Westmeath's most populous town, Athlone, continues to experience rapid growth and one company that is to the fore in this development is Ollie Kenny Ltd, which is currently carrying out major housing developments in Coosan, Ballymahon Road and Bealnamulla. The Athlone of 2006 is virtually unrecognisible from what it was 10 years ago, having undergone massive commercial and housing development. At the forefront of this huge growth has been leading building firm Ollie Kenny Ltd. Since its establishment in 1997, the company has successfully completed numerous schemes of luxury housing in the Athlone area and is currently carrying out major developments in Coosan, Ballymahon Road and Bealnamulla. "We have been building non-stop in Athlone since 1997 and we intend to stay in the area for some time to come," explains company managing director Ollie Kenny. "Our company is based on the Ballymahon Road and we envisage a lot more development in the town, especially in the Garrycastle, Cornamaddy and Cornamagh areas. The new houses we are building are attracting many new families to Athlone and hopefully Garrycastle and Athlone GAA clubs will benefit from this in years to come," he adds. The Moore, Co. Roscommon native is currently overseeing three schemes in the Coosan/Ballymahon Road areas. Cluain Eala is a new and exciting development of four high spec homes in Coosan. Churchwood, which is also located in Coosan, consists of 41 luxurious detached and semi-detached homes. Cloghanboy on the Ballymahon Road is a superb new dimension of beautifully furnished houses. This development consists of 62 houses, 16 retirement homes, a crèche which can accommodate 130 children, and a 56-bedroom nursing home which will be operated by the Sonas Group. Recently, Ollie Kenny Ltd commenced work on a scheme of 90 houses in Bealnamulla on the west side of the town. This development consists of four bed detached, four bed semi-detached and four bed townhouses as well as a crèche. Since commencing work in Ardcadia eight years ago, Ollie has seen his company grow into one of the most successful construction and development firms in the midlands. Working in conjunction with some of Ireland's leading design and project management teams, Ollie Kenny Ltd has undertaken many prestigious clients for clients throughout the country. Projects have included residential developments, schools, colleges, commercial offices and industrial units. Restorations and renovations have also strongly featured in the company portfolio to date. Ollie Kenny Ltd employs a very experienced and well-qualified team of engineers, quantity surveyors, contract managers, site managers, supervisors and administrators who are capable of successfully managing the most challenging projects. They continue to make a large contribution to the well deserved reputation for quality that the company has achieved, and for meeting project cost and time targets. The company's operating systems and commitments comply with the highest quality, health and safety standards. Ollie Kenny Ltd intends to further develop its business by adhering to the standards which have served it so well so far and by continuously striving to improve upon its services to clients. Ollie directly employs a staff of 30, but can have up to 100 sub-contractors on his books at any one time. Recently retired Westmeath football star Paul Conway has worked for Ollie as a plasterer, while county goalkeeper Gary Connuaghton regularly delivers sand and gravel to the various building sites the firm is working on. Ollie takes a keen interest in the GAA and supports his native Padraig Pearses, Garrycastle, Athlone as well as the Roscommon and Westmeath county teams. His father Jimmy is a member of Padraig Pearses, who are regarded as one of the strongest dual clubs in Roscommon. Pearses, whose club grounds are located just off the main Athlone-Ballinasloe Road, reached their first county senior football final since 1969 last year, but were forced to give second best to South Roscommon rivals St. Brigid's on a 2-9 to 0-11 scoreline. Despite conceding a goal to John Tiernan in the 21st minute, Pearses were well in contention at half-time and looked the most likely winners after scores from Sean Fahy and Niall Finneran gave them a two-point lead shortly after the restart. But a second goal from man of the match Tiernan six minutes from the end proved decisive as the Kiltoom side came out on top. "Padraig Pearses have been threatening to make a major breakthrough in both football and hurling over the past few years, but it hasn't happened for them yet. They came very close to winning their first senior football championship this year and were there or thereabouts in the hurling as well. While last year was a disappointment for them, I'm sure they'll come back stronger than ever this year." Championship silverware also eluded Garrycastle and Athlone in 2005, though Garrycastle contested the county final and Athlone won Division 2 of the All-County League. Garrycastle's unbeaten record in championship finals at adult level ended in bitterly disappointing circumstances on October 9 last when they were relieved of the Flanagan Cup by The Downs. After qualifying for the final without ever having to break sweat, the Green and Reds were warm favourites to capture their fourth senior football championship crown in five years. On the day, however, they failed to come to terms with The Downs' ferocity and could have few complaints after succumbing to a 0-10 to 1-10 defeat. Finbarr Egan's Athlone team exited the championship at an early stage, but gained some consolation from winning the All-County League Division 2 title. For much of the campaign, it looked as though Athlone would pay the price for a couple of early defeats, but a late wobble by long-time leaders Rosemount saw the Shannonsiders force a play-off and they grabbed the chance with both hands. "Like Padraig Pearses, Garrycastle are young enough and good enough to bounce back. I saw them play The Downs in the county final and they didn't do themselves justice at all. They will be going all out to make amends this year and I wouldn't bet against them. "Athlone had a disappointing championship, but their success in the league will have given them a big boost. Athlone are a big club and they need to be playing Division 1 football. Playing in Division 2 for the last few years probably counted against them when it came to the championship," he says. Ollie feels that both Roscommon and Westmeath are now entering transitional phases under their new managers, John Maughan and Tomas O Flatharta. "There will have to be a certain amount of rebuilding carried out by both managers. After what happened last year, I'm hoping that John Maughan can bring greater discipline to the Roscommon team and keep them on the straight and narrow. "Tomas O Flatharta has a tough act to follow after what Paidi O Se achieved, but the Leinster championship is fairly open and Westmeath could give it a good crack," he concludes. Tweet

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