Veteran Offaly business man honoured at awards

VETERAN business man, Frank Mulligan has been presented with a lifetime achievement award in recognition of his pioneering work over several decades.

Mr Mulligan was presented with the prestigious award at the Tullamore and District Chamber of Commerce Business Awards by President Anthony Hanniffy on Saturday night last.

The citation citing Mr Mulligan's many achievements was read by Master of Ceremonies, Ronan Berry.

He said: “Between Killeshal Precast Concrete in Daingean, In Granite Recon in Clara and Coughlan Engineering in Tullamore, Frank Mulligan directly employs 135 people and serves the largest names in the construction industry in Ireland and the UK.

He has survived and thrived in the most volatile of times, through energy crises (more than one), recessions (more than a few), mass emigration, the Celtic Tiger, the banking crash and Brexit without ever seeming to lose his head.

The aura of calm control didn’t always surround him. He is the youngest of nine 'Mad Mulligans' of O’Connor Square. Their reputation preceded them despite father Patrick being a senior Garda and mother Ellen being a stalwart of sense. Siblings Jim, Ben, Tom, Evelyn and Mary all left to pursue a life in Massachusetts.

Deemed too mad to be trusted to do likewise, Frank sneaked off to London for a while. This was far from this first gig. Since the age of eight he held a newspaper round, delivered meat for Paddy Cleary and worked in P&H Egan’s supermarket.

On a brief visit home from London for the Fleadh Ceoil, he met 'Red' Flanagan, company secretary for B Daly & Co., the whiskey making division of Tullamore DEW and Irish Mist. The chat or the drink must have been good because he got his first real 'start' with B Daly the following Monday morning.

There he received excellent training, particularly in the areas of cost accounting and stock management. Frank still calls on this training and discipline every day.

It was in 'The Star' in Clara where he formed his greatest partnership of all. This is where he met Rena Kavanagh, the doe eyed local girl, who would eventually put manners on him. Frank would be the first to acknowledge that Rena’s regular-as-clockwork teacher’s salary, counsel, support and sense were corner stones of his eventual success.

Rena and Frank have five extremely talented children, Karl, Naomi, Jonathan, Cliona and Niall. The five have justified their existence by contributing thirteen fantastic grandchildren.

After some years working in the accounts department of Hannon Bros Builders, Brennan & McGowan and Elmgrove Developments, all in the greater Dublin area, Frank and Rena decided to put down roots closer to home and family. Having dealt with Seán Maunsell of Killeshal Precast Concrete in a trading capacity with his previous employers, Frank landed a job ostensibly in the accounts’ office of Killeshal, though in reality he spent a lot of time on the road calling on the contacts he had developed. This continued to the point where he became one of the identifiable faces of Killeshal and from there, Frank never looked back.

As sharp to spot an opportunity as he is to spot someone acting the maggot on a hand of '25', he went into business with Rena’s brother Jackie to manufacture precast concrete fire backs for Dublin City Council after seeing that there were a lack