LOCAL STORY
Claridges Hotel, Mayfair, offers timeless elegance to the rich and famous. But who wants to be a passing guest when you can leave a lasting impression?
The MKM crew hard at work in Claridges Hotel. It’s part of a refurbishment programme by the Maybourne Hotel Group, owners of Claridges, The Berkeley and The Connacht.
MKM Contracts has been one of The Maybourne Hotel Group’s preferred sub-contractors since on- site work began two years ago.
mouth removing the need for any advertising and marketing. Now married to Ailish, life was good. That was until recession hit in 2008. The collapse of the economy coincided with the conclusion of Padraig’s football career - everything came to an abrupt end. “We’d been dabbling in property and had a rental portfolio, but like so many people at the time we took a massive hit and found ourselves under financial pressure. My hip and ankle joints were also starting to cause me considerable pain and discomfort. Over the next eight years, between the economy collapsing and me needing two hip replacements and two ankle fusions [he also broke his leg] they were tough times.” With work at home practically non-existent,
Padraig decided the only course of action was to extend his reach to the UK mainland. He entered a cut-throat London market in terms of pricing, a small fish in a very big pond where having the right contacts was key. “I ended up getting the move across the water with a plastering company at home that had secured a contract in Sunderland. We then moved south to Cambridge, and then London, where I’d always wanted to try my luck. During that time, I would be away for weeks at a time. It was often 7am to 7pm, seven days a week, and one job on Tower Bridge I only managed to get back once in a month. They were difficult times with me being away so much, especially for Ailish who was at home with our three children.” The strength of character and steely resolve that had been present since Padraig’s schooldays was needed more than ever. It seemed that the harder he and Ailish tried, the more elusive success became. Padraig explains: “We had a lot of stuff thrown at us. One of the kids was diagnosed
with a lung condition. There were regular trips to the hospital, and juggling home life with work wasn’t easy. I just tried to keep going and eventually travelling back and forth to London, networking, and lots of bad jobs, we were able to secure work with some great Irish companies, many of them like Mastercraft Construction, Gilbert-Ash, and McHugh Fit-out we’re still involved with.” It was a job for award- winning construction and fit-out company Gilbert-Ash in 2015 that finally established Padraig on the ladder. All the sacrifices he and Ailish had made, the time Padraig had missed as the kids were growing up, finally paid dividends. Launching as a limited company with a new brand name and website - MKM Contracts Ltd (after his kids Meaghan, Kealan, and Micheal) - future growth became dependent on mastering skills from the past. “We also became involved with a lot of excellent English companies who specialised in Trust and heritage work. That led us to become specialists ourselves in traditional
All the sacrifices he andAilish had made, the time Padraig hadmissed as the kidswere growing up, finally paiddividends.
48 | NI BUILDER
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