business, again gaining synergies from the parent company. A joint-venture operation is also being considered with a modular hotel room company. The net effect of these new techniques is to increase off-site construction and decrease on-site time while maintaining the quality of the product. Currently Sisk UK is examining three 70 million plus projects two of which are residential with a view to tendering for them. The pipeline is as strong in those major projects as it is anywhere else but I think there are less contractors that work at that scale. We are sitting outside the top 30 contractors in the UK and I would say we are ready to push through the door.
ONSITE SISK UK
EXPERIENCE BREEDS new experience. At Sisk, an open, innovative workplace culture encourages long-serving staff to help newer employees find their feet. This, as Suzanne Hussey (right) of Sisk UK attests, makes Sisk a great place to work. Hussey studied engineering in Trinity College Dublin and, after a year working in Dublin with another contractor, she decided it was time to move on. She has been with Sisk UK for more than three years. Hussey has worked on a string of projects with Sisk UK, including the Wembley Arena and major residential developments W01 and W04. She outlines a typical day at work: Normally, I get on to the site and I have a list of things to do from the day before. Id review progress with the sub-contractor, deal with problems in the morning and take on various roles during the day, such as health and safety management. There are great strengths and a great culture within the world, as well as mentors who we can go to for help if we have any problems. According to Hussey, the use of more experienced managers as mentors is a very worthwhile initiative. Theres so much interest and investment put into quantity surveyors, engineers and managers. Theres an open-door approach, where the directors know the rest of the staff by name. How many other big companies can say the same?
Sisk; this comes from their commitment to nurturing people and realising their
potential. It has a diverse workforce, with employees from all over
SISK AT 150 DUBLIN DOCKLANDS

WORDS BY DAVID LABANYI
Under the boardwalk
Sisks flagship projects in the Dublin Docklands are among its most prestigious. Now, with a surplus of skills and a competitive market for buyers, Ireland Inc needs to capitalise
over 1 billion.When Sisk joined Park Developments to bid for the first of these projects to construct 300 apartments, an office block and retail units at Hanover Quay it had no master plan to concentrate on projects in the Docklands region, he says. It is hard to believe now but at the time we started down in Hanover Quay [2003] there were no buildings from the Ferryman pub [on John Rogersons Quay] to the docks, Costello says. We are pretty happy with Hanover Quay. It is a fantastic location. It has an aspect onto the river Liffey and the Grand Canal Basin on to the southside. That building was awarded Building of the Year in the property awards and it also got an RIAI [Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland] award in 2007. While work on Hanover Quay was ongoing,
The Dublin Docklands with the Riverside One building in the centre. Photograph: Dara Mac Dnaill
ISK FACES one of the most challenging trading environments in its 150-year history due to the unprecedented slowdown in the Irish construction sector. According to Tom Costello, Sisk managing director, the company now faces a very different operating environment, having reached a record turnover of 1.3 billion in 2007. He acknowledges the industry is moving into a very difficult period. Sisk has been involved in some of the more high-profile developments in the capital over the last five years. But in terms of scale, the series of developments in the docklands in Dublin rank among the companys largest, with the combined value of projects on four sites reaching
The skills we have built up in the country match anything in the world. These skills are a fantastic resource
Sisk started construction on a second docklands project at Spencer Dock on a combined project of 500,000 sq ft of office space, 600 apartments and the National Convention Centre, due for completion in mid-2010. The construction company CMP (Construction Management Partnership) is a joint-venture with Treasury Holdings. Sisk has also built the 120,000 sq ft headquarters for legal firm McCann Fitzgerald on the corner of Sir John Rogersons Quay and Macken Street. It is a splendid building, beautifully designed by Scott Tallon Walker. Whenever we are trying to impress clients we are always very glad to bring them to see it. The fourth docklands project for Sisk is a 500,000 sq ft office building on Macken Street and Grand Canal Square for Chartered Land, the company owned by Joe OReilly, who built Dundrum Shopping Centre. This development includes the Grand Canal Theatre, designed by architect renowned Daniel Liebeskind. It is a typical Liebeskind building there are no straight lines on the design, says Costello. While this element of the project makes construction of the 2,000-seat theatre more complicated, Costello is very proud of it.
It is quite a complex structure but it will be a very worthy addition to the built environment in Dublin. When people look back and say you were involved in the best 10 years ever in construction and say, Whats the legacy? it is nice to have that. Costello believes one reason Sisk has been successful in its bids for some of the more complex projects is its approach particularly its contribution to pre-construction and design development. The current environment is moving a little bit away from relationships to lowest cost, but I still think relationships are very much fundamental to business, Costello says. In the longer term, the relationship model will prove more valuable to the client. While he is used to the cyclical nature of the sector, Costello believes this downturn is different. Certainly the cycle we got into over the last 15 years was unprecedented. At our peak we got very close to 1.3 billion in turnover, which is just extraordinary. In the longer term, the reality for the next five-plus years is very different. For the wider industry, Costello believes what is at risk are skills built up over the last 15 years. What we have done at Lansdowne Road in the past 15 months couldnt have been done a
Sisk developments in the Dublin docklands include Grand Canal Square (top right) and the National Conference Centre (bottom right) at Spencer Dock. Photograph: Eric Luke
decade ago. The skills we have built up in the country match anything in the world. These skills are a fantastic resource. Costello is involved in a construction industry council that includes the Construction Industry Federation, the Society of Chartered Surveyors and the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland, among others, which is compiling a report on the future for the industry. It indicates that the industry, which peaked with an output of 38 billion in 2007, is likely to contract to under 14 billion by 2011. If you were to apply European norms we
Sisk projects in the Docklands

