Celebrating 50 years in business this year, PUNCH Consulting Engineers was founded in Limerick on November 1, 1973, by lrish engineer Michael Punch.

A Limerick native, in his early career he travelled extensively through his work as a structural engineer to places such as Africa, the UK, and the US. He returned to Ireland in 1964 with a motivation to provide engineering employment opportunities in the midwest, in order that graduates would not have to emigrate upon leaving third level.

The Limerick senior hurling team’s All Ireland success in September 1973 provided the spark and courage that Punch needed to set up Michael Punch and Partners, ably supported by fellow founding partners Joe Murphy and Kevin Clancy.

The company expanded its footprint beyond Limerick to Dublin, Cork, Galway, and Glasgow. 

Early areas of work included schools, churches, colleges, warehouses, offices, supermarkets, and bridges. The company also developed an expertise in the meat processing industry in its work with Shannon Meat Ltd and the Bacon Company of Ireland.

International work followed through professional collaboration with UK firms, involving work on Nissan Sunderland for AGSE, offices in London for Murphy International, and a project for Kingspan in Vancouver, Canada.

Projects

In its 50 years the company has worked on numerous projects, a selection of which includes:

Thomond Park rugby stadium, Co Limerick: Thomond Park is located in the middle of the PUNCH heartland of Limerick, and the firm completed the structural design of the stadium.

Adare Manor, Co Limerick: One of the world’s premier golfing events, the Ryder Cup, visits in 2026.

St Mel’s Cathedral, Co Longford: Following a major fire, the restoration of St Mel’s Cathedral was the largest conservation project in Europe, and a masterpiece in conservation engineering.

Cill Rónáin harbour, Inis Mór, Co Galway: The development of the harbour breathed new life into the area and helped maintain the viability of the islands as places to live, work and visit. 

Arthur Cox HQ, Dublin 2: This 20,000m² multistorey office complex was one of the first major office developments in Dublin city centre following the 2008 recession. 

Cork City Hall, Cork: An iconic building for all Cork people, the modern and complementary extension to it represented the beginning of a modern Cork.

National Forensics Mental Hospital, Dublin: This is the most modern forensic mental health facility in Europe and a symbol of modern Ireland, this 24,500m² facility maximised the therapeutic value of landscape and design within the constraints of a secure setting.

Analog Devices, Limerick: This facility involved the development of buildings and site infrastructure to support high specification, ultra clean manufacturing space for the production of six nanometre semiconductor chips. The campus occupies 11 hectares and employs more than 1,400 people.

The future

Projects include:

• Project Opera Limerick (Ireland’s largest active urban regeneration project outside Dublin);
• Cork Docklands Masterplan (this will represent the largest urban regeneration project in Europe);
• Shanganagh Housing Co Dublin (the largest public housing scheme in the state in recent years);
• Waterford North Quay Regeneration (a transformational project in the southeast);
• Royal Dublin Society (RDS) stadium redevelopment (an Irish cultural centrepiece);
• Active Travel Limerick (a transformation of Limerick’s cycling and walking network).