Achieving Excellence Together is at the heart of the philosophy of St Patrick’s Academy in Dungannon and it is the perfect reflection of the success of Tracey Brothers Ltd on this contract.
The award-winning building, fit-out and civil engineering contractor has been operating in the construction industry for over 60 years and has extensive experience in the education sector.
The long- awaited £27million project for St Patrick’s Academy has delivered a state-of-the-art school that sets new standards in the education sector. The circa 15,000m2 school incorporates a dedicated assembly hall, as well as a sports hall, and specialist rooms for art, music, technology, drama and media studies. Highlights of the new building also include an impressive internal courtyard overlooked by an enhanced library, a new oratory, innovatively wide and spacious corridors, an extended dining area with a cathedral roof and a mezzanine floor, and bright, airy classrooms. Extensive public roadworks were also carried out to create a new turning lane into the new school campus.
The new school is constructed on a campus shared with St Patrick’s College on the Killymeal Road, where St Patrick’s Academy has been based for a number of years. Now that the new school has been completed, the former school building has been demolished, with the team from Tracey Brothers Ltd well underway on extensive civil engineering works for the new sports pitches along with a changing pavilion.
John Tracey, Managing Director, Tracey Brothers Ltd, said, “We are delighted to have been involved in the St Patrick’s Academy project. We have a proven track record in the education sector and this project reflects how we can continue to meet and exceed the increasing standards now expected within this sector.
“We have a dedicated and experienced management team and they ensured our local supply chain specialists were coordinated and managed to ensure we met the high quality standards whilst meeting the strict deadline.” Working on a live school environment with not just one but two adjacent operational schools also offered a few additional challenges. “Health and safety is important on every project but on projects like this, it takes on an added significance. We had to carefully pre-plan in conjunction with the school’s works and site traffic and deliveries with the ongoing operations of the two adjacent schools to minimise any risks or potential disruption to pupils and staff.”
Challenging ground conditions required the use of a number of piling techniques which changed across the site to allow piling through numerous boulders encountered in the ground. This collaborative approach and commitment to quality is central to the ethos of Tracey Brothers Ltd and has proved the basis to the company’s long-standing success which is recognised by its industry peers through the company’s Chartered Building Company status.
Tracey Brothers Ltd, Drumlyon House, Drumlyon, Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, BT74 5TB.
T: 028 6632 3471
E: mail@traceybros.com
W: www.traceybros.com
Sub Contractors
Built by Tracey Brothers Ltd, the £27million project for St Patrick’s Academy has set a new standard when it comes to school building in Northern Ireland. PMcK Electrical was appointed electrical contractor on the project and thanks to the company’s dedication to always providing clients with the highest quality service, the electrical package on St Patrick’s Academy is first class. PMcK has been operating for 40 years and called on all its experience to deliver this landmark project, delivering the turnkey electrical package on one of the largest post primary educational facilities in Northern Ireland.
The new 15,000m2 school includes a dedicated assembly hall, sports hall and specialist rooms for art, music, technology, drama and media studies. Highlights of the new building include an internal courtyard overlooked by an enhanced library, a new oratory, wide and spacious corridors, an extended dining area and bright, airy classrooms.
Working closely with the M&E consultants, JCP Consulting, PMcK took a proactive approach to deliver the project to exacting specifications and standards. This multi- faceted project took diligent planning and effective modern installation methods to deliver and electrical engineering installation package.
Comprising main switchboards, sub mains cabling, containment systems, small power and lighting alongside life safety systems and security systems, the electrical services on this building were delivered on a tight timescale. PMcK called on a reliable and trustworthy supply chain to ensure that the project was a success.
PMcK is an experienced and trusted provider of electrical installations in educational facilities, regularly working closely with local authorities, schools, academies, colleges and universities to provide educational environments that positively impact and influence the learning future. PMcK was responsible for the data and ICT installation, critical power and UPS installation that were all carried out to current C2K standards.
PMcK Electrical prides itself on being one of the foremost specialist sports flood lighting contractors in the country. The company has significant experience in this area, having worked on a host of projects over the past few years. PMcK Electrical also carried out the AV installation at the school, an element that made up part of the overall electrical package. “You don’t see the old chalk boards in schools anymore! We installed 80 x 72Inch interactive touchscreens at this school,” said James Devlin, Contracts Manager. “Our focus at PMcK Electrical is implementing ways to work smarter, not harder. Our relationships with suppliers and manufacturers help with that process as we are always keen to embrace new technology that makes the installation process simpler. By putting that ethos into practice, we met the deadline at St Patrick’s Academy and successfully delivered the project on budget.”