HANOVER QUAY Client: Dublin City Council, Dublin Docklands, 295 apartments, 4500 sq m office space, 500 sq m retail space Value: 100 million GRAND CANAL SQUARE Client: Chartered Land, two office blocks, Daniel Liebeskind-designed theatre Value: 195 million SPENCER DOCK Client: Treasury Holdings, 42,000 sq m office block, 620 apartments, National Conference Centre (due for completion 2010) Value: 700 million RIVERSIDE ONE Client: McCann Fitzgerald, office block Value: 42 million
should be around 12 per cent of GDP which would suggest an industry output of 18 billion per annum is sustainable. Costello is not naive enough to suggest the construction industry is without fault: Things had gone a bit crazy; we over-developed on the residential side. But he believes the Government could achieve significant value for money in provision of badly needed infrastructure by taking advantage of the excess construction capacity. Construction prices are now 20 per cent less than they were two years ago. Land prices are cheaper: we estimate you can build 5km of road for the price of what you would have paid for 3km just three years ago. It is very rare that you have the combination and abundance of highly productive skilled resources and a very competitive bidding environment, he says. However we remain positive about the future and some of the initiatives being undertaken in the company. For instance we have relaunched our special projects division to manage projects up to 5 million. This division will apply suitable management structures and procedures to projects in this range, thereby giving clients the benefit of Sisk experience and market knowledge at costs appropriate to the project size.

FamilyFocus John Valentine Sisk
OHN VS school career was cut short at 13 when the Presentation Brothers in Cobh asked that he not return to their school after the Christmas break of 1880, and it was with regret but necessity that his father took him on as an apprentice. But John V was to prove a good builder and businessman and, by the time he was a foreman at the company, he had developed interesting ways of getting employees to speed up their work on the Clonakilty Industrial School project, he got the country builders to construct one course of bricks and the city builders to construct another course at the same time in a race. After he became a partner in John Sisk & Son, the company grew rapidly. He had a tenacity and knack for business and helped secure the Munster and Leinster Bank contract in Cork, even though the company was not at the top of the tender list. The architect apparently thought that John Sisk was too old for the job, but described John V as a pretty clever young fellow. John Vs penchant for detail can be seen in the plasterwork of the Munster and Leinster building. The specification called for plaster that was similar to that on the Morning Post offices in Aldwych, London (the Post was
later bought by the Daily Telegraph). John V was given a sample of the plaster but found it difficult to copy (it did not rub off onto dark fabric, whereas local samples did) and so he went to London to find out the secret. One of his grandsons, Hal, remembers him as a small man with big hands. He was a fiery individual who loved poetry and standing there in his collarless grandfather shirt used to recite
it for hours. He loved sport and playing cards but would not go to the pub. This was a trait running through the first three John Sisks, says Hal. They were all respectable, upright, Victorian gentlemen, a characteristic instilled by Quaker principles learned by young John from the age of 11. Such characteristics, says Hal, have been key to the success and survival of the business for more than 150 years.
SISK AT 150 CROKE PARK

