On 3 March 2026, a group of 19 trainee technicians and student and graduate engineers undertook a site visit to St Colman’s Hospital in Rathdrum, Co Wicklow, where a 95-bed community nursing unit is under construction. For many in the group, it was their first time to visit a site where the structural, civil and internal fit out works were well underway, including the installation of the architectural and mechanical and electrical (M&E) elements of the project. ROD Director, Anthony Mulligan, who leads our buildings group, described the site visit as “a fantastic opportunity to connect emerging talent with the real-world impact of their work, helping to bridge the gap between theory and practice and giving young technicians and engineers a deeper understanding of how thoughtful engineering contributes to our world.”
ROD is providing civil and structural engineering services on the project, as part of an integrated design team appointed by the Health Service Executive to deliver the scheme. The team includes Wejchert Architects, Hayes Higgins Partnership (M&E) and Turner & Townsend (QS). Construction began on site in March 2025, with Conack Construction as the main contractor, and is due to be completed in September 2027.
The scheme comprises a mix of single, double and three-storey circulation and accommodation blocks. It involves of a multi-storey, reinforced concrete extension to the existing hospital, consisting of two blocks, two storeys in height, with a link corridor joining the extension to the hospital building. The blocks were designed as two separate structures, with a movement joint separating them. Surface water will be attenuated within the site using a soakaway located within a landscaped area to the south of the site. The site is located on the western slopes of a valley, on the outskirts of Rathdrum, and has a significant level difference of approximately 22 metres across the site.
Student Engineer, Liam Fagan, said: “The site visit showed us not only the construction processes behind all the technical work but also the real-world constraints the engineering team had to overcome in the design of the scheme.” Graduate Engineer, Clodagh Rea, added: “It was great to see how the designs we work on in the office translate onto site, and plans are put into action in real life.”
