Irish Legends
Of
London's Built Environment
There is no denying the impact that the Irish have had upon London's built environment over the years. This tradition continues today and you will be hard-pressed to spot construction projects without an Irish name attached to them.
Following are some of the giants of construction that continue to leave an Irish footprint upon London's built environment.
Ballymore is a developer with vast and varied experience, acknowledged as pioneers of some of Europe’s largest regeneration projects. Today, the company remains owned and managed by the Mulryan family. Chairman and Group Chief Executive Sean Mulryan founded the business with his wife Bernardine Mulryan, in Ireland, in 1982.
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The company was founded by Ray O'Rourke in 1978. It was originally based in East London, and was known as R. O'Rourke & Son. In September 2001, R. O'Rourke bought Laing Construction from John Laing plc for £1.
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Danny Sullivan Group's history can be traced back to the 1970s when Danny O’Sullivan left rural south-west Ireland, bound for London’s booming construction trade where he worked his way up the industry ladder.
Danny insisted on surrounding himself with good people along the way, thus allowing him to grow Danny Sullivan Group into one of the major suppliers to the UK’s construction industry.
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Kerry London was established in 1986 by Joe Kelliher to provide the construction sector with specialist insurance and personal service. Kerry London specialises in serving the construction, property, manufacturing, healthcare, sports, and leisure sectors.
Kerry London has a team of over 100 people based in offices across London and the South-East, with headquarters in the heart of the city. As a Lloyd’s of London Broker, Kerry London can arrange reliable cover for the most complex risks from the world’s most trusted market.
Joe received the honour of Freedom of the City of London in 2023.
Powerday was founded in North West London in 1977 by Mick Crossan. With the help of a long standing and valued team, Powerday has developed significantly since then. Whilst remaining an independent family business, the business has achieved consistent organic growth and an unrivalled presence across London. From its humble beginnings, Powerday is now a £50million+ business employing around 240 people.
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Eddie McGillycuddy is co-founder of Glencar Construction. He was born in the County Kerry village of Glencar, from where our business takes its name.
As Chief Executive of Glencar, the business most recently posted annual revenues of over £415m in its seventh year of operation and now employs just over 350 people.
Eddie was also was awarded the prestigious honour of ‘Freedom of the City of London’ in June 2022.
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