WORDS BY RONAN McGREEVY
Field of dreams
The redevelopment of Croke Park, an icon of Irelands boom years, and the prestige of the project more than the monetary gain boosted Sisks position at the fore of the construction industry
HERE IS no more iconic statement or legacy of the now lamented Celtic Tiger than the redeveloped Croke Park. It was first mooted in 1988 by then president of the GAA, Peter Quinn, during a severe recession when few believed it was possible; its ultimate construction coincided with a time when everything seemed possible in Ireland. Nothing on this scale had ever been attempted in Ireland before and there were few templates internationally for the project. Only the redevelopment of Blackburn Rovers Ewood Park ground at the time was in any way similar and that was on a much smaller scale. The last time Croke Park had been developed was in the 1950s, when the Nally Stand was built. Crowd trouble, which nearly led to disaster during the All-Ireland football final of 1983 between Dublin and Galway, resulted in a drastic fall in capacity and, when the Hillsborough Stadium disaster happened in the UK in 1989, the redevelopment of the stadium became a priority. Following an international competition, the GAA appointed former Tyrone footballer Des McMahon of Gilroy McMahon as the architect in 1989 and the finished plans were delivered in 1991. Sisk was chosen as the main contractor to redevelop the stadium and the bulldozers moved on site after the All-Ireland football final of 1993. I was probably the first person there, says
Sisk regional director Ken Aherne who was the senior engineer on the construction side of the Cusack Stand and then the contracts manager on the Canal End and the Hogan Stand side. He remained with the project until it was finally completed in 2002. It was hugely difficult trying to understand the drawings and what you were trying to achieve. The scale and quality of the building was unknown in those times, he says. It looks fantastic now, but can you imagine what it was like back in 1991 when we first saw the drawings? It was unbelievable, but there were huge architectural and huge engineering issues to be dealt with. The challenges were manifold. There were severe restrictions on site as the pitch remained sacrosanct throughout the construction and it was both a building site and a working stadium, necessitating a complicated handover every weekend. The most difficult part of the engineering project was putting on the 40-metre cantilevered roof structure that surrounds the three ends of the ground. Croke Parks location near Dublin Bay posed more problems, as the sea air can corrode the steel girders used to uphold the massive concrete structures and Sisk had to meet the highest-quality standards in relation to the finished concrete product. Continued on page 34
SISK AT 150 CROKE PARK
Continued from page 32 The old Cusack Stand was the first to be demolished, a process which took around three months and proved more difficult than envisaged. The Cusack Stand was in ropy condition, but it was hard enough to knock at the same time, recalls Sisk director Jim Touhy, who worked on the early part of the project. There were asbestos sheets on the roof and there were issues with dust control and noise control and the residents were watching us to make sure that we kept to the stated hours, which were between 8am and 6pm.
We have developed a reputation for being able to deliver on new stadia. It is the most difficult project Ive ever done. It would rank as one of the most difficult that Sisk has done in 150 years, yet it is probably the one we are most recognised for
Those restrictions are on many sites, but the residents were fighting with the GAA at the time and they hadnt them on side, so we had to work with them the best we could. Workers on the Cusack Stand had the advantage of having the old Belvedere grounds to use for site management, something that was not available on the other parts of the stadium that were redeveloped. But there were many challenges with matchday handovers and the co-ordination of services, such as light and drainage, took longer than expected.
The new Cusack Stand was finally opened in time for the National Football League final between Derry and Donegal in 1995 at a cost of IR70 million. It was 180m long, 35m wide and seated 25,000 people. The next phase of the development, at the Canal End, proved the most difficult of all. Unlike the Cusack Stand, where there was ample access on site, the Canal End was hemmed in by the canal and the railway line that straddles it. Access could only be attained from the rear as there was no access from the pitch area. In order to build the new Canal End, Sisk brought in what was the biggest crane in Ireland at the time. It had a 70m-long jib and a lifting capacity of more than 20 tonnes. The length of the crane was necessary to move materials to the front of the stand. The Canal End, now known as the Davin Stand after the first president of the GAA Maurice Davin was finally completed in time for the All-Ireland finals in 2000. The Hogan Stand was taken down in October 1999. By that time, Sisk was a veteran of the process and the stands construction proved straightforward, despite the fact that it was the biggest section, thanks to its extended media facilities, restaurants and VIP area. However, it was not without its difficulties. The Hogan Stand was built at the height of the boom and the demand for construction workers was at a premium at a time when there were few eastern European workers in Ireland to fill the skills gaps. At one stage, when Sisk was building the heavy concrete frame, the company was down 100 workers on the complement it needed. There were also severe shortages of plywood, which had to be pre-ordered from Canada.
ABOVE: Croke Park before its redevelopment began in 1993. Back then the stadium had a capacity of around 70,000; today it can hold 82,300 people PREVIOUS PAGE: Croke Park during last months fireworks and laser light display to mark the GAAs 125th anniversary celebrations Photograph: Matt Kavanagh
There was a massive shortage of skilled labour in regards to the heavy construction workers. It was a different world we lived in back then, recalls regional director Ken Aherne. The Celtic Tiger started, in my mind, the year after Croke Park but in general we benefited hugely from it. The new horseshoe structure was finally completed in 2002, with the relatively straightforward redevelopment of the Hill 16 area. In total, the stadium cost 260 million, has a capacity of 82,300, and is now the third-biggest sporting venue in Europe, after Barcelonas Nou Camp and Wembley Stadium in London. It is also one of the States biggest conference centres and a major concert venue. Not only is Sisk the main contractor on the Lansdowne Road redevelopment, with many of the same personnel involved in it, but the company is also pricing a job to redevelop a new national stadium in Warsaw, to be built in time for the European Championships in 2012. We have developed a reputation for being able to deliver on new stadia, Aherne says. Of all the billions of euro worth of development carried out during the Celtic Tiger years, no one project is as well-known or as admired as Croke Park. It is the most difficult project Ive ever done. It would rank as one of the most difficult that Sisk has done in 150 years, yet it is probably the one we are most recognised for, says Aherne. It was beyond state-of-the-art for the time. The major benefit for the company is the prestige in having it built. That goodwill catapulted the firm forward in the Celtic Tiger years. When you have nights like the opening of the Special Olympics and the 125th anniversary celebrations for the GAA, you cant help but be proud of what was achieved.
SISK AT 150 CORK CONNECTION

