With major housing developments completed in Rochfortbridge and a new scheme underway in Delvin, M&G Homes are certainly making their mark in Westmeath. They also happen to be a GAA-friendly company as Mark Donohue explains. Anyone who has visited or passed through the towns of Rochfortbridge and Delvin recently will have noticed huge growth in terms of housing and development. Rochfortbridge, in particular, has undergone massive development and it didn't come as a surprise to anyone when the recent census showed it to be the fastest growing town in the county. At the forefront of this development has been leading building contractors M&G Homes. Jointly-owned by brothers Martin and Gerry Donohue, the company has successfully completed two schemes of luxury housing in Rochfortbridge and are currently constructing a further 32 houses in the increasingly-vibrant town of Delvin. M&G have also acquired an 11-acre site and have plans for a luxury development of houses, duplex units and apartments in the near future. "While M&G started out as a Dublin company, it is effectively a Westmeath company at this stage," explains Mark Donohue, who is Martin's son. "Rochfortbridge is now the company's base and I'm living in the town myself at the moment. Westmeath has been very good to us and hopefully we'll be here for a long time to come," adds Mark, who runs his company Kram Projects Ltd which carries out civil engineering work for M&G Homes. Before setting up M&G Homes over 20 years ago, Martin and Gerry Donohue had acquired a vast knowledge of the construction trade from their time spent working in England. The brothers, who hail from Moylough, Co. Galway, carried out most of their work in Dublin in the early years, including a number of schemes in the Clonsilla and Clondalkin areas. Two of the main projects which saw M&G forge a widespread reputation for excellence were Russheny Village and Luhunda, both in Clonsilla. In more recent times, the company's endeavours have extended beyond Dublin with Martin and Gerry arriving in Rochfortbridge in the late 1990s. Indeed, one could put forward the argument that the brothers have helped pioneer the town's unprecedented growth. Their first project in the town was Stonebridge Park - an 80-house development which was completed in 2002. They then commenced work on The Crescent, a luxurious development comprising seven exclusive detached bungalows. At present, M&G are constructing 32 houses at Castle View, Delvin. This is a mixed development, comprising two bedroom bungalows, three and four bedroom semi-detached and four bedroom detached homes. Given the massive development M&G have carried out in Rochfortbridge to date, it seemed entirely appropriate that they should become sponsors of the local St. Mary's club two years ago. Reflecting on the exact details of the sponsorship, Martin Donohue explains: "Liam Gavin approached me on behalf of the club - his brother Pat is one of the auctioneers selling houses for us. Liam just asked me if we were interested in becoming the sponsors of St. Mary's and we agreed. "We were delighted to get behind them. We sponsored their jerseys and we also lend our support to any fundraising activities the club undertakes. Both Martin and Gerry are avid GAA followers with the latter being actively involved in the Galway Supporters' Club in Dublin. Their passion for the game has been passed down to Mark, who grew up in Rathfarnham and played hurling with the local Ballyboden St. Enda's club. Since taking up residence in Rochfortbridge, he has continued to play hurling with St. Brigid's. Mark's brother Padraig concentrates more on football and was called into the Dublin minor and under 21 set-ups. He is currently a member of the London senior football squad. Ironically, Padraig once played under 16 football for Dublin in Rochfortbridge and marking him that day was Kildare man Eamonn Gallagher who now plays for St. Mary's! In another twist, Padraig captained Trinity College's Sigerson Cup team for two years, during which time the full back berth was manned by none other than Westmeath and St. Mary's star David Mitchell. Galway hurling star Alan Kerins also featured on that side which was sponsored by M&G Homes. Mark keeps a close eye on the fortunes of St. Mary's and is hoping they can bounce back from the disappointment of being relegated from the top flight last year. After failing to win a game in the group stages of the senior championship, relegation became a reality when they were decisively beaten by neighbours Tyrrellspass in a play-off. "It was a big disappointment for them to be relegated because they probably felt that they didn't do themselves justice last year. But they'll be confident of coming straight back up this year. If their three county players - Damien Healy, David Mitchell and Damien Gavin - are firing on all cylinders, I can't see anyone stopping them in the intermediate championship," he says. By contrast to St. Mary's, Delvin had a memorable 2003, winning the intermediate hurling championship in fine style. "They seem to have a very young team and all the signs are that they will do quite well in the senior championship this year. They are very much a team on the up." Mark has also been following the fortunes of the Westmeath county teams and believes that the hurlers have been benefited from the spotlight being on the footballers since Paidi O Se's arrival in the county. "While the footballers' form has been disappointing, the hurlers have been progressing nicely without anyone really noticing. I think Tom Ryan has done a great job with the hurlers and they could surprise a few people this summer. Hopefully, the footballers will also come good - they had a great run in the championship a few years ago and it would give supporters a huge lift if they could go on a similar run this year," he concludes. Tweet

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