Maintaining a smooth working relationship with the other teams on site also helped to ensure the project was completed on time.
“We worked very well with the main contractor and the other specialist contractors on site. We’re proud to have been involved in such a prestigious and important project for the local area. PMcK Electrical has worked with the main contractor before so it was nice to continue that relationship and we look forward to working with them on more projects going into the future.”
PMcK Ltd, 47 Grange Road, Moy, Dungannon, County Tyrone, BT71 7EQ
T: 028 8778 4826
E: info@pmkelectrical.com
W: www.pmkelectrical.com
Fire Glass Direct showcased the company’s reputation for technical excellence at St Patrick’s Academy, Dungannon. As a supplier of pioneering specialist glazing, Fire Glass Direct processed all the internal glazing within the timber and aluminium screens throughout the new state-of-the-art school.
The company also supplied the decorative glass used in the oratory along with a number of aluminium double-glazed screens. “The key to this project was at the design stage,” explained Chris McGlone, Estimator at Fire Glass Direct. “We worked closely with the architect and the main contractor to ensure we were able to meet the specifications in terms of fire and acoustic ratings as well as being able to achieve this within the design requirements.
“We put a lot of work into this aspect of the planning and, as a result, everything ran smoothly once the project started on site.” Established in 2004, Fire Glass Direct is ISO accredited and has extensive experience across a range of projects, including in the healthcare, education, commercial, leisure, retail and residential sectors.
As highlighted at St Patrick’s Academy, the company’s success is built around a collaborative approach. This begins with the expert team at the design stage and includes the highly skilled operatives who cut all the glass in-house.
Continual investment in new technology and equipment and also in staff has been coupled with high quality solutions that have helped the Castledawson- based company to become a market leader in fire and safety glass distribution as well as in office partitions. As a result, Fire Glass Direct has also become known as a specialist in the supply and installation of glazing to meet exacting architects and clients’ specifications.
This is particularly relevant in the healthcare sector where, in partnership with the University of Ulster and Invest NI, Fire Glass Direct developed and now manufacture and install a patented isolation and contamination control suite in glass.
Fire Glass Direct, 122 Hillhead Road, Castledawson, BT45 8ET
T: 028 7946 9133
E: info@FireGlassdirect.co.uk
W: www.fireglassdirect.co.uk or NBS Plus www.fireglassnbs.com
Strong acoustics are particularly important in education environments and, at St Patrick’s Academy, SDG Construction Technology ensured high quality solutions.
The Acoustic & Vibration Control division at SDG Construction Technology has vast experience in the Republic of Ireland and, as this project demonstrates, the company is able to deliver this same level of expertise in Northern Ireland.
At St Patrick’s Academy, the company manufactured bespoke acoustic panels used in the large open areas throughout the state- of-the art school. These included circular and square designs.
Aaron McBrien, SDG Construction Technology, explained, “We already have a strong relationship with HSU Construction and Tracey Bros Ltd and it was great to be able to build on that at St Patrick’s Academy.
“This project required a bespoke design and our ability to meet these requirements is very important to our customers.” With offices in Armagh and Dublin, SDG supplies a range of products that cover the spectrum of acoustic insulation and absorption, including sound insulators and impact noise insulators.
“We have worked on a diverse range of commercial projects across the UK and Ireland and that is continuing to grow,” added Aaron. “For example, we have completed work for Google, Amazon, PayPal and LinkedIN, so we have proven experience on complex and demanding projects.
“That is something that we want to build on in Northern Ireland and we would be delighted to speak to anyone interested in finding out more about our high quality solutions.”
Since it was founded in 1990, SDG has become one of the main suppliers of a wide range of essential products to the building and construction industry in Ireland. In addition to the main company, Acoustic & Vibration Control is just one of five specialist divisions at SDG – these include Construction Accessories, Liquid Waterproofing, Precast Accessories and Technology & Innovation.
SDG Construction Technology, 21 Tullygoonigan Industrial Estate, Moy Road, Armagh, BT61 8DR.
T: 028 3752 8999
E: info@sdg.ie
W: www.sdgconstructiontechnology.com
School dinners never tasted better at St Patrick’s Academy thanks to the complete kitchen solution supplied by Stephens Catering Equipment Co.
The company has worked on a wide range of education projects and, at this innovative new school, Stephens Catering Equipment Co supplied all the kitchen equipment needed to prepare, cook and serve the school dinners as well as the cleaning equipment.