WORDS BY BRIAN OCONNELL
HE STORY of Corks evolving landscape from the 19th to 21st centuries is intrinsically linked with the story of the Sisk family during the same period. While the family name originates in either Holland or Germany, the first mention of a Sisk in Ireland appeared on the lease of a Cork house, signed by one Thomas Shisk in 1687. By the time John Sisk was born in 1837, the family was well rooted in the area. John founded the business in Cork city in 1859 and the second John Sisk the son in Sisk & Son worked to build on the foundations laid by his father. The company became a well-known general contractor, operating throughout Munster. John expanded the company significantly with one of the companys earliest projects in Cork, which included the first building of the Cork Distillery Company on Morrisons Island in 1868. Later work included convents, churches, houses, hospitals, as well as the offices of the then Cork Examiner. In the early years, the company worked on many significant banks and churches, and by the late 1800s had increased its activities in conservation and additions to existing churches including the spire of Holy Trinity church in 1890 and the rebuilding of St Lukes in 1892. The third John Sisk also significantly grew the company on a national and international scale. After graduating as a civil engineer, he joined his father on the building of Cork City Hall in 1930.
The company has a long history with the region, from the Honan Chapel to the Industrial School in Clonakilty with every project we take on, were aware of that heritage
From the origins of the Sisk family in Cork to the most recent additions to the citys built landscape, Sisk and the Rebel County go back a long way
Rebel, rebel
The building, designed by Dublin architects Jones & Kelly, was traditional in style, with much of the stone faade quarried in nearby Little Island. From there, it was delivered via an electric crane. Despite its classical front, the building had modern touches, including comprehensive fire-resistant measures. Given that the previous City Hall was burned down during the War of Independence, the Sisks were not taking any risks. Later, John G Sisk (grandson of the companys founder) and his son George would both study engineering at University College Cork, beginning a long tradition of graduates employed by the family business. The Honan Chapel on the grounds of that college is one of Sisks most important architectural legacies to the city. Paid for by a Honan family bequest, the building was started in 1914 in the Hiberno-Romanesque style. The aesthetic grounding is a particular 12th-century Irish one, while borrowing heavily from the Romanesque movement. The building also carries its own miniature Irish round tower at one end. John Sisk & Son also created some of the furniture in the chapel, including oak work, carvings and a Celtic cross. The company built the pews and an oak lectern. In recent times, as well as continuing conservation efforts, Sisk has been involved with some more progressive and modern additions to Cork city. Liam Walsh, Sisk regional director for the
southern region, started as a site engineer with the company in Cork in 1969. He has witnessed, first-hand, the evolution of city and company. From a construction point of view, in the late 1960s, the city and the surrounding area were vastly different to what they look like now, says Walsh. The suburbs werent as well developed and the large industrial areas like Ringaskiddy and Little Island were in their infancy. To my mind, the first big job of that era would have been the Regional Hospital, now known as Cork University Hospital. The company has such a long history with the region, from the Honan Chapel to the Industrial School in Clonakilty, that with every project we take on, were aware of that built heritage.
Clockwise from above left: the Holy Trinity Church in Cork, Honans Chapel in Cork, Cork County Hall and Centocor in Ringaskiddy, a flagship project for Sisk that was completed in 2007 one month of ahead of schedule for 159 million Left: Cork School of Music
Craftsmanship has also been at the fore of the companys approach. Well before 1969, there was a great tradition of work in churches, with a particular emphasis on stone work, says Walsh. The Sisk family had a great interest in the use of natural stone. Its no coincidence that the great Cork sculptor Seamus Murphy worked for Sisk in Cork at one point. A recent project that required a high degree of craftsmanship was the now iconic Cork School of Music, built to a Murray Laoire Architects design. The challenge was to create an acoustically sound and architecturally striking building in the heart of the city with a world-class performance space. The building has gained wide recognition for both its high-spec interior and quality build.
In recent decades, the growth of the pharmaceutical industry in Cork has provided Sisk with the opportunity to work with international companies such as Pfizer, Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline to build and develop some of the regions most important industrial infrastructure. Says Liam Walsh: From a management and safety point of view, working with the pharmaceutical industry over several decades really brought up the standards and quality in all sectors of our operation. But we are continuing to evolve. At most times we would have a prestigious building in progress, or one of great local interest, which is a mark of our commitment not just to the region, but to continuing our proud tradition for quality building.
ONSITE ORIGO
JOHN EGAN, senior business development manager at Origo has worked at the company for 14 years. Origo is the distributor of the Bosch brand in Ireland and employs around 85 people here. Egans job entails liaising with electrical retailers, big and small, throughout the country. My role has changed and developed over the years, says Egan. Traditionally, we were a niche brand, but now we are focused on growing a long-term sustainable partnership with customers. This is going to be a difficult year, but we will emphasise the quality, reliability and energy efficiency of Bosch products. In addition, we have a reputation for supporting our clients, and they will be asking themselves if other brands and suppliers can match that. It's hugely important to keep focus on the direction of the business this is how we see the business developing. Egan enjoys the diversity of his job: It varies all the director of Power City; the next it could be the owner of an independent retailer such as Knowles Electrical in Dn Laoghaire. We could be carrying out in-store demonstrations, focusing on helping customers to grow and add value to their business, or organising a new product launch well have one of these in a few weeks time. All in all, you dont stay somewhere for 14 years unless you are happy with what you are doing, he concludes.
John Egan (left) with Wally Knowles of Knowles Electrical time and Im always dealing with different people at different levels. One day it could be the managing

