€80m deal for construction firm Bowen

Bowen Construction has won an €80m contract for one of the most important tourist industry developments in the midlands.

The firm, headed by John R. Bowen, is currently building the new Jurys Hotel on the Western Road for O’Callaghan Properties, as well as a €75m expansion of Kiltiernan golf club in Wicklow and a new €18m headquarters for Irish Lights in Dublin.

The firm also built the €500m Mahon Point Shopping Centre in Cork, again for O’Callaghan Properties.

The latest development for the Cork firm, at Carrigglas on the outskirts of Longford town, was won against intense competition.

Minister for Finance Brian Cowen, who launched the project, said the scheme, which includes a golf course designed by US Open winner Retief Goosen — his first golf course development in Europe — would be a major boost for the region.

The quality and level of its facilities would attract visitors from all over the world.

Mr Bowen, whose Bowen Group is the sixth largest construction firm in the country, employing 1,000 and with annual revenues of 230 million, said he was delighted to win the contract.

Mr Bowen told The Evening Echo: “I am thrilled to be associated with this incomparable development at the magnificent and historic Carrigglas estate.”

The house, designed by Daniel Robertson, described as the undisputed master of the picturesque manor house, was built for The Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, Thomas Langlois Lefroy, in 1837.

The work on the 600-acre estate will include the provision of hundreds of houses, a golf course, a country club, a hotel and a spa.

Retief Goosen said it was a dream come true for him to design such an amazing site.