As one of Ireland’s largest and longest established catering and food service equipment companies, Stephens Catering Equipment Co provides expert advice on the design and installation of complete kitchen solutions.
The company focuses on ensuring that cooking and dining facilities are designed with the latest energy and labour saving equipment in mind and the work at St Patrick’s Academy perfectly reflects this.
In addition to education, the company works across the UK and Ireland on hotels, restaurants, cafes, retail, healthcare, fast food, staff canteen and Government projects.
Stephens Catering Equipment Co Ltd, 205 Carnalbanagh Road, Broughshane, Ballymena, BT42 4NY.
T: 028 2586 1711
E: info@stephens-catering.com
W: www.stephenscateringequipment.com
Skip Services Enniskillen Ltd ensured that main contractor, Tracey Bros Ltd, was able to meet its obligations on waste processing and recycling by providing an all-encompassing service for every stage of the construction process.
The company supplied roll-on- roll-off containers as well as skips and bins which were strategically located around the construction site. This was part of a site waste management plan that Skip Services Enniskillen developed alongside Tracey Bros Ltd.
“All the waste collected on the St Patrick’s Academy site was transported back to our processing facility where it was separated into individual waste streams of timber, scrap metal, plasterboard, plastics and rubble,” explained Terry Devine, Sales Manager at Skip Services Enniskillen Ltd. “As a result, no waste was sent to landfill. We were also able to provide full waste management reports to detail the waste collected and how it was recycled.”
In addition to construction and demolition waste, Skip Services Enniskillen also provides skip hire, commercial waste bin collections and recycling services throughout Northern Ireland.
Skip Services Enniskillen Ltd, 27 Largy Road, Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, BT94 3BH
T: 028 8954 1999
E: info@skip-services.co.uk
W: www.skip-services.co.uk
Barrack Hill is committed to high quality, cost -effective solutions that meet our clients’ budgets and needs and that was evident at St Patrick’s Academy.
Through its own quarries, the company supplies a wide range of aggregates to the construction, civil, agricultural and renewable energy industry throughout Northern Ireland. With the quality of its aggregates, Barrack Hill is capable of delivering in excess of 8,000 tonnes per day.
Offering cost-effective solutions that meet your design requirements and site conditions, Barrack Hill is able to combine quality products with a superb all-round service that incorporates efficient and reliable delivery.
In addition to aggregates, Barrack Hill also a key player in the heavy haulage industry, moving upwards of 1,000 pieces of heavy equipment each year, with a capacity of up to 150 tonnes.
This includes the most up-to-date equipment, with the company able to deliver to clients across the UK and Ireland.
Barrack Hill Quarries, 96 Largylea Road, Dungannon, Co. Tyrone, BT70 2NY
T: 028 8775 8644
E: sales@barrackhillquarries.com
W: www.barrackhillquarries.com
McMullan O’Donnell showcased the company’s abilities in the commercial sector by manufacturing the aluminium windows and curtain walling at St Patrick’s Academy, Dungannon.
The company is well known in the domestic sector but has also a strong reputation in the commercial arena – as highlighted by this project.
“We created a bespoke solution to meet the exact requirements of St Patrick’s Academy,” explained Paul McKillion, Commercial Manager at McMullan O’Donnell.
“We do a lot of work in the commercial sector and, specifically, on education projects and we take pride in our ability to deliver tailored, cost-effective solutions.”
Working in the domestic and commercial sectors, McMullan O’Donnell offers a range of windows and doors in both PVC-u and aluminium all manufactured to provide excellence in performance, security, long life, reliability and low maintenance.
McMullan and O’Donnell Ltd, 101 Drumflugh Road, Benburb, Co.Tyrone, BT71 7LF
T: 028 3754 8791
E: info@mcmullanodonnell.com
Working closely with the main contractor, Tracey Brothers Ltd, Murdock Builders Merchants supplied all the general building materials required for St Patrick’s Academy – and given the scale of this state-of-the-art circa 15,000m2 school, that put the company to the test.
“We are delighted to be working with Tracey Brothers on such a big project,” explained Max Wilson, Internal Sales at Murdock’s Dungannon.
“We worked closely with them ahead of work starting on site to plan ahead. Once work started, we were then in daily contact to organise orders and deliveries for the following day. We have a great working relationship and that was reflected in how well the project ran.”
While the new school building has been completed, the two companies are continuing to work together on St Patrick’s Academy on the creation of extensive sports facilities.