FamilyFocus John G Sisk

OHN VS son was born in Cork in 1911, and went to school in Clongowes Wood College, Co Kildare, before studying engineering at University College Cork (UCC). He joined the family firm at 20 as an apprentice engineer. When the economy hit hard times in the 1930s, he decided to open an office in Dublin and move to the capital with Mary Magdalen, whom he married at the age of 26. They had four children: Hope, George, Hal and John. The couple visited Cork often though, and John G would often call into the Cork office and chat with Tommy OConnell, an estimator based there, who says: He was a very shrewd man who knew how to pick a good team and he would then look after them. John G would often be quoted praising his staff. Of one Herbert Dennis he said: It was due to his untiring efforts that the Kildare Street job was a complete success. His sense of decency extended to charitable works and he instigated the Christmas toy-making tradition at the companys timber workshop, in which the workers would stop work and make toys for various charities something that continues today. Yet he was a canny businessman and an optimist who, like his father, would pitch for jobs that were considered unlikely prospects, such as Cavan Cathedral in 1938. We had priced the job as a forlorn hope. My father had had a row with Ralph Byrne, the architect, over a job in Mallow, and Byrne told him he would never give him a job. So he was surprised when the architect called him to his office and said: I told your father your firm would never work for me but I am told you know your job, and I am prepared to trust you.
John Gs canniness extended to making jobs run smoothly he once paid a station worker to shunt a train carrying marble columns for Cavan Cathedral over the Border from Northern Ireland on the day before Italy joined the war (after which the marble would have been seized). Later, during the war, when coal was scarce, John G devised a method of mixing coal duff (tiny pieces of coal) and pitch (solid petroleum) briquettes to fuel CIE trains. He took the business into new areas, such as establishing the dealership for Bosch products in Ireland. John G paid close attention to his projects. At Cavan, he said: I visited the job twice a week and left the house [in Dublin] at 6am, visited the job and was
back in the Phoenix Park at 1pm eating my sandwiches and then on to the office to estimate until 6pm. John G died in 2001 at the age of 90. While he had retained a close interest in the company in his latter years, he handed it over to the next generation in 1974. What was remarkable about John G was that he built up the business despite being a shy man, says his son, Hal. My father was the least clubbable man you could imagine. He dreaded and hated standing at a bar buying rounds. He was always home in the evening, listening to the radio and sketching. For a man like that to establish one of the largest companies in Ireland was astonishing. It shows how you can turn a weakness into a strength.
stroke
SISK AT 150 HEALTHCARE

WORDS BY DANIELLE BARRON
Health matters
Sisk Healthcare marks a new departure for the group but one that is delivering many benefits
HE SISK group along with others in the construction industry benefited from and capitalised on the property boom. But to avoid focusing too much on one area, Sisk expanded and diversified the company interests. The family would have recognised in 2004, and even before that, that while the construction sector in Ireland was very successful, it was disproportionate in terms of the level of GDP [gross domestic product] it was contributing to the economy, says Liam Nagle, chief executive of the Sisk Group. The family decided to use the good times to diversify and expand. It immediately looked to the rapidly growing area of healthcare. We chose healthcare because its a growth sector. Its a very dynamic area but equally, as we are getting more successful, there is a desire for better care and we felt it was a good sector for us to participate in, says Nagle. In less than 18 months, Sisk acquired five medical-device companies, launching Sisk Healthcare. The first acquisition was M.E.D. Surgical in March 2006. Cardiac Services came next, followed by Tekno Surgical in January 2007. Beaver Medical was acquired shortly afterwards and subsequently integrated into Cardiac Services. The fifth and most recent acquisition was Synapse Medical in July 2007. The family ethos of the Sisk Group was an advantage when it came to making the acquisitions, says Nagle. We have a strong sense of being a family business and that made the acquisitions easier for them as well as for us. In addition, and in marked contrast to their competitors, Sisk Group has continued to retain the companies original brands.
We took a soft approach to the integration, with each company continuing to exist and retain its name and identity. We believe this is fairly unique, says Nagle. Since joining Sisk, Cardiac Services has been able to grow its business significantly, says Paul Hannigan, managing director. Beaver Medical was acquired, effectively doubling the size of our UK business and our key suppliers, such as Philips Healthcare, Laerdal and Keymed Olympus, which has given us access to additional product lines, he says. The companys top products now include defibrillators, endoscopes, and obstetric equipment and supplies. We are also very excited about the increased
We took a soft approach to the integration, with each company continuing to exist and retain its name and identity. . . We believe that this is fairly unique
A Stryker Integrated Theatre Suite, which is provided by Tekno Surgical, within the Sisk Group John Osborne, joint managing director of Tekno Surgical, explains there are natural synergies between Tekno Surgical and the Sisk Group. The fact that we are part of a bigger group now gives us more scope for developing further as a total healthcare-solution provider the sum of the whole is greater than the constituent parts. Tekno Surgical focuses on three key areas, of which orthopaedics is the largest. It also has significant interests in the areas of aesthetic and general surgery, explains Osborne. One of its current projects has staff working on the provision
focus on clinical information systems in the hospital sector. We expect this to be a major growth area given the focus on stopping the paper chase within hospitals, explains Hannigan. M.E.D.Surgical works with well-known names such as Boston Scientific, Rusch and KimberlyClark, dealing in laparoscopic and urological surgical equipment. Colin Dolan, managing director of M.E.D. Surgical, says the company has developed a bigger and better profile since becoming part of Sisk Healthcare. Sisk is a well-known family company to be affiliated with it, that has to be good, he says.

