When Phase Two of the Cavan By-pass is completed next spring, it will greatly reduce traffic levels in the town. The project is being carried out by Priority Construction who are proud of their links with the local GAA scene. Cavan town has undergone dramatic change over the past decade and as development continues at a phenomenal pace, the need for improved road infrastructure has never been so great. Most locals would acknowledge that the completion of Phase One of the Cavan By-pass in 1999 has been a Godsend to the county town, but even so it hasn't completely solved the town's traffic problems. However, the completion of Phase Two in early 2006 is expected to greatly reduce traffic levels in the town while also making access to the N55 Ballinagh Road a lot easier. The company entrusted with the task of carrying out this major road development is Priority Construction Ltd. Although Dublin-based, its staff is primarily made up of locals, the majority of whom have strong GAA connections. "About 75 per cent of the workers on this project are from the Cavan area," explains Priority Construction Contracts Manager Garvan Ward. "There was an open tender for the job and we were delighted to be the ones chosen to carry out the work. We started work last August and expect to be finished in Spring 2006. We have a happy workforce and I suppose it helps that they are all into the GAA. A lot of the lads would play for local clubs and would have a big interest in it," he adds. Phase Two involves extending the Cavan By-Pass from the Dublin Road Roundabout to the Nissan Garage on the Ballinagh Road. A major part of the project involves realigning a 1km stretch of the Monihill and Ballinagh Roads. "It's the biggest civil road construction project in Co. Cavan at present," Garvan says. "The road itself is costing somewhere in the region of EUR7.5 million but when you take the compulsory purchase of land into consideration, the whole thing could run close to EUR20 million. "When completed, the benefits for the town will be enormous. As well as taking a lot of traffic out of the town, it will take a lot of the pressure off the Athlone Road as well. The Athlone Road is an extremely busy route and what's happening at the moment is that all the traffic heading in that direction has to come through the town first. They'll be able to avoid the town in future." Priority Construction Ltd has an excellent reputation throughout the Irish construction industry. Established by Michael McCarthy in the 1960s, this building and civil engineering contracting firm is now run from its headquarters in Clontarf, Dublin 3 by his son John McCarthy. It has a sister company called Priority Drilling which operates out of Killimor, Co. Galway and is run by John's brother Michael jnr. Priority Construction pride themselves on a level of service that is equally professional and personal that sees the company enjoy much repeat business from satisfied clients. As a company with a wealth of experience, Priority Construction has undertaken a wide range of projects in a variety of sectors over the years. Today, the company retains that same versatility yet specialises in the following sectors: General Building, Civil Engineering, Landfills, Road Projects, Sewerage Treatments and Water Schemes. Despite being based in Dublin, Priority Construction has taken on projects all over Ireland. Providing what is essentially a nationwide service is quite a task and having a sister company in Galway helps greatly in this respect. In total, Priority Construction employs 160 people nationwide which is quite a feat considering that the company has stayed strong in times when many others have gone to the wall. Firstly, there were the dark days of the economic recession of the 1980s, followed by the boom the Celtic Tiger brought and the current cautious climate. Through these times, Priority Construction has continued to prosper and that in itself speaks volumes about the company. At the moment, the company is busier than ever with projects on-going in Cavan and Dublin. One of the most significant projects is taking place at the Old Phoenix Park Racecourse in Dublin where Priority Construction is carrying out the groundworks for the development of 2,400 new houses and apartments by Flynn and O'Flaherty Developers. Another major development is the Balleally Landfill in Lusk, Co. Dublin which has a value of approximately EUR12 million alone. Other significant developments undertaken by the company over the years have included the N25 and N11 road projects in New Ross and Enniscorthy, the N17 Knock to Claremorris Road, which cost approximately EUR25 million to complete, and a sewerage scheme in Ferbane, Co. Offaly. Priority Development has also carried out developments at landfill sites in Cork and Portlaoise. A native of Dunkineely in Co. Donegal, Ward is an avid supporter of the local Naomh Ultan club. "When we won the county intermediate football championship in 2002, my brother Conor was on the team while another brother Shane was a substitute. Martin Shovlin, who was one of the stars of Donegal's All-Ireland victory in 1992, was also on that team," he recalls. Since coming to Cavan, Garvan has been astounded by the passion and interest there is for Gaelic football. "Cavan people eat, drink and live football," he remarks. "People here have an unbelievable appetite for the game and it's easy to see why other sports don't really get a look in here. Everyone knows that Cavan have a great tradition and as I Donegal man, I know they inflicted a lot of pain and misery on us until we started to get the upperhand on them in the early 1990s. "Cavan football went through an awful lean spell before they won the Ulster championship in 1997 under the guidance of a Donegal man, Martin McHugh. Unfortunately, they haven't had much to cheer about since then and you can sense that they are getting a bit impatient. But Eamon Coleman seems to have a promising, young team at his disposal now and you could see them challenging for an Ulster title again in the coming year." Ward has been particularly impressed by the amount of talented players Cavan Gaels have been producing in recent years. "The talent that is coming through in that club is something else. They have won the last few county titles and could dominate for many years to come. They gave Crossmaglen their toughest game in last year's Ulster club championship and I think that is something they'll be striving to win in the next couple of years. I think they're at the stage now where they're no longer happy just to win county titles. They have their sights set on bigger things and that can only be good for Cavan football," he concludes. Tweet

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