The Errigal Group who recently moved their head office to Dublin is owned by Monaghan native Damien Treanor and Derry man Cormac McCloskey. We spoke to the former about the origins of the company, while he also gave a detailed account about their sponsorship with local clubs. Damien hails from the Truagh club and has never forgotten his roots, despite spending 16 years in London, where he originally established the business.The Truagh Gaels club has a great history in Monaghan GAA and indeed this year they won the intermediate league defeating Ballybay by the narrowest of margins, which sees them make a return to the senior ranks. The Errigal Group are the main sponsors of the club's senior team and Damien is delighted with the progress that they have made in recent years. Indeed, the club actually celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2008. "To be fair, I am not able to give the necessary commitment to the club to get directly involved, but I follow their fortunes closely and we're proud to be sponsors to the senior team," said Damien. "All my family would have played for the club down through the years and I played myself before I went to London. It's a big part of our life growing up and always will be." The Jubilee Year celebrations began on June 1st with the official opening of the new stand by founding member Canon Breen. A number of other founding members were also at the ceremony including Sean Finn, Celestine McKenna and Jimmy McKenna. Following an exhibition match between Truagh and Emyvale, presentations were made to the founder members of the club by Sean McCague which took place in the new extended clubhouse. "A lot of work has been done within the club down the years and the facilities there now are something to be really proud of. There are many people who deserve great credit for their hard work and dedication to the club." Damien has also been impressed by the fortunes of Monaghan footballers over the last few years and he would dearly love to see them rewarded for their efforts. "Monaghan have been doing well and they've certainly improved. It's good to see them back playing in Croke Park on a regular basis and it's just a pity that they have met Kerry twice in the last year. "I think the problem they have in taking it to the next level is that they don't seem to have the strength in depth yet that some of the other counties have. Seamus McEnaney has done an excellent job and if he can continue to develop more players into county standard while keeping the quality players on board, I believe that they could win some silverware. "I just fear that peoples' expectations may get too high, which wouldn't be fair on the players. They are under enough pressure as it is," he added. Despite heading to London at a young age, Damien continued his football career with St Michael's in Croydon, who he helped win junior and intermediate titles in the eighties. Following an amalgamation with Dulwich Gaels, Damien hung up his boots in 1998 and turned his attention to management as he guided that club to the intermediate football title, just a year later. Of course, work always took first preference, especially as he was running his own business specialising in interior fitouts. Damien decided to move the business back to Ireland in 2002 and now 80% of its turnover comes from the Irish market. Head office is now at Northwest Business Park, Ballycoolin Rd, Dublin 15, while they also have offices in Dungiven, Monaghan and London as well as an office in Romania. Employing in the region of 160 people shows that the Errigal Group are one of the major players in its field of expertise and some of its more prestigious projects which they are currently involved with are Lansdowne Road stadium, Dundalk School of Music, a Grand Canal Square & Theatre and the National Conference Centre on Spencer Dock in Dublin. "We are quite busy at the moment, but who know what the future holds with the way the current economic climate has been changing over the past year. We have diversified the business into other areas and now the Errigal Group consists of Errigal Contracts, Errigal Commercial Developments and Errigal Stone, while the Eastern European branch also has a number of subsidiaries. "We are restructuring at the moment to cope with the recession here and we are always looking for different markets & opportunities. In Romania, we have been involved in a number of residential, commercial and leisure projects. This is an area we hope to develop on over the coming year." Errigal Contracts has a proven track record in the Construction Industry and has worked with many of the leading building companies in Ireland and the UK. Due to this established and successful reputation it has allowed them to work on some of the largest and most prestigious construction projects in Ireland.  "The company specialises in metal stud partition systems and ceilings, but over the years due to their vast knowledge and experience they have developed their skills to include a wider range of services allowing them to take on any project large or small." Derry native Cormac has been involved in the business for many years now and he is also a GAA fanatic, which is the reason why the company sponsors the Kevin Lynch's hurling club in Dungiven who in recent past reached the Ulster final, and also sponsor the St Colum's juveniles' teams in Drum. Tweet

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