John Sisk & Son expanded from Ireland into Africa in the late 1950s, initially focusing on projects in Rhodesia, Nyasaland, and other English-speaking African countries. They took on missions, schools, hospitals and other infrastructure projects across Africa. The political situation became more difficult as Rhodesia declared independence and became Zimbabwe. Sisk also worked in Nigeria in the 1980s on projects including the new capital city of Abuja before divesting from its African businesses recently. The company expanded into the UK in the 1980s, establishing offices and growing its turnover substantially with projects such as hotels, offices and civic buildings.

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JOHN SiSk & SON’S ventures out of ireland and into Africa, Germany, and the Uk
were often precipitated by economic slumps at home and that was certainly the
case with its first move across the border into Northern ireland during the second
World War.
AFRICA
in 1957 Sisk chose to expand into Africa because it wanted to operate in a country
that was English speaking and that ran under English law. England was seen as being
too close to ireland economically and so would follow the same economic cycles.
“So the logic of going to Africa was a counter cyclical investment,”says Sisk chairman,
George Sisk. “The choice initially came down to Australia, Canada and the African
Federation of Rhodesia [and Nyasaland]. Africa took two days to get to, Australia
took four days and we didn’t think we had anything to offer Canadian industry so
we ended up in Africa.”
in the early years much of the work was on mission stations located in far-flung areas
of the country and John O’Donovan, who was charged with setting up the African
operation, often had to drive 300 miles to pay wages on a Friday. As his long-time
colleague Bryan Hayden recalls in an obituary of John (died in July 2006), “he was
always the first one to start singing all the old irish songs at Christmas parties and
in most other social gatherings. He had a wonderful charisma, an infectious smile
and an incredible sense of humour which could turn anger into laughter in no time
at all”.
overseas
Court Houses, Harare, Zimbabwe

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“John O’Donovan became Mr Sisk in Africa, and was very famous in his day, he was
a brilliant engineer and builder,”says George.
About six years after Sisk arrived in Rhodesia and Nyasaland, at the end of 1963,
the countries became independent from Britain with Northern Rhodesia becoming
Zambia; Nyasaland becoming Malawi while Southern Rhodesia became Rhodesia
and, later, Zimbabwe (in 1980).
Sisk began to win larger contracts in Africa in the late 1960s, and George worked
on a number of jobs in the Southern Province, building schools in Masabuka and
Namwala. As before Sisk was not afraid to travel to work, Namwala being some
300km from Lusaka with the last 50km a dirt road on the flood plains of the kafue
River. At times in the rainy season the journey ‘was difficult’ with the whole road
under water for 10km stretches.
The company also built offices, factories, hospitals, satellite stations and banks across
Zimbabwe, Malawi and Nigeria. At one point Sisk was building more than 30 houses
Left: Quarrying black granite, Zimbabwe
Above: Commerical bank building,
Zimbabwe

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a day in Harare, and it also undertook philanthropic work in Mozambique, building
houses after floods.
“When we got there the police service was run by British police seconded from
Liverpool,”says George,“And the civil service was mostly a British administration but
it was rapidly changing over to African people.”
One irishman who became involved in the politics of change was Carmelite Bishop
DonalLamont,whomovedtoUmtaliinSouthernRhodesiain1946,andcommissioned
Sisktobuildhimacathedral.HeoftendinedwiththeSiskfamily.Lamont,whowasborn
in Co Armagh, and educated in Dublin, stood up for the plight of Africans under white
minority rule. As the Bishop of Umtali (later called Mutare) – where Sisk built a large
post office and a housing scheme – Lamont denounced the (ian) Smith regime while
supporting black leaders. in 1976 Lamont was charged with encouraging mission
workers to treat wounded guerrillas while keeping their whereabouts secret from the
authorities. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, later reduced to four, but was
instead held in a hospital ward until being deported to ireland. He was nominated for
the Nobel Peace Prize in 1978 and he appeared on a postage stamp when Zimbabwe
won independence under Robert Mugabe in 1980. Mugabe, who went to a Jesuit
mission school, invited him back as Bishop of Mutare but Lamont became unhappy
with the violence and corruption in the country and returned to Dublin (he died
in 2003).
“i visited there through that time,” recalls George. “And when UDi [Unilateral
Declaration of independence in November 1965] was declared in Rhodesia things
got more and more difficult. in time, Rhodesia became Zimbabwe and the recent
collapse is very sad.“
Sisk also worked in Nigeria where Pierce O’Shea, managing director of John Sisk &
Son Uk from 1989 to 2008, went to live with his wife and two children for a few years
from 1982.
The family lived in Nigeria while O’Shea worked in north and central Nigeria, including
work on projects in the new capital as it was being constructed. Named Abuja – Lagos
was the capital until 1991 – “it’s still the official capital of Nigeria but nobody goes
there,”says O’Shea, who is now managing director of John Sisk & Son international.
The projects included schools, colleges, hospitals, offices, factories and work for the
Nigerian Air Force, including staff accommodation and runway repairs.
The work was done by about 30 irish staff – many of whom went out there with
their families – and about 600 local employees.
Weather conditions meant adapting to local conditions. There was often a shortage
of raw materials, and it was always either very hot or rainy.“We had to make our own
concrete blocks and at one stage we even made nails. Also, you couldn’t get tap water
– lorries delivered water to the sites from rivers,”O’Shea recalls.
Top: Conditions were often primitive as
evidenced by these site offices
Bottom: Early years in Africa with Phil
O’Donovan, wife of John O’Donovan,
founder/director of Sisk in Africa

