1925
PJ Hegarty Founded in Cork
1928
First Project with Irish Distillers
1929
Bridewell Garda Station
1934
Collins Barracks Reconstruction
1939
WWII Coast Watching Huts
1948
Fry-Cadbury Chocolate Crumb Factory
1952
Michael J. Hegarty Becomes Managing Director
1962
Bottling Hall, North Mall
1968
Cork County Hall
1970
Dublin Office Opens
1971
Shannon Airport Terminal
1972
Ferenka Steel-Cord Factory
1975
50th Anniversary
1976
Páirc Uí Chaoimh Stadium
1977
Dublin HQ Moves to Davitt Road
1983
Lansdowne Road East Stand
1985
Trabolgan Holiday Village
1987
Cork Office Moves to Carroll’s Quay
1992
John Hegarty Becomes Managing Director
1992
First Semiconductor Facility
1994
Marks & Spencer Store
1998
Mercy Hospital
2000
Gas Pipeline to the West
2002
Wyeth Medica Facility
2004
Lapps Quay Docklands Development
2006
Blackpool Business & Retail Park
2007
Thornwood Apartments
2008
The Elysian
2009
Central Criminal Courts Complex
2010
Dublin Airport Terminal 2 & Pier E Fit-Out
2010
First UK Office Opens
2010
M50 Expansion & Upgrade
2014
GPO Restoration Works
2015
Kilmainham Gaol Visitor Centre
2016
First Hyperscale Data Centre
2017
40 Molesworth Street
2018
10 Molesworth Street
2019
Guinness Storehouse Gravity Bar Expansion
2020
Spencer Place Residential
2020
Salesforce Tower Dublin
2021
ESB Headquarters
2021
Dublin Port Brexit Adaptation
2021
Tropical Fruit Warehouse
2022
Samuel Hotel
2022
Limerick Prison
2023
Midleton Distillery Experience
2023
Boston Scientific Administration Building
2024
Gatwick Rapid Exit Taxiway
2025
100 Years of Building
From a small store on Meade Street in Cork in 1925 to a €500m Tier 1 contractor operating across Ireland and the UK, PJ Hegarty’s story is one of grit, craft, and relentless evolution. Across ten decades, we’ve built more than projects. We’ve built trust, partnerships, and a reputation for delivering the complex with care.
Our journey has been shaped by the times we lived through, the communities we served, and the clients who backed us to deliver landmark work. From heritage restorations that protect national identity, to cutting-edge facilities that enable global innovation, each era reflects a company that never stood still. We have grown capability, expanded geography, and continually raised the bar for safety, sustainability, quality, and excellence.
Explore the four chapters below to see how PJ Hegarty became one of the most respected names in construction, and how a century of ambition continues to power what comes next.
1925–1949
PJ Hegarty began with modest roots and an outsized ambition. Founded in Cork by Patrick Joseph Hegarty in 1925, the company grew through difficult early decades defined by economic depression and global upheaval. What set the business apart from the outset was a commitment to integrity, partnership, and doing things right. Those values became the company’s blueprint for the next 100 years.
Even in its infancy, PJ Hegarty was trusted with projects of national significance. A relationship with Irish Distillers began in 1928 and has endured ever since. Shortly after, the company delivered the Bridewell Garda Station in Cork, the first custom-built station for the Irish Free State. The reconstruction of Collins Barracks followed, reinforcing PJ Hegarty’s role in restoring and shaping Ireland’s built heritage.
During World War II, the company supported the Irish Defence Forces with Coast Watching Huts along the coastline. By 1948, it had expanded into industrial delivery with the Fry-Cadbury Chocolate Crumb Factory in Kerry, a signal that capability was moving beyond local contracting into wider national impact.
1950–1974
The post-war years marked a new chapter of growth under second-generation leadership. With Michael J. Hegarty succeeding his father in 1952, the company scaled steadily on the strength of hard-won reputation and craft excellence. This was a period where standards were set early and reinforced through consistent delivery.
By the 1960s, PJ Hegarty was securing larger, more complex contracts that positioned the company as a rising national force. Work such as the Bottling Hall at North Mall for Irish Distillers underscored the depth of longstanding client partnerships. In 1968, Cork County Hall redefined the skyline as Ireland’s tallest building at the time, a tangible symbol of confidence in PJ Hegarty’s ability to deliver at scale.
Expansion beyond Cork followed naturally. A Dublin office opened in 1970, reflecting a growing nationwide footprint. In 1971 the company entered aviation construction with Shannon Airport’s new terminal, the first of many transport projects that would later shape Ireland’s global connectivity. The early 1970s culminated with the Ferenka Steel-Cord Factory, one of the largest industrial projects in the state’s history, delivered on record timelines and cementing PJ Hegarty’s position as a contractor of national importance.
1975–1999
By the mid-1970s, PJ Hegarty had evolved into a clear market leader, celebrated with its 50th anniversary and a portfolio spanning sectors and regions. This era is defined by high-profile landmark builds that brought new visibility, and by strategic moves that strengthened the company’s platform for the future.
The delivery of Páirc Uí Chaoimh in 1976 marked a signature contribution to Ireland’s sporting infrastructure, followed by the East Stand at Lansdowne Road in 1983. Together, these projects demonstrated technical confidence and entrenched PJ Hegarty’s reputation for complex public-facing delivery. During the 1980s the business also consolidated regionally, including establishing its long-term Cork city centre base on Carroll’s Quay.
The 1990s were transformational for Ireland, fuelled by Foreign Direct Investment and the rise of globally competitive sectors. PJ Hegarty was at the front edge of that wave, expanding into pharma and advanced manufacturing and beginning a long-standing partnership in the semiconductor space. Leadership passed to the third generation in 1992 as John Hegarty became Managing Director, guiding the company through a decade of accelerated capability-building and preparing it for the scale and sophistication of 21st-century construction.
2000–2025
The new millennium saw PJ Hegarty enter a high-growth, high-complexity phase, delivering projects that reflected modern Ireland’s needs and globalised economy. Infrastructure capability deepened through major national schemes including M50 upgrades and the gas pipeline to the West. At the same time, PJ Hegarty delivered critical justice and civic projects such as the Central Criminal Courts Complex in Dublin, its first PPP and the largest courts project in Ireland in over two centuries.
This era also showcased landmark vertical and transport builds. Dublin Airport Terminal 2 and Pier E, The Elysian in Cork (Ireland’s tallest residential building at the time), and a widening aviation portfolio that later extended into the UK. The opening of the first UK office in 2010 formalised cross-channel presence, expanding the company’s geographic and civil engineering reach.
From 2016 onwards, PJ Hegarty moved decisively into hyperscale digital infrastructure, delivering major data centres for some of the world’s largest global providers, while continuing to lead in pharma, heritage restoration, commercial development, and award-winning residential schemes. Recent highlights include Salesforce Tower Dublin, ESB Headquarters, the Midleton Distillery Experience, and Gatwick airport works.
In 2025, PJ Hegarty marks a full century of building excellence, shaped by family leadership across generations, powered by innovation, and grounded in the same values that defined the company from day one.