2025 ACEI ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE AWARD WINNERS
The Association of Consulting Engineers of Ireland (ACEI) Engineering Excellence Awards were established in 1970 to promote and stimulate project excellence and innovation in member firms.
These prestigious annual awards offer consulting engineers an opportunity to showcase their work to a wider audience, and the ACEI congratulates all the 2025 winning firms on their well-deserved accolades.
To celebrate this year’s shortlisted projects, a gala dinner and awards ceremony was held on Friday, 28 March at the InterContinental Hotel in Dublin 4. ACEI President 2024-2025 Anne Marie Conibear presented certificates to the award winners, marking another successful year for the association.
In delivering her keynote to the assembled guests, Anne Marie Conibear, outgoing ACEI President, said:
Stronger together
Firstly, I’d like to thank you, the members, for your support of the ACEI and the excellent work you do. This last year, as President I’ve seen how the consulting engineering sector is stronger than the sum of its parts. Working on the ACEI Board and Executive Committee, I’ve seen how we collectively can make progress working together, particularly when we engage with the Government and public sector clients.
I would also like to thank all the members who give of their time on our sub-committees. Throughout the last year, we have seen the committees produce new standard contractual documents and conditions of engagement, produce best in class practice notes, host webinars, and meet with key clients and stakeholders. This is the lifeblood of the ACEI’s work and committee members give their time to ensure better conditions for the entire sector and wider construction industry.
“I started my term last year as the first female President of the ACEI in our 86-year history. I’m heartened that as I leave the ACEI has committed to achieving gender equality across its sub-committees and 30% female representation on the Executive and Board in the coming two years. I’d encourage members to sign up to the ACEI’s EDI charter as it will clearly demonstrate to young people, our stakeholders and your staff that we are committed to diversity, particularly at this time!
The ACEI has committed to achieving gender equality across its sub-committees and 30% female representation on the Executive and Board in the coming two years. I’d encourage members to sign up to the ACEI’s EDI charter as it will clearly demonstrate to young people, our stakeholders and your staff that we are committed to diversity, particularly at this time!
Membership has increased by 20% over the past two years, with notable progress maintained during her one-year tenure as president. “Each new member counts, adding to our voice and our influence,” Conibear emphasised. That collective voice has driven momentum on key issues such as Net Contributory Clauses, where ACEI collaborated with partners like RIAI, SCSI, Engineers Ireland, and CIF to advocate for fairer conditions.
Our industry is evolving at an incredible pace. Irish society is looking to us to deliver 300,000 homes in five years, spend €160bn in infrastructure up to 2030, retrofit 250,000 homes and help achieve net zero by 2030. We’re being asked to do amidst a global war for talent and against the backdrop of a global trade war. And…. And… we’re being asked to deliver whilst fundamentally recalibrating how our sector and industry operates through digitalisation and incorporating sustainability best practice.
I’m confident that we will succeed; we have the knowledge, the expertise, and the creative passion to design our way out of the housing, infrastructure, and climate challenges we face.
It’s really important that we value the incredible work we do. If we don’t value ourselves, the wider public, our client organisations, and the young people we need to attract into our industry will not do so. The ACEI supports its members so they can value themselves and then command that value in the market.
That involves trying to shape the contractual environment we operate within; there’s no doubt that we often face unfair contracts that load risk onto the consulting engineer. However, these contracts only exist, persist, and promulgate one acceptance at a time. The ACEI has released revised conditions of engagement documents and new standard collateral warranty forms. However, these are just pieces of paper unless we use them.
Consulting Engineers, as we will see tonight, ensure projects deliver value for money, are sustainable, and improve the quality of life for citizens. We need to price our work like we believe in ourselves! As the L’oreal advert says, ‘because we’re worth it!’.
I know the organisation will be in very good hands as I will shortly handover to my successor, Tim Murnane, and I wish him all the best for his year as President of the ACEI.
WINNER: PROJECT OF THE YEAR
Fehily Timoney and Company for the Dunkettle Interchange Upgrade Scheme
This year’s Project of the Year is one of the largest and most complex civil infrastructure projects completed in Ireland in recent years. Located at the intersection of the M8, N25 and N40 the Dunkettle Interchange Upgrade Scheme designed by Fehily Timoney and Company has delivered 18 new road links totalling 10km in length; seven new bridge structures as well as other traffic and pedestrian upgrade works. Innovative and sustainable approaches to ground treatments employed, including the use of Control Modulus Columns for the first time in Ireland, have resulted in a substantial reduction in the scheme’s carbon footprint.
When opened in February 2024, with traffic volumes at an all-time high, journey times during peak hours were reduced by almost 50% as a result of this upgrade project. The result is a significant investment in Cork’s future, a vital link in the region’s transport network and a catalyst for enhancing economic and social activity.
WINNER: CIVIL – LARGE PROJECT – Roughan & O’Donovan, Clontarf to City Centre Project
The winning project in this category has set a standard for urban road and active travel facility design in Ireland and for the implementation of the Bus-Connects programme.