of a new technique known as balloon sinuplasty, a non-invasive procedure for the treatment of sinus disease. That is a very exciting area and we see it developing into quite a significant business, with tremendous patient benefits, says Osborne. Managing director of Synapse Medical, Willie Costello says that, while there were several attractive features of the offer made by Sisk, they were convinced by the similarities in core values between the two companies. Their proposition was very attractive because Sisk has stepped beyond its traditional business and now owns companies that have a long history in the healthcare industry: an ante-natal foetal monitoring device (above right) it allowed us to maintain ourselves as a family business, but with the Sisk powerhouse behind us, says Costello, adding that Synapse now represents 15 different healthcare principals, including pharmaceutical giant Abbott. Costello adds that, in negotiations, Synapse was assured it would be allowed continue in its entrepreneurial fashion. They didnt come in with a rank and file attitude, he says. According to Hannigan, the companies share the common objective of maximising growth in their respective areas of expertise.
We are all aiming to identify and operate in growth markets, to maximise our existing supplier base and ultimately deliver excellent solutions for our customers. As a result the interaction between the companies is very stimulating and rewarding, he says. We have a great working relationship with the three other companies and we would have known each other in the business for many years. Now we work incredibly well togeth-
We are all aiming to identify and operate in growth markets, to maximise our existing supplier base and ultimately deliver excellent solutions for our customers
er. Dolan says the four companies complement each other. We are not in competition we are part of a team. Learning about their businesses helps us. Despite the economic downturn, the security of being part of a large, successful group such as Sisk means that the four companies all remain optimistic about their future. We are very confident that the rapid growth of the company will continue and flourish under the Sisk umbrella, says Hannigan. According to Nagle, the foray into healthcare happened at just the right time for the Sisk Group. Our construction company is very successful and even in these strange times it continues to be. But, from an overall group point of view, we are more balanced.
ONSITE TEKNO SURGICAL

SISK IS well known as a construction company, but the companys diversity and strength lies in a range of areas, including healthcare. In 2007, it expanded to acquire Tekno Surgical, which distributes specialist medical products. Now, Sisk has been contracted to build the new Mater Hospital in Dublin. According to Brendan Murray, marketing director of orthopaedics at Tekno Surgical (pictured right), this is a terrific opportunity for Sisk. Murray has worked with Tekno for three years. He trained as a general and psychiatric nurse, joining the commercial side in 1991 and working with a number of medical companies. As marketing director, Murrays role is wide and varied. I focus on business development and new opportunities, he explains. I communicate with customers, staff and the agencies we represent in Ireland. I have educational responsibilities for both customers and staff. A portion of my time is spent in the office, but spending time in the theatres with our customers is much more important, and its what I enjoy most. Tekno Surgical has a number of projects in the pipeline. We are in discussions with a number of hospitals regarding offering complete theatre suites, in other words a turn key solution for complete operating theatres, while maintaining competitiveness and high standards in the day-to-day orthopaedic
implant business is an ongoing project. Murray is confident that being part of the Sisk Healthcare group will help
the firm through the current difficult economic situation. The future is certainly a challenge for us, but one that we relish.

FamilyFocus George Sisk

EORGE SISK was one of four children born to John G and Molly Sisk. He began his schooling in Dublin and completed his education at University College Cork, where he studied engineering as his father had done before him I was told that I would become an engineer by my father and I had no objection to that, says George. Civil engineering is one of the better ways into the building trade as it is a direct professional training for construction. Not only does it help you in knowing how buildings are put together but also in how you think methodically. He has known the building trade from an early age: My father didnt stop working and at the weekends he would take us out to visit projects such as Blanchardstown Hospital, which was a very big job when I was a boy. From that time he was destined to join John Sisk & Son: I always wanted to go into the family business. It was a no-brainer, it is in the genes. His early career at Sisk was spent in Africa, after which he worked in the Cork office, moving to the city with his new wife Anne. He rose to the position of managing director and then, shortly after the birth of his children he moved to the Dublin office. His father handed control of the company to his three sons in 1974 and George was to become chairman of the Sisk Group. He talks of changing tack from building buildings to building a business. George inherited his fathers nous for business, being comfortable with
decisions to diversify into new countries (such as the UK, Germany and Africa) or into new business areas (such as healthcare) when the need arose. When a company gets to a certain size, market share becomes a limiting factor and so you have to seek new markets. We spent time building in Europe and building with our closest neighbour, which we still do. Having spent more than 40 years in the business, he can see clearly how
government policy has an effect on the building trade. At different times we had governments that led very well and we could follow the lead of those governments whether that be on the development infrastructure, hospital buildings and following through to the IDAs [Industrial Development Agency] foreign investment thrust. Colleagues describe George as a deep thinker whose management style puts the group and company first but in a way that is consistent with a family business and the Sisk family ethos. He managed the business with his brothers in a partnership model, always trying to achieve consensus but, if needed, was not afraid to make the right decision, as the leader of his generation of the family. His vision for the business has always been focused on growing and developing capabilities but in a conservative and controlled way. He is described as a competitive man, whether in business or personal activities (he loves rugby and sailing), and yet in his dealings with people (clients, employees and other stakeholders) he is always fair, full of integrity and strives to have a trusting relationship, just as his forebears did. His stills plays an active role and says the decades have flown by. It doesnt seem that long. Ive enjoyed it oh yes, Ive enjoyed it and I continue to wake in the morning with ambitions. We have got this far and want to go a hell of a lot further, he says, displaying a tenacity that was passed on by his forebears.
SISK AT 150 RESTORATION