Murdock Builders Merchants, 3 Granville Road, Dungannon, Co. Tyrone, BT70 1NQ
T: 028 8772 2760
E: dungannon@murdockbuildersmerchants.com
W: www.murdockbuildersmerchants.com
GM EPOS Systems supplied the cashless Electronic Point of Sale (EPOS) systems used in the new canteen at St Patrick’s Academy, Dungannon.
The company is recognised for its high quality service and has successful worked on projects across Ireland, including bars, restaurants, schools and the retail sector.
The system at St Patrick’s Academy includes the latest cashless software that provides online payment functionality and enhanced reporting capabilities. While GM EPOS has been in the sector for over 37 years, the company offers the latest innovations and technology backed by an unrivalled service from experienced and highly trained staff.
The GM EPOS product range includes the sales and rental of all EPOS and POS equipment; cashless catering systems and touchscreen technology for bars, restaurants, schools and the retail industry. The County Fermanagh- based company also has an aftersales office in Belfast and works across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
GM EPOS Systems, 72 Ballagh Road, Lisnaskea, Enniskillen, BT92 5DA
T: 028 6772 1689
M: 07836 353425
W: www.eposireland.co.uk
Ballytherm ensured that the new St Patrick’s Academy in Dungannon remains as energy efficient as possible by supplying insulation products for the building.
The company manufactures and supplies a variety of floor, wall and roof insulation solutions as well as timber and steel frame building insulation. In addition, the experienced team are able to provide design and installation guidance as well as advice on sitework.
Ballytherm Polyisocyanurate insulation is suitable for a variety of floor, wall and roof insulations.
This includes floor construction types, such as precast concrete, suspended timber and ground bearing concrete; wall constructions, including internally lined solid walls and masonry cavity walls; and is the ideal material to use for insulating in-between roof rafters.
Also available is Ballytherm Timber and Steel Frame Board, which is effective in reducing the thermal transmittance (U value) of external walls of conventional timber or steel frame dwellings up to 18m in height.
Ballytherm Ltd, Annagh Industrial Park, Ballyconnell, Co. Cavan, Ireland.
T: 0800 644 6900
E: info@ballytherm.co.uk
W: www.ballytherm.co.uk
Loughran Quarries utilised the company’s extensive experience to supply all the ready mix concrete for St Patrick’s Academy as well as all the aggregates.
The ready mix concrete was used for the foundations, subfloors, retaining walls, entrance steps, kerbing, fencing and a water recycling tank for the main school while the company is also involved in the new changing rooms which are currently under construction.
The company, which supplies ready mix concrete, screed including insulated screed, blocks and all types of aggregates, has extensive experience on projects of this size and that ensured it ran according to plan.
Loughran Quarries is currently working on a number of projects including the new Donnelly Bros Showroom in Dungannon with O’Neill of Clonoe and the Riverside Walk project with Fox Building and Engineering. This will add to an already impressive portfolio that includes Omagh Oasis Project with FP McCann and various wind turbines for Enercom and Energia – the latter involved a high level of technical design for a low heat, fast setting, high strength concrete.
Loughran Quarries, Termon Road, Omagh, Co Tyrone, BT79 9HW
T: 028 8076 1733
E: loughrans@btconnect.com
Quinn Building Supplies (QBS) provided approximately 2,500 roof trusses for this school. QBS is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year and has been manufacturing and supplying gang-nail designed and plated trusses for over 25 years.
The trusses for this build were created using the Gang-Nail punched metal connectors and the Gang-Nail Roof and Truss software suite. Working closely with ITW CP Gang-Nail design teams, QBS supplied trusses ranging from fink, mono, kingpost and attic.
Fearghus Quinn, Structural Engineer, said, “We feel this project showcases our ability to work effectively to supply large and complex projects. It is relatively rare for large projects of this scale or value to feature a timber truss roof and we hope it demonstrates how trusses are a cost effective and sustainable solution for roofing large buildings. Increased use of trusses on large projects benefits the truss rafter and timber engineering industry and offers significant cost savings to clients and contractors alike.”
Quinn Building Supplies and Quinn Truss 78 Kilmascally Road, Ardboe, Dungannon, Co Tyrone, BT71 5BJ
T: 028 8673 7655
E: info@quinnbuildingsupplues.com
W: www.quinnbuildingsupplies.com or www.roof-truss.ie
ASF Engineering supplied a range of street furniture to match the requirements of St Patrick’s Academy, Dungannon, including seating, litter bins and cycle shelters.
The company is well versed in meeting the needs of sizeable educational projects. Established in 1996, ASF Engineering has manufactured a wide range of street furniture for many prestigious public realm schemes, park and retail developments throughout the UK and Ireland. In addition, ASF Engineering can count a range of local councils, Department of Infrastructure, Department of Communities, the Education Authority and some of the province’s largest civil engineering and building contractors amongst its clients.
