Family prepares to hand over to next generation

THE Sisk family, owners of the country’s top construction company, are about to pass the baton on to the next generation.

Founded in Cork in 1859 the company is now a player on the international construction stage with sales last year of €1.67bn.

This will be the fifth generation of the Sisk family to be given control of the business.

The handover of power and ownership of the business will be completed by the year end, Bernard O’Connell, executive chairman of Sisk Group Construction confirmed yesterday.

“That is well underway at this stage and it will be effectively done by the end of this year.”

“They will become the shareholders and owners of the company. The fifth generation of the family to lead the group into the next phase,” he said.

The group is controlled by George Sisk executive chairman and his two brothers John and Hal.

Their offspring will become the new owners from the end of this year.

In its early days the group focused its attention on the Munster market building schools, churches, hospitals and public buildings.

It was the third John Sisk however, who broadened the company’s horizons beyond Munster.

A civil engineer, he was responsible his father for building Cork City Hall in 1930.

In 1937 he moved to Dublin and established the company as a national player.

It secured many of the major government contracts at the time including the Industry and Commerce Building and the first £1m hospital, used in the treatment of tuberculosis.