WORDS BY SANDRA OCONNELL
Stone mad
For Alan McGrath, the man behind Sisks restoration projects, every day is different, and every job unique
People now realise we have a built heritage that we need to protect, and there are a lot of heritage grants and funding available as a result
EW PEOPLE get to work on castles one day and cathedrals the next. For Alan McGrath, who heads up Conservation and Restoration at Sisk, the variety only adds to what is already a labour of love. Conservation and Restoration is the recognised trading name under which Stone Developments, a part of the Sisk Group, helps restore old buildings to their former glory. Generally we do facade restoration focusing on the outside of buildings and roof work on any period or listed building, from castles to cathedrals and everything in between, says McGrath, a quantity surveyor by training who has worked around the world with the Sisk Group. He is currently working on the restoration of the Church of the Assumption in Callan, Co Kilkenny. The support structures beneath the spire were found to be unstable. We had to take the spire down, stone by stone, mark them, provide a new underpinning and build it up, again stone by stone, says McGrath. His most high-profile job was the refurbishment of the 14th-century Minot Tower and spire of St Patricks Cathedral in Dublin, using what was, at 250 feet, the highest scaffold in the city last year. McGrath had to repair previous work that was carried out badly. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s repointing of stone buildings was routinely done using sand and cement, says McGrath. Cement was thought to be good for old buildings but what they didnt realise is that it actually damages the stone, not allowing it to breathe, and over time eroding it. For St Patricks, this meant replacing sand and cement mortar with a breathable lime-based mortar. By doing that you stop the stone deteriorating further, particularly Caen stone, a beige stone commonly found in old buildings
which is quite soft, he says. The firm also recently rebuilt the Browne Clayton Memorial, a 94-foot Corinthian column in Wexford. It is a beautiful and unique granite column built to honour a local man who was an officer in the British army and who fought and was killed in battle in Egypt, said McGrath. In his lifetime he had been very good to the locals and so they built him this memorial. But it was struck by lightning and a large section of it was knocked out some years ago. We were brought in for the rebuilding phase, which meant carving all the old features on the stone to match what was there. There is an enormous craft element to what the firm does. Much of our work is matching what was originally used, says McGrath. To achieve that we have our own stone masons in Stone Development, as well as specialists we can hire in from abroad, who work on the often incredibly detailed and intricate carvings involved. A personal favourite of his is the recent restoration of the original facade of the Ulster Bank on OConnell Street in Dublin. On that job we got rid of a mid-1970s facade and got it back to the way it was built in the 1920s. Its right beside the bridge and well worth seeing because it looks fantastic, he says. Stone has also become a more common material in new builds, he says. Improved transport and logistics means we are now able to
source stone from around the world economically. It is a much more viable option for clients than it was in the recent past and the quality of buildings built in Ireland has improved in the past 20 years, says McGrath. I believe they will stand the test of time alongside the buildings we in Conservation and Restoration work on. In the meantime, he says conservation has become an important issue in Ireland, albeit only recently. People now realise we have a built
ABOVE: at work on the restoration of St Patricks Cathedral (also left) in Dublin. Photographs: Warner Photography
Rescuing great buildings

John Cotter, who began working in the stone business in 1955, worked on a number of conservation and restoration projects with Stone Developments over the years. Now aged 72 and still offering his services to the firm as a consultant, he cites Carton House, just west of Dublin, as his particular favourite. I always feel Ive been extremely lucky to have worked on so many buildings connected with history and Carton House is a very important building, says Cotter. Its a source of great pride to me to think that theres a little bit of me left in it. Despite his love of history, the fact that stately homes such as Carton House have been reincarnated as hotels rather than kept as museum pieces is something of which he approves. The purists say stately houses should be left in mothballs, and that golf-course developments and the like shouldnt happen, but I dont agree. Too many great buildings were left derelict. It took people with money to put life back into them. In 20 years the golf course may be gone, but the house will have survived where perhaps it wouldnt have otherwise.
heritage that we need to protect, and there are a lot of heritage grants and funding available as a result, he says. Every local authority in the country now has a conservation officer, a good indicator of the importance placed on the subject, he says. Some of what happened to buildings in the 1970s in terms of demolition or new facades simply wouldnt be allowed now and thats a good thing. Ireland still lags behind other countries in terms of the importance we place on our old buildings. There are many more heritage buildings in the UK, for example, because its National Trust has placed such a huge emphasis on protecting its built heritage for so long. And of course as a nation they have a greater stock of buildings and more money for preserving them, he says. The lack of value Ireland placed on its heritage for so long may have been a post-colonial hangover. Possibly we didnt think of such buildings as ours, but somebody elses. As a nation, we were immature in that respect. Others were lost simply through negligence, and a significant number remain at risk, he says. I know of old military barracks, for example, that are being left to disintegrate. If not addressed they will go beyond the point of repair. Continued on page 46
SISK AT 150 RESTORATION

