Established in 1974, Clonmel Enterprises Ltd. has a long history of constructing quality building and civil engineering projects for both the public and private sectors. In its first decade the Company worked mainly in three areas: water & waste water, civil engineering and residential building works.
The first project undertaken by the Company was the Liffey Aquaduct Duplication Scheme which consisted of laying over 14km of 1600mm concrete pipes and 9.5km of 1200mm concrete pipes. Following on from this, we installed over 20km of foul sewer and constructed a new treatment plant on the Mallow Sewerage Scheme. Projects were also undertaken on the Gorey Main Drainage, Athlone Main Drainage and the Greater Dublin Drainage Scheme.
In the mid-80’s Clonmel Enterprises Ltd. was awarded one of its first landmark infrastructural road projects, the Lucan By-Pass. This scheme saw the construction of 4km of dual carriageway with a number of bridges, both pedestrian and vehicular such as the Ballydowd Bridge. This marked the start of a period of large scale road construction within the Company with the award of the Blanchardstown By-pass in the late 80’s which included 8km of dual carriageway and a number of complex structures.
During this period Clonmel Enterprises Ltd. also constructed a number of residential housing schemes, including a 110 house development in Kilsheelan, Co. Tipperary and a number of holiday home developments in Co. Galway.
The 90’s saw the Company undertake some new and exciting opportunities in bridge construction, with the construction of the Kilmacanogue Bridge over the N11. This was the first post-tensioned Ribbon Bridge to be constructed in Ireland. During this period we also constructed a number of overbridges and underpasses throughout the rail network and remedial works to two key viaducts for Iarnród Éireann.
We continued during this period to work on many road upgrade projects and key water and waste water projects including a new treatment plant at Bullock Harbour and the North City Arterial Watermain in Dublin. A move in the State towards promoting cycling, saw the Company install Dublin’s first cycletracks in a number of locations throughout the County.
In the late 90’s the Company saw an opportunity to develop Business Parks, the first of which was constructed at the Red Cow in Dublin. Further Business Parks were developed in Clondalkin, Blessington, Naas, Red Cow and Rathcoole over the next 15 years. In each of the Business Parks, we constructed the initial access and service infrastructure and then built the office, warehousing, retail and commercial units.
The start of the 21st Century saw the Company move into light rail with a number of projects undertaken on the LUAS through Dublin City. We initially completed a number of enabling works contracts and then installed the track bed and swept path for the rails on a number of sections on both the Red and Green Lines.
This period also saw the Company entering into a number of Joint Ventures. The first, with Laing O’Rourke, we undertook the construction of the N7 Naas Road Widening Scheme. This was an important scheme as it was the first online widening of a motorway undertaken in Ireland on such a large scale. Works included multiple interchange construction and over 15 structures all completed while facilitating in excess of 70,000 vehicles per day. The second Joint Venture of note was with Jons Civil Engineering and John Craddock Ltd, for the Kildare Route Contract 2 Project. This was undertaken to construct a new Station and lay 6km of track bed for Iarnród Éireann.
Dublin Port were actively carrying out work to expand the Port during this period with Clonmel Enterprises Ltd. undertaking a number of schemes in and around the Port such as upgrading the internal road network and the construction of a number of container storage yards.
The construction of the motorway network and the establishment of Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) (formerly the National Roads Authority) saw the responsibility for Ireland’s national road network move from Local Authorities to being administered by TII. Clonmel Enterprises Ltd. took the opportunity in the early 00’s to move into road network asset management. During the early 00’s and since then, the company has undertaken several contracts to manage road sign maintenance, traffic counter installation and maintenance, traffic calming installations, school warning signs and invasive species & vegetation management projects on our national road network. Crews are operated nationally maintaining and upgrading road signage on behalf of TII.
The recession in the late 00’s saw Clonmel Enterprises Ltd. continue to work in the public sector, albeit on smaller scale civil engineering projects that were being undertaken. Flood alleviation works were a priority in Kildare for the Local Authority with several flood alleviation projects completed during this time. Works were also continuing in the Dublin region with several historic bridge refurbishment projects carried out. Of note amongst them was the Beaver Row footbridge, a 130-year-old cast iron structure located in Donnybrook over the River Dodder as well as the New Bridge over the River Dodder on Landsdowne Road which required extensive repair work.
As the country began to exit the recession in 2012, the company moved back into building works, constructing industrial buildings such as salt barns and ancillary offices for TII, and a sludge treatment facility in Ballymore Eustace for Dublin City Council. Building works were undertaken on unfinished residential projects, so called “ghost estates” in Trim and Kilcock. Public sector road construction projects continued like the M9 Motorway Service Area Interchange where we constructed motorway on and off ramps and a 3 span concrete bridge over the existing motorway.
As the decade moved forward, the company moved into Pharma and Data Centre works, completing several major civil engineering projects in the greater Dublin area. Clonmel Enterprises Ltd. continued constructing new greenways and cycle schemes throughout the Dublin. This included several sections of the 29km Dodder Greenway scheme as well as other projects to provide vital cycling infrastructure throughout South Dublin and Dun Laoghaire. One of the highest profile cycle schemes undertaken was in the heart of Dublin city, the Clontarf to City Centre Cycle Scheme. While this scheme was predominately a cycle scheme it included the provision of extensive utility upgrades that were essential to replace failing infrastructure.
The company has also been heavily involved in more recent years in contributing to the construction of the necessary infrastructure for new housing developments. Clonmel Enterprises Ltd. has worked on behalf of the major private developers along with housing agencies to construct the new roads and install the critical service connections to allow the construction of housing estates in Kildare, Louth and Dublin.
In the dynamic environment of construction Clonmel Enterprises Ltd. has continuously adapted throughout the lifetime of the company to remain at the forefront of the civil engineering industry in Ireland. We look forward to the future of continuing to contribute to the construction of the nation’s Infrastructure.