Flagship award for Kerry Central Regional Water Supply Scheme

The Kerry Central Regional Water Supply Scheme has taken Ireland’s premier engineering award, while Aoife Murphy won the highly prestigious Chartered Engineer of the Year Award for her project on earthquake-damaged buildings in New Zealand.

These were just two of the awards presented at the Engineers Ireland Excellence Awards in the Intercontinental Hotel in Dublin on Friday, November 9th, last. Held in association with ESB, the awards celebrate the achievements of individual engineers and highlight the enormous contribution made to society by the engineering profession.

“The awards give us the opportunity to applaud the achievements of our engineering profession in Ireland and engineers at home and abroad,” said Engineers Ireland president Peter Quinn. “On behalf of Engineers Ireland – our professional body representing over 25,000 members on the island of Ireland and overseas – congratulations to all who are shortlisted or nominated for awards tonight, individuals and organisations. To me, you are all winners and in real terms, engineering as a profession, is the winner.”

ExpandAutoplay

Image 1 of 13

Representatives from Wicklow County Council, joint winners of the Local Authority Engineering Initiative Award, sponsored by Colas Bitumen Emulsions for their project entry, the River Dargle Flood Defence Scheme. Pat Vance, pictured centre, receives the award from sponsor, Liam Henry, chief operating officer at Colas Ireland (centre).

The Engineering Project of the Year category is sponsored by Transport Infrastructure Ireland and is voted for by a panel of judges and the public. The €30 million Kerry Central Regional Water Supply Scheme is now providing a safe and secure water supply for more than 62,000 residents as well as industry and agriculture in the region and serves the more than 1.1 million tourists who visit the area annually in towns such as Tralee, Killarney, Castleisland and Castlemaine.

The scheme’s new water treatment plant is amongst the largest in the country and provides more than 50 million litres of drinking water every day, with the improved quality of water available meaning local customers have been removed from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Remedial Action List.

The project was carried out by Irish Water in association with Kerry County Council, and undertaken by Nicholas O'Dwyer, Tobin Consulting Engineers and Glan Agua.

Speaking about the development, Eamon Gallen, managing director of Irish Water, said: “Until the completion of this project, the local water supply lacked an effective system to treat the raw water extracted from Lough Guitane. This meant that the areas supplied by the Kerry Central Regional Water Supply Scheme were at risk due to the lack of sufficient water treatment.

"Complicated by its scale, nature, and location, the project required advanced water-treatment processes, including recycling to conserve water and the use of pumping stations and pipelines, culminated in the creation of a new sustainable supply of drinking water for residents, businesses and industry in the region. The project also included an upgraded hydroelectric power turbine and water storage of up to 15 million litres of water, which is the equivalent of six Olympic-sized swimming pools. We are delighted to receive this award tonight, so I'd like to thank all the project team, including staff in Irish Water, Kerry County Council, Nicholas O'Dywer, Tobin Consulting and Glan Agua who met the size and scale of the challenge of this project and developed a solution that would safeguard the supply of safe, clean drinking water for so many people in Kerry."

Critical role

Pat O’Doherty, ESB chief executive, highlighted the critical role engineers will play in delivering much-needed infrastructure around the country. “This year’s awards once again highlight the outstanding and diverse achievements of engineers across Ireland, who have demonstrated exceptional engineering skills through their work, whether at home or aboard. Taking action to help Ireland build a fit-for-purpose and sustainable infrastructure is a national imperative, with engineers a critical part of making this a reality. Ensuring Ireland has a ready supply of skilled engineers remains a vital societal and economic priority.”

“Engineers are people who create, explore and innovate,” said Engineers Ireland director general Caroline Spillane. “Behind every design-led engineering solution are communities and families that benefit. These winning projects are the embodiment of the immense contribution the engineering profession makes as a community of creative professionals to Irish society. They are eloquent testimony to the capabilities of Irish engineers working both at home and abroad. I offer my congratulations to all the entries involved, with a special word of recognition for the overall Engineering Project of the Year winner – the Kerry Central Regional Water Supply Scheme.”

In other categories, the Local Authority Engineering Initiative Award was won jointly by Leitrim County Council and Jennings O'Donovan & Partners for the Lough Rinn International Rowing and Canoe Course Project, and by Wicklow County Council for the River Dargle Flood Defence Scheme.

Kevin Hayes, Muireann Hickey, Cian O'Leary and Jonathan Mullane of Cork Institute of Technology won the Siemens Innovative Student Engineer of the Year Award for their novel StrydeTech invention – a life-changing mobility enablement device providing independence and confidence to those who are unable to stand up on their own.

Honoured

Liam Coleman won the Best Presentation Award for his submission on motorways in Auckland, New Zealand, while the Aran Sweater Market in Galway by TOBIN Consulting Engineers and Architectural Conservation Professionals took the Heritage and Conservation Award. Lufthansa Technik Turbine Shannon won the CPD Employer of the Year Award.

Also honoured were Eoghan Lynch, chartered engineer and chairman of Arup Ireland, who was presented with the ESB Outstanding Contribution to Engineering Award, and Siobhan Kennedy, who received the ESB International Engineer of the Year Award.

Kennedy, an NUI Galway graduate, previously worked in Haiti to support reconstruction following an earthquake in 2010 and is currently a recovery adviser with the Housing Recovery and Reconstruction Platform in Nepal, where she has supported coordination efforts since the 2015 earthquake, which killed almost 9,000 people and destroyed more than 810,000 homes.

David Porter, divisional roads manager at the Department for Infrastructure, Northern Ireland, received the CRH-sponsored President’s Award, which was presented to him by Engineers Ireland president Peter Quinn. “Throughout his career, David has demonstrated the benefit of engineering to society,” Quinn said. “We in Engineers Ireland recognise his work and personal commitment to the wider engineering profession.”