Continued from page 45 On a more positive note, the firm is currently working for a private individual restoring a castle in Westmeath that had only parts of its exterior walls standing. Now one half of it at least is habitable. In that job, the key for McGrath is working as closely as possible to the methods originally used. We go out of our way to use stone that matches that which was there originally. Very often the actual quarry used has been closed down but we have staff who can tell just from looking at a stone where it was quarried and where a similar stone is most likely to be sourced now. He is a connoisseur of stone, his favourite being the Portland stone so prevalent in Dublin. Very many Dublin buildings, such as City Hall, are made of Portland stone. It comes from the UK and was originally used as ships ballast and was just left sitting on the docksides until people came up with a better use for it, says McGrath. A significant part of his work is cleaning up such buildings as they become sullied by pollution. Carbon deposits from car fumes eat into stone. Cleaning always destroys the stone a little but it looks better and stops further erosion, he explains. The introduction of smokeless coal helped buildings enormously in this respect. In the meantime, theres plenty of other restoration work to be getting on with. But for McGrath, few projects will match his time spent at the top of St Patricks Cathedral spire. Every job is different and unique, and thats what makes it such great work generally, says McGrath. But the view from up there was simply spectacular. The recently rebuilt Browne Clayton Memorial in Wexford (right) and the 94-foot Corinthian column as it was before restoration (left). Photographs: Donal Murphy Photography
Company profile
Conservation and Restoration is a trading name of the restoration division of Stone Developments, a Sisk Group firm. The company, run by managing director Phil Meaney, has its own quarries and supplies Irish blue limestone to the domestic and overseas markets. It also runs a contracting side, supplying Irish builders with Irish and imported materials. The company is currently looking to open up markets in the US and Middle East. Conservation and restoration work is the third-largest element of its business, but one in which Meaney takes great pride. We have worked on some of the landmark buildings of Irish life, such as St Patricks Cathedral, he says. As much of this work depends on the availability of State aid and funding, the immediate future will present a challenge, but our plan is to grow the restoration side of the business significantly over the coming years.
ONSITE STONE DEVELOPMENTS

IN 1986, Tommy Roe joined Stone Developments for work experience. He hasnt looked back, moving swiftly from design technician to design manager, general manager, and now estimating manager. When I started, Stone Developments was working on the restoration of the Customs House, he says. Today, a separate wing of the company carries out this conservation and restoration. Alongside that, we have had contracts such as the ornamental faade on Leinster House, around nine years ago. This was an ornate faade with classical columns. Roes position involves producing estimates, tendering for projects and negotiating contracts. An in-house design office works with the architects and develops the designs a step further. The team has specialisation and expertise in stone-work. From 1993 to 1998, Roe lived and worked in Zimbabwe, overseeing major operations there, with design and contracts among his responsibilities. Stone Developments is currently involved in the development of cladding at Heuston South Quarter, a mixed-use development. The company is not immune to the recession. But, as Roe points out, it has weathered many economic storms since its inception in the 1950s. Last year, there were about 220 people on site. Now, there are about half that amount. Weve a good ethos in this company and its helped us through
tough times before; there is never a need to compromise on quality or anything else,
and the job must be done correctly. On a good deal, everybody wins.

150 Year SISK - The Irish Times Special Report

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THE IRISH TIMES SPECIAL REPORT

FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 2009

STRENGTH DIVERSITY EXPERIENCE

delivering excellence in construction on the Nations buildings for 150 years.

John Sisk & Son Ltd.

St.Marys of the Rosary, Nenagh 1896

Cork City Hall 1936

Dept. Industry & Commerce 1942

Mr.John Sisk, Founder

Central Bank, Dublin 1978

Wexford Bridge 1959

Dundrum Town Centre 2005

Royal Hospital, Kilmainham (Restoration) 1980

Galway Cathedral 1965

Page 36 Page 38 Page 40

THE IRISH TIMES Sisk at 150 | March 13, 2009 | 3

SISK AT 150 LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS

04 | THE IRISH TIMES Sisk at 150 | March 13, 2009

THE IRISH TIMES Sisk at 150 | March 13, 2009 | 05

SISK AT 150 LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS

06 | THE IRISH TIMES Sisk at 150 | March 13, 2009

Building the foundations of society

THE IRISH TIMES Sisk at 150 | March 13, 2009 | 07

SISK AT 150 LIAM NAGLE

08 | THE IRISH TIMES Sisk at 150 | March 13, 2009

THE IRISH TIMES Sisk at 150 | March 13, 2009 | 09

SISK AT 150 SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

One good turn

10 | THE IRISH TIMES Sisk at 150 | March 13, 2009

SISK AT 150 SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Clean Coast Project, Bray

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IRISH HEART FOUNDATION

School of the Holy Spirit, Kilkenny

THE IRISH TIMES Sisk at 150 | March 13, 2009 | 13

SISK AT 150 PORTFOLIO

Buildings and beyond

14 | THE IRISH TIMES Sisk at 150 | March 13, 2009

Diversity through partnership

THE IRISH TIMES Sisk at 150 | March 13, 2009 | 15

SISK AT 150 PORTRAIT

FamilyFocus John Sisk

16 | THE IRISH TIMES Sisk at 150 | March 13, 2009

SISK AT 150 HISTORY & SOCIETY

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THE IRISH TIMES Sisk at 150 | March 13, 2009 | 19

SISK AT 150 PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS

Part of the solution

We have to manage this decline in construction by defining an optimum level of activity

20 | THE IRISH TIMES Sisk at 150 | March 13, 2009

SISK AT 150 PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS

22 | THE IRISH TIMES Sisk at 150 | March 13, 2009

The Aviva Stadium at Lansdowne Road in Dublin as it will look on completion

24 | THE IRISH TIMES Sisk at 150 | March 13, 2009

SISK AT 150 LANSDOWNE ROAD

ONSITE WILLIAAM COX

THE IRISH TIMES Sisk at 150 | March 13, 2009 | 25

SISK AT 150 LONDON

26 | THE IRISH TIMES Sisk at 150 | March 13, 2009

potential. It has a diverse workforce, with employees from all over

THE IRISH TIMES Sisk at 150 | March 13, 2009 | 27

SISK AT 150 DUBLIN DOCKLANDS

Under the boardwalk