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Equipment, such as cranes and scaffolding, had to be imported from Europe and
much of the carrying was done by the workforce, who would lift bowls of pouring
concrete on top of their heads.
Staff in Africa would travel around in the company’s basic four-seater Navajo
turboprop plane piloted by a former policeman from Zimbabwe. it was not a
sophisticated flying machine, says Bernard O’Connell, who worked in Mozambique,
Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe with Sisk. it had no toilet and was non-pressurised,
so had to stay below 13,000 feet.
“There was one hospital project in Mozambique that, in the rainy season, was a six
hour drive to the nearest reasonable sized town – so we used to fly in. it was fantastic
because you could ask the pilot to dip the wings and view the building site from the
air.” They would also watch wildlife in this way.
Left: High-rise commercial buildings in
Harare, Zimbabwe
Above: Satellite communication station

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“After a while you get used to it and we would travel back on that little plane from
Zimbabwe to Mozambique in tough weather, getting thrown around. it wouldn’t be
a lot of people’s cup of tea but i was never scared,”O’Connell says.
Landing strips varied and one of them comprised a length of concrete in the middle
of a bush.“The pilot would buzz in over the strip to let people in the bush know that
we were coming and you would see bicycles crossing the runway. There was no
tower or radar. When we landed it was such a novelty that everyone would come
out to meet us. i will never forget getting off the plane one time in the mid-1990s,
and heading off to site in a truck, leaving two guys with bows and arrows to look
after the plane.”
in recent times the Group has divested itself from any remaining interest in the
African business.
On site at Harare Airport, a joint venture
between Costain and John Sisk & Son. Africa
offered a unique working opportunity for
those who chose to go. The irish team
included Eamon McCarthy (sitting on fence,
far left), Joe McLoughlin (standing 1st from
the left), Ciaran McGill (standing 2nd from
left), Andy Tyrell (sitting on fence 2nd from
right), and Paul Sullivan (sitting on fence far
right). Paul and Joe are currently regional
directors with John Sisk & Son

7. 122 BUilDiNG a BUSiNESS
UK
in 1984 John Sisk & Son opened offices in England, after Sisk had completed some
work in Scotland having attracted the attention of an architect with the Scottish
Development Agency. in the late 1970s, Sisk had begun building with a new
technique known asTilt-up Construction, which suited industrial units.This involved
casting the floor slab first, building the wall panels on this and then tilting them up
to standing position and then putting the roof on.
Sisk built one such structure for the iDA (industrial Development Agency) in
Newbridge and it was this which was spotted in New Civil Engineer magazine by a
Scottish architect who was researchingTilt-up. He was shown around the Newbridge
site by Brian keogh. A few days later Sisk flew to Edinburgh and plans began for the
construction of two factories in Scotland. Following their completion in 1984 the
company established an office in London.
in 1989, Pierce O’Shea, having returned from working with Sisk in Africa, became
managing director of the Uk operation until 2008, when he became chairman of
John Sisk & Son Uk, and later managing director of John Sisk & Son international.
Uk turnover had reached about £18 million when O’Shea arrived and by 2007 the
turnover had climbed to £250 million.
The current managing director, Paul Wilson, started with Sisk Uk in 1985 as a project
manager and surveyor from Laing, becoming a director three years later. He took
over the reins as managing director in November 2008.
Left: Four Seasons Hotel,
Canary Riverside
Right: Former County Hall,
London. A flagship project by
which these civic offices were
revamped to multi-functional
uses including two hotels

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9. 124 BUilDiNG a BUSiNESS
Hotels in the UK
Top: The intercontinental London, Park Lane
Below: Royal Garden Hotel, kensington
Opposite: Library at Mariott County Hall. Now the
coffee and tea lounge