Other awards on the night went to Sunderland's Northern Spire Bridge, which won the Geoscience Ireland Award, while Design-Driven Innovation: Combined Sewer Interceptor Physical Model Test-Bed Project by Ward and Burke Construction and NUI Galway took the honours in the Technical Innovation of the Year Award category.

Engineers Ireland Excellence Awards 2018 finalists

President’s Award, sponsored by CRH

– David Porter, chartered engineer, divisional roads manager with the Northern Ireland Department for Infrastructure

ESB Outstanding Contribution to Engineering Award, sponsored by ESB

– Eoghan Lynch, chartered engineer, chairman of Arup Ireland

ESB International Engineer of the Year Award, sponsored by ESB International

– Siobhan Kennedy, chartered engineer, recovery adviser, Housing Recovery and Reconstruction Platform, Nepal

Innovative Student Engineer of the Year Award, sponsored by Siemens

– Kevin Hayes, Muireann Hickey, Cian O’Leary and Jonathan Mullane of Cork Institute of Technology for their mobility enablement device, StrydeTech

Best Presentation Award, sponsored by Griffiths & Armour and Beale & Company

Winner: Structures Asset Management on Auckland's Motorways.

Presented by: Liam Coleman, chartered engineer, principal bridge engineer at OPUS International Consultancy. Nominated by: The Structures and Construction division

Shortlisted

– Industry in Our Region, Lufthansa Technik Turbine Shannon.

Presented by: Barry Lowe, chartered engineer, engineering manager at Lufthansa Technik Shannon. Nominated by: The Thomond region

– Earthworks Classification and Ground Improvement Techniques.

Presented by: Conor O’Donnell, chartered engineer, managing director, AGL Consulting. Nominated by: The Roads and Transportation society

Geoscience Ireland Award, sponsored by Geoscience Ireland

Winner: Northern Spire Bridge, by Roughan & O'Donovan; Buro Happold; Farrans Construction; Victor Buyck Joint Venture; Quinn Piling; and Fugro-Loadtest

Shortlisted:

– Ballygaddy Bridge – bespoke treatment of karst features, by Barry Transportation

– TAGS, by Gavin and Doherty Geosolutions

– The National CFRAM Programme, by The Office of Public Works, with support from Jacobs Engineering Ireland, JBA Consulting, Mott MacDonald and RPS

– Post Impact Assessment of KS Endeavour Rig Blowout, by Verde Environmental Group

Heritage and Conservation Award, sponsored by the OPW

Winner: Aran Sweater Market, Galway, by TOBIN Consulting Engineers and Architectural Conservation Professionals

Shortlisted:

– Refurbishment and remodelling of Clones Market House, by Monaghan County Council

– Refurbishment and extension of Adare Manor, Co Limerick, by Punch Consulting Engineers

– National Famine Commemoration Sod Cabin, by University College Cork

Local Authority Engineering Initiative Award, sponsored by Colas Bitumen Emulsions

Joint winners:

– Lough Rinn International Rowing and Canoe Course Project, by Leitrim County Council and Jennings O’Donovan & Partners

– River Dargle Flood Defence Scheme, by Wicklow County Council

Shortlisted:

– Monkstown Village Improvement Scheme, by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and Atkins

– Returning vacant homes to use for social tenants, by Louth County Council

– Greystones South Beach Playground by Wicklow County Council, Greystones South Beach Playground committee and All Play

Technical Innovation of the Year Award, sponsored by NSAI

Winner: Design-Driven Innovation: Combined Sewer Interceptor Physical Model Test-Bed Project, by Ward and Burke Construction and the National University of Ireland, Galway

Shortlisted:

– Development of Stevie: A socially assistive robot developed to provide support for older adults, by Dr Conor McGinn and the Robotics and Innovation Lab (RAIL) at Trinity College Dublin

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Employer of the Year Award, sponsored by Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland and supported by the Department of Education and Skills

– Lufthansa Technik Turbine Shannon

Chartered Engineer of the Year Award, sponsored by Arup

Winner: Aoife Murphy, chartered engineer

Project title: Earthquake: The Silver Lining – an opportunity in a time of disaster

Shortlisted:

– Dr Julie Clarke, chartered engineer

Project title: Infrarisk – Novel indicators for identifying critical infrastructure at risk from natural hazards

– Hugh Cunningham, chartered engineer

Project title: Harnessing digital technology and innovative design standardisation in ESB

– Katie Higgins, chartered engineer

Project title: A risk assessment tool to plan and implement drinking water safety plan upgrades for major UK water utility

– Captain John Murphy, chartered engineer

Project title: Engineering for the Irish Army Ranger Wing – engineering solutions to increase the operational capability of Ireland’s Special Operations Forces Unit, the Army Ranger Wing

– Mahnaz Rashedi, chartered engineer

Project title: Control system design for milk process plant in Lakeland Dairies

Engineering Project of the Year Award, sponsored by Transport Infrastructure Ireland

Winner: Kerry Central Regional Water Supply Scheme by Irish Water, in association with Kerry County Council, Nicholas O'Dwyer, TOBIN Consulting Engineers and Glan Agua

Shortlisted:

– Kevin Street Garda Headquarters, by Atkins

– M17/M18 Gort to Tuam Motorway PPP, by Barry Transportation and Arup

– Northern Spire Bridge, by Roughan & O’Donovan, Buro Happold, Farrans Construction and Victor Buyck

– Shannon Airport Rehabilitation of Runway 06-24, by RPS

– BXD 400 – Luas Cross City, by Sisk Steconfer JV