Manifold is king of the castle as CRH develops Belgard

WHEN CRH boss Albert Manifold, pictured, took over the top job at the building material giant one of his first acts was to up sticks from its historic headquarters in Belgard Castle and relocate the working HQ to Sandyford. But if anyone thought this showed a lack of appreciation for the property — an 18th century house with medieval tower — they were mistaken.

A couple of weeks ago the company announced plans for a ‘state-of-the-art’ education centre at the Belgard Castle site, as part of a €20m investment in it. Full planning documents reveal that it will be a rather grand affair. Dubbed a ‘Centre of Education, Learning, Innovation and Collaboration for CRH’, it will include a learning archive, reading rooms and exhibition spaces. The main centre would include ‘breakout and collaboration spaces as well as dining facilities’. The building will be ‘excavated into the steeply sloping landscape’ and will be topped up with a landscaped roof, bio-diverse planting and a reflection pool.

CRH is in the middle of major renovation of the castle, which is being overseen by Purcell Construction, with contractors including PP Construction which is doing painting, tiling and ‘bespoke kerbing’ among other things. I hear that Manifold, who spent time developing CRH’s business in Eastern Europe and Asia before returning home, is taking a great personal interest in the project. Perhaps it is close to his heart due to its proximity to his old alma mater. It is just a few short miles away from Templeogue College in Dublin 6W and according to one of the school’s past pupil’s Facebook pages, Manifold remains ‘a ‘Logue man to the core’.