The winning project is the Clontarf to City Centre Project, with designers Roughan & O’Donovan Consulting Engineers.
Into a complex network of over 20km combined length of pedestrian walkways, new and upgraded cycle lanes and upgraded bus lanes, the design of the scheme introduces, multiple new modal segregation features, environmental enhancements and construction techniques. By providing safe and attractive facilities for public transport users, cyclists and pedestrians, the innovative designs in the scheme contribute to encouraging a modal shift to active travel and public transport use in this very busy environment.
WINNER: CIVIL – SMALL/MEDIUM PROJECT – Clifton Scannell Emerson Associates Consulting Engineers for the Snugborough Interchange Upgrade Scheme
The winning project in this category delivers high quality infrastructure that has benefits for all users of the transportation systems including pedestrians, cyclist, public transport users and private and commercial road users. Using a multi-level solution in the design the Snugborough Interchange Upgrade designed by Clifton Scannell Emerson Associates is a successful resolution of a complex confluence where multiple users of all transportation modes and multiple services negotiate the crossing of the N3 and Tolka River between the Dublin Enterprise Zone, Blanchardstown Village, and the Blanchardstown Shopping Centre. The new interchange with three levels facilitates a high-quality greenway along the Tolka while also providing increased traffic capacity and bus priority for Bus-Connects on the N3.
WINNER: STRUCTURAL – LARGE PROJECT – PUNCH Consulting Engineers for The Distillers Building
The Distillers Building, Smithfield, Dublin 7 with structural design by PUNCH Consulting Engineers is a mixed-use development of c.20,000 sq. m. that occupies a key location, framing the Smithfield Plaza and bounded by New Church Street, Bow Lane and Phoenix Street North. It ranges from 4 to 7 stories with its mass successfully disaggregated to provide variety and appropriate scale on the differing elevations.
The dismantling, careful retention and re-use of the Bow Street boundary wall provides continuity of memory and urban fabric and links the development to its 20th century neighbour.
In engineering terms, the double-basement construction close to active Luas lines required imagination, assurance and close co-operation with TII. The narrow but impressive atrium has an impressive cantilever at its base, enlarging its footprint at ground level and it is capped by a deceptively simple glass roof.
WINNER: STRUCTURAL – SMALL/MEDIUM PROJECT – Cronin & Sutton Consulting for 9-12 Dawson Street
9 – 12 Dawson Street, Dublin 2 with structural design by Cronin and Sutton Consulting results from an unusual and welcome approach to the sustainable re-use of older office stock, fronting a significant and re-vitalised Dawson Street which has been energised by the Luas Green Line. The corner building [9-10 Dawson Street] dates from 1964 and features relatively ornate Celtic motifs, representative of its heritage as the headquarters of New Ireland Assurance Company. Its immediate neighbour [11-12 Dawson Street] was built in 1971 to house the affiliated Irish National Insurance Company. It is sympathetic in its proportions and beautiful in the detailing of its bronze curtain walling. Together and taking into account the new, recessed penthouse floors, they represent a harmonious and permanent partnership in the Dawson Street
In engineering terms, it is remarkable for its sustainability credentials, inherent in the retention and re-use of these buildings, and for the careful construction planning alongside the Luas Green Line and in a busy and tight urban environment.
WINNER: SUSTAINABILITY BUILT ENVIRONMENT – LARGE PROJECT – JV Tierney & Co. Consulting Engineers, for DCU Polaris
The winning project in this category is an example of the use of advanced mechanical, electrical, and sustainable design technologies to deliver an energy-efficient future facing building.
In the design of the Polaris Building in Dublin City University’s Glasnevin Campus, J V Tierney and Co. Ltd. have achieved a highly efficient, low-carbon building that aligns with DCU’s sustainability goals. This large fully electrified and decarbonised facility, which has eliminated fossil fuel usage, achieved a BREEAM Excellent Certification for its design and shows a strong commitment to sustainability and energy efficiency.
WINNER: SUSTAINABILITY BUILT ENVIRONMENT – SMALL/MEDIUM PROJECT – RPS, Uisce Éireann National Waterway
Sustainability was a core objective throughout the winning project in this category, guiding every aspect of the design and construction. Uisce Éireann’s National Water Laboratory designed by RPS Group has received an outstanding design rating in the BREEAM sustainability assessment. This large state-of-the-art laboratory can carry out over a million tests annually and will deliver many benefits to the country including improving water quality data, regulatory compliance, increased transparency for the public and economic growth. Complexities of the project were the high heat gains and air change requirements needed in a laboratory and these were addressed by innovative solutions which included hybrid heat pumps, energy recovery systems, and intelligent air volume controls to effectively manage these demands.