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Top left: Pierce O’Shea at the St. Patrick’s Day
presentation to development director Philip
Howe at the Hilton Hotel, Croydon, Surrey
Top right: Site team at Grosvenor apartments
Park Lane, London
Bottom: Site team at residential
developments, Bolsover St, London
Sisk Uk began life on London’s Euston Road, and in the early days, most contracts
were less than £5 million – all had an irish link through the client or one of the
consultants. initially, all staff members were also from ireland.
Later Sisk Uk moved to St Albans, to avail of better parking and easier access to
greater areas via various motorways and rail networks.
O’Shea wanted to establish the company as a British contractor rather than an
irish contractor abroad and to establish Sisk in markets in the Uk where it could
demonstrate independent expertise.
The first sector arose almost by chance, and led Sisk into a lot of hotel work. it
was commissioned to refurbish the Copthorne Tara Hotel in kensington which was
quickly followed by another refurbishment at the Royal Lancaster on Hyde Park in
the early 1990s. These projects firmly established Sisk in the hotel market especially
in central London.
“We conducted major internal and external works while guests were still staying in the
hotels. We would be taking rooms and giving them back on a weekly basis,” O’Shea
recalls. Sisk Uk has returned to the Royal Lancaster to carry out further work three times
since then.
Sisk Uk also built hotels from scratch, including the Hilton in Croydon which was
significant because they used a new technology – the tunnel form system – for
building the rooms. This was a quick method of construction and, from a hotelier’s

12. ovErSEaS 127
point of view, it has a high level of acoustic performance: room to room sound
insulation was greatly improved. The system allowed the construction of four
bedrooms a day and the structure of the bedroom block of the 168-bed hotel in
Croydon went up in two months.
From these first experiences in the hotel market, Sisk in the Uk is now recognised as
one of the main hotel build and refurbishment contractors. Over the last few years
the company has completed over 5,000 hotel rooms for budget and 5-star luxury
brands such as Four Seasons, Travelodge, intercontinental, Holiday inn and Hilton.
As with the hotels, Sisk Uk has adapted and kept up with new building technology.
This, combined with a number of collaborations with major signature architects
such as Norman Foster and Richard Rogers, has ensured Sisk Uk has been at the
forefront of building innovation.
North Greenwich interchange tube and bus station

14. Opposite: Dickens Heath Village urban
regeneration scheme. Top and bottom
Left: village square. Right: waterside
developments
Left: Major distribution centre for Tesco at
Daventry international Rail Freight Terminal
Bottom: Peugeot Uk headquarters and
technical centre, Coventry
ovErSEaS 129

15. 130 BUilDiNG a BUSiNESS
One such project was the American Air Museum in Duxford, Cambridgeshire, by
Foster + Partners for the imperial War Museum.
Sisk has grown to be very strong in the industrial, commercial, rail, retail and
residential sectors across the Uk. it now has offices in Manchester, Birmingham,
Reading and Bristol, in addition to its head office in St Albans.
Paul Wilson says: “We are proud that we are celebrating our own anniversary, 25
years in the Uk in 2009, as well as the company’s 150 years. The success of the
business in the Uk owes much to the history and culture of the irish parent. We
have married innovation with traditional values and never lose sight of the need to
deliver projects on time and on budget for our clients.
“Byachievingareputationfordeliverywehavebeenabletoobtainalargeproportion
of repeat business from clients such as Travelodge, Hilton, Prologis, Brixton, Network
Rail, Quintain, Royal Mail and Derwent London.”
Landmark projects such as the refurbishment of the Grade ii-listed Wembley Arena
in 2006 were further demonstrations of Sisk’s ability to find solutions to challenging

16. ovErSEaS 131
projects and still complete on time. it directly led to two residential projects for the
client, Quintain, as part of the Wembley Stadium environs redevelopment.
Completed in 2008, the striking curved glass Chancery Place office and retail
redevelopment, by HkR architects, in Manchester’s financial district demonstrated
Sisk’s capabilities in the commercial sector and earned the client a BREEAM rating
of Very Good.
As the market recognised Sisk’s ability to manage larger and more complex jobs,
more mixed use developments were won, notably the £60 million two-phase
Dickens Heath Village project in Solihull for Parkridge. This blended residential,
commercial, retail, infrastructure and leisure amenities as an entire new community
was built, nestling beside the Birmingham to Stratford upon Avon canal. ■
Opposite, top: Wembley Arena London
Opposite, Wembley Arena next to
Wembley Stadium as seen from the air
Above: Hyde bus station, Manchester

17. 132 BUilDiNG a BUSiNESS

18. ovErSEaS 133
Opposite: Office Development at
Chancery Place, Manchester
Above and left: Manchester airport