With its own dedicated workshop near Kells, County Antrim, ASF Engineering can design and manufacture products to meet exacting specifications, including unique items. The company’s product range includes shelters, bollards, car-park barriers, cycle stands, gates and railings, lighting, litter bins, picnic tables, planters, posts and rails, seating and tree furniture.
ASF Engineering, 54 Greenfield Road, Kells, Ballymena, BT42 3NG
T: Melvin Smyth, on 07710 947 796
W: www.asfengineering.com
With many of the staff having attended the school, there was an added emphasis to deliver the best possible service.
The company supplied all the communal, riser and front of house fire door sets in a mixture of paint grade and oak veneer finishes.
“The majority of the work at St Patrick’s was straightforward but the various large, cross-corridor screens and mass glazed screens which overlook the canteen and gym areas offered us a bit more of a challenge than normal,” explained Ronan Quinn, Director.
With over 40 years’ experience, Woodmarque has established a reputation as a leader in the supply of door sets and specialist joinery. The company’s product range includes panelled door sets, high performance and fire-rated door sets, acoustic panels, screens, and bespoke joinery and case goods.
Operating across the UK and Ireland, Woodmarque is currently working on a range of projects, including various student accommodations, apartments, hotels and office fit-outs.
Woodmarque, 16 Mullaghbane Road, Dungannon, Co Tyrone, BT70 1SR
T: 0845 672 8005
E: info@woodmarque.co.uk
W: www.woodmarque.co.uk
Carnmorestone supplied all the reconstituted Portland stone cladding for the St Patrick’s Academy project.
In a complex job, the company supplied 245 different units to meet the varying requirements of this state-of-the-art facility. Carnmorestone sources its supplies from a range of Irish quarries and then moulds them into many different products and shapes, achieving such fine detail, that will meet the standards of the most exacting property owner and architect.
The company has worked extensively in the residential and commercial sectors across the UK and Ireland, so is well- versed in meeting the requirements of sizeable projects. In fact, at the same time as the St Patrick’s Academy work, Carnmorestone was also fulfilling an extensive project in Fulham.
Adrian McAviney, Managing Director, said, “Our focus, at all times, is on quality products and we offer a wide range of stone covering varying colours, sizes, shapes and textures to meet all types of project needs.”
Carnmorestone, Drumclay, Newtownbutler, County Fermanagh, BT92 8EW
T: 028 6773 7170
E: sales@carnmorestone.com
W: www.carnmorestone.com
MP Coleman Ltd completed an extensive surfacing package at the new St Patrick’s Academy.
The family-owned-and-run civil engineering and surfacing experts completed works to the new access roads, carparks, playgrounds and footways using a variety of materials such as HRA and different grades of Bitmac.
The team worked closely with main contractor, Tracey Bros Ltd, to co-ordinate all the work and, despite facing some challenging weather conditions, MP Coleman still completed the job on time.
MP Coleman has a fully dedicated asphalt production plant, which was the perfect partner for large commercial projects such as this. Surfacing has been the core of the business for generations, and due to this the company has a wealth of experience and a highly skilled team from management to site operatives, ensuring the best quality Is always maintained.
The company has carried out a wide range of work, including contracts for councils, health authorities, education authorities, and commercial businesses. At present, MP Coleman is completing extensive jobs at both ends of Northern Ireland – one in Keady for Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council and another is in Glenarm for Mid and East Antrim Borough Council.
MP Coleman Ltd, Brigh Quarry, Brigh Road, Stewartstown, BT715JP T: 028 8773 8886 www.mpcoleman.co.uk
As the ‘Complete Building Supplier’, JP Corry is perfectly positioned to meet the requirements of projects such as St Patrick’s College, Dungannon.
Working closely with main contractor, Tracey Bros Ltd, JP Corry supplied Kingscourt brick, Sundeala noticeboards and Saint-Gobain Ensign rainwater products for this new build school.
With a strong network of 17 branches across Northern Ireland, JP Corry prides itself on supplying everything from core building essentials right through to the latest product innovations from leading suppliers.
The company supplies everything from the foundations to the finishing touches of a construction project, including timber, building materials, drylining and insulation, doors, flooring, roofing, drainage systems, hardware, painting and decorating and civils products.
JP Corry, 648 Springfield Road, Belfast, BT12 7EH
T: 028 9024 3661
W: www.jpcorry.com
