Awards celebrate the outstanding achievements of consulting engineers across Ireland and beyond
Pictured receiving the 'Civil Category - Large Project' award from ACEI President, Anne-Marie Conibear, are (L-R): Trevor McArdle, Clonmel Enterprises; Daire Ó Riagáin, ROD; Eoin Ó Catháin, ROD; Victor Coe, Dublin City Council; Joseph Mernagh, Dublin City Council; and Colm Gogan, ROD.
Pictured receiving the Innovation award from ACEI President, Anne-Marie Conibear, are (L-R): Colm Gogan, ROD; Eoin Ó Catháin, ROD; and Daire Ó Riagáin, ROD.
Pictured receiving the Overseas award from ACEI President, Anne-Marie Conibear, are (L-R): Alasdair Henderson, BAM UK & Ireland; Tony Dempsey, ROD; Jonny Kerr, Farrans; and Aonghus O'Keeffe, ROD.
Roughan & O’Donovan (ROD) won three awards at the prestigious Association of Consulting Engineers of Ireland (ACEI) Engineering Excellence Awards 2025, including two awards for the Clontarf to City Centre Project and one award for Herring Bridge in Great Yarmouth, UK.
Announced during a dinner at the Intercontinental Hotel in Dublin last Friday (28 March), the ACEI awards recognise projects that demonstrate a high degree of achievement, value and excellence in engineering design.
ROD won the ‘Innovation’ and ‘Large Civil Project’ awards for our work on the Clontarf to City Centre Project, a transformative scheme that not only enhances walking, cycling and public transport in Dublin city but also supports Ireland’s broader transport and environmental objectives. The project team included Dublin City Council, Clonmel Enterprises Ltd, CSR Land Planning and Design, and Kevin Cleary & Associates.
Innovation award
In a citation accompanying the ‘Innovation’ award, the judges said: Designers Roughan & O’Donovan Consulting Engineers have introduced features in this scheme that are new to the Dublin city streetscape and are a model for urban road and active travel facility design. These features include the introduction of continuous footpaths at junctions, fully segregated cycle tracks with island bus stops; maximum use of SuDS and of bioretention areas; vacuum excavation to maintain existing mature trees, and conservation of historic fabric along the route.
Large Civil Project
In a citation accompanying the ‘Large Civil Project’ award, the judges said: The project has set a standard for urban road and active travel facility design in Ireland and for the implementation of the Bus-Connects programme. Into a complex network of over 20km combined length of pedestrian walkways, new and upgraded cycle lanes and upgraded bus lanes, the design of the scheme introduces, multiple new modal segregation features, environmental enhancements and construction techniques.
ROD won the ‘Overseas’ award for our work on Herring Bridge, Great Yarmouth, a challenging movable bridge, marine and urban works project that has transformed travel across the town, connecting communities on either side of the harbour, easing traffic congestion, shortening journey times, and improving journey reliability. ROD was appointed by BAM-Farrans Joint Venture and the project team included Norfolk County Council, H&H and Lanpro.
In a citation accompanying the ‘Overseas’ award, the judges described Herring Bridge as “an infrastructure project that is of significance at a national level” and “of a size and scale not typical for these islands”, adding that “its prominence [in the UK] greatly enhances the reputation of Irish engineering excellence."
Reflecting on the three awards, Marc Jones, managing director of ROD, said: “We’re delighted that our contribution to these two flagship projects has been recognised by the ACEI and grateful to our clients, Dublin City Council and BAM Farrans JV, for giving us the opportunity to work on two such unique projects and to develop solutions that maximise the performance and resilience of our transport networks while building stronger connections between communities.”
ROD’s additional shortlisted entries were the Wayfinding Centre (Project Management); the Meakstown Sports Hall and Community Centre (Structural); and Dublin Port Tolka Estuary Greenway (Sustainability Natural Environment).