WINNER: SUSTAINABILITY – NATURAL ENVIRONMENT – Ryan Hanley in partnership with Stantec, for the Kilkenny Regional Water Supply Scheme Upgrade
The winning project in this category overcame complex challenges in providing infrastructure vital to a large community in a way that respected environmental constraints in the areas of ecology, hydrology, archaeology, and water quality, within a designated Special Areas of Conservation. In developing a new intake facility with transfer pipelines and water treatment from the environmentally sensitive River Nore, Kilkenny Regional Water Supply Scheme Upgrade designed by Ryan Hanley successfully met the community’s long-term water needs while prioritising environmental sensitivity. By replacing three unsustainable sources with a single, sustainable abstraction, the project removed a growth constraint in the Kilkenny City region while contributing to the protection of the fisheries habitat in the Nore and enhancing biodiversity.
WINNER: PROJECT MANAGEMENT – Donnachadh O’Brien & Associates for St Conleth’s Park Redevelopment
The winning project in this category is St. Conleth’s Park, Newbridge, Kildare project managed by Donnachadh O’Brien & Associates Consulting Engineers.
It is unusual to find a sportsground which has been retained within an urban fabric and re-developed to provide a 3,000-seat stand, together with the usual ancillary and support accommodation for athletes and hospitality and corporate facilities. In addition to the construction of the grandstand, the project encompassed a new sand-based grass pitch, floodlighting, a new entranceway and turnstiles and the boundary enclosures.
Furthermore, the boundary works included the conservation and restoration of the listed Athgarvan Road entrance archway. In terms of energy, this is the first BER A-rated GAA stadium in Ireland, adding to the sustainability credentials of the project.
WINNER: INNOVATION – Roughan & O’Donovan, Clontarf to city Centre Project
The winning project in this category is the Clontarf to City Centre Project. Designers Roughan & O’Donovan Consulting Engineers have introduced features in this scheme that are new to the Dublin city streetscape and are a model for urban road and active travel facility design.
These features include: the introduction of continuous footpaths at junctions, fully segregated cycle tracks with island bus stops; maximum use of SuDS and of bioretention areas; vacuum excavation to maintain existing mature trees, and conservation of historic fabric along the route.
WINNER: OVERSEAS – Roughan & O’Donovan for Herring Bridge, Great Yarmouth, UK
The winning project in this category is recognised as an infrastructure project that is of significance at a national level. Spanning the river Yare, at Great Yarmouth, Herring Bridge for Norfolk Co. Co., designed by Roughan & O’Donovan Consulting Engineers uses an elegant structure to transform travel there, reducing traffic congestion, enhancing journey reliability, and fostering investment and revitalisation in both the town and the broader borough. The main structure is a double-leaf, bascule, movable bridge of span 64m with associated control towers and is of a size and scale not typical for these islands. The project has won several awards in the UK and its prominence there greatly enhances the reputation of Irish engineering excellence.
WINNER: MECHANICAL & ELECTRICAL – Varming Consulting Engineers Ltd. Consulting Engineers for Block J, Garda HQ
The winning building project Block J, Garda HQ by Varming Consulting Engineers, demonstrated a sustainable and innovative approach to transforming an existing historic building into one that combined environmentally conscious design, energy efficiency and improved indoor environment, for An Garda Siochana. Collaboration across all disciplines helped produce optimum design solutions that would provide life cycle cost savings, and reduce carbon emissions, whilst saving energy on a sustainable basis. With careful thought and imagination, suitable service routes were found that would minimise intervention and eliminate the risk of potential damage to the existing protected building’s fabric and structural stability.”
PRESIDENTS AWARD – Kevin Rudden
This year’s recipient of the ACEI President’s Award is Kevin Rudden, CEO, GARLAND, who was presented with the award for his outstanding contribution to, and support of, the consulting engineering profession both in Ireland and Overseas.
THE DERRICK EDGE FUTURE LEADER AWARD 2025 – Declan Haugh, DBFL Consulting Engineers
Since the inception of this award, the role of adjudicator of the ACEI Future Leader Award has been performed by many distinguished past presidents of ACEI. Last year’s award adjudicator was our dear friend and colleague, the late Derrick Edge, our ACEI President in 2005. Derrick was ideally suited to this role as he was always a champion of emerging engineering talent not only in Arup but across all ACEI Consultancy Practices.
In recognition of Derrick’s long-standing commitment to developing young engineering talent, ACEI renamed this award in his honour. Derrick’s wife Heather and son Michael were in attendance as the ACEI and the industry acknowledged to them Derrick’s huge contribution to ACEI.
The Derrick Edge Future Leader Award recognises a consulting engineer as a potential leader with excellent communication skills, business acumen, technical capabilities and strong ethical values. ACEI congratulates the 2025 Derrick Edge Future Leader Award Winner Declan Haugh, DBFL Consulting engineers
Declan is pictured above receiving his Award from Anne Marie Conibear, ACEI President and Future Leader adjudicator John Purcell, at the ACEI Awards dinner on Friday 28th March.
Declan and his fellow Future Leader nominees Cian Long, Arup and Darragh Noble, AtkinsRélais are entered into the EFCA 2025 Future Leader Award, which will be presented during the EFCA Conference on 16 May in Luxembourg.
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Michael McDonnell Managing Editor of Irish Construction Industry Magazine & Plan Magazine
Email: michael@irishconstruction.com WWW.MCDMEDIA.IE