19. 134 BUilDiNG a BUSiNESS
The American Air Museum in Duxford stands as a memorial to the 30,000
American airmen who gave their lives flying from Uk bases during the
second World War.
A strong example of contemporary design, it houses the biggest collection
of American airplanes outside of the USA with many suspended from the
ceiling as if in flight.
This required the construction of the largest unsupported concrete arch in
Europe. “The level of partnering between the builder and architect is much
higher on a project like this because you are working at the outer limits of
known design and construction,”says O’Shea.“For example, the roof is made
up of precast concrete slabs fitted together as they would be in an old brick
arch, with a‘keystone’, but each one weighs two or three tons and there were
thousands making up a segment of an ellipse. We had a temporary internal
structure holding it up and when the last of the concrete slabs went in we
took away the internal frame. No one knew how much it would settle, we
were expecting a settlement of about 150mm, but it only settled by 80mm
or 90mm. There were very, very heavy pressures on the foundations, so the
foundation design was deep.” in front of this is a 90m wide, 20m tall glass
curtain wall.
The Air Museum won the Stirling Prize (from the Royal institute of British
Architects) in 1997. According to O’Shea: “Once you have done something
like Duxford, no-one questions your ability as a builder. The cutting edge
jobs are the exception. They are good for your reputation, for putting you on
the map and for testing yourself technically.”■
American Air Museum,
Duxford, cambridgeshire
Above: HRH Queen Elizabeth ii meeting Pierce O’Shea
and Nigel Warnes
Opposite: American Air Museum at Duxford,
Cambridgeshire (winner of the RiBA Stirling Prize)
Following pages:
Top left: The museum at dusk
Bottom left: Topping out at the completion of the roof shell
Right: Under construction

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21. ilDiNG a BUSiNESS

22. DEvElopmENt 137

23. The Sisk Name
138 BUilDiNG a BUSiNESS
Shortly after Sisk had set up in England, it also headed to Germany, just as the
Berlin Wall came down at the end of 1989. While the company had a steady
stream of work, and some major projects, it proved a difficult market to break
into, and most contracts were for non-German companies.
What did help Sisk to win contracts, says Brian keogh, who commuted to
Germany from ireland every week, was the family history.
“We had one meeting with an architect from BMW and once we told him
that Sisk was a family business which had started in 1859, he didn’t want
to know what Sisk had built. He didn’t know the company name but he
understood that if we had been a long time in business and it had always
been family owned and private, then they were in a safe pair of hands. That
opened a lot of doors for us in Germany.”
From 1990 on, Sisk carried out projects in many German cities including
Essen, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Stuttgart and Bremen.The company built leisure
centres for Leisure Corp whose management included Paul McGuinness of
U2 and Ossie kilkenny. Another home-based company they worked for in
Germany was irish Life, building offices, while they also worked for the US
Quality Hotels chain, on a number of jobs, including the conversion of a
former Zeiss factory (maker of lenses for telescopes and microscopes among
others) in Jena into a 300-bed hotel.
One of the key projects Sisk carried out in Germany was refurbishment
and new-build work at Schonefeld Airport in Berlin, to include shops, banks,
loungesaswellasdeparturesandarrivalshalls.OneofthreeBerlinairports–the
other two wereTegel andTemplehof – it had been in East Berlin and was being
converted to ‘western standards’. Sisk won the contract after a competitive
tender against 12 companies, including major German contractors.
“it was a fabulous job,” says keogh, “And one of the first East German
buildings to be refurbished. it was interesting having the east Germans
and west Germans working together, as well as English and irish. The west
Germans looked down on the east Germans and the irish and English weren’t
that friendly with each other either.”
At that time the difference between west and east was still evident,
remembers Jim Doyle, a Sisk director who also worked for Sisk in Germany.
“The wall had just come down and it was an amazing experience flying into
Berlin… On the east side there were Trabants and other East German cars
and the whole atmosphere and landscape was completely different to the
west. it was surreal moving from one to the other in just a few steps.”
“We brought out irish companies and materials – including stone – so
hundreds of people were regularly flying between the two countries,”keogh
remembers. “We became fully immersed in German and had language
lessons once a week. Many of the East Germans didn’t speak English and
meetings were conducted in German.”
Some of that German even stumped the German teachers, says Doyle,
who remembers the woman teaching German had difficulty understanding
the technical terms employed in the German DiN (Deutsches institut für
Normung or, in translation, the German institute for Standardisation).
When things began to pick up in ireland in 1994 and falter in Germany, the
German side was wound down and the staff came back to ireland. ■
Top: Shoenfeld Airport, Berlin
Bottom left: Troisdrof Quality Hotel in Jena
Bottom right: Meister Dachdecker (master roofer)
in traditional outfit and Gary Hill, vice-president of
Quality Hotel at the completion of the hotel. Second
from left Martin Carney (regional director), third from
left Brian keogh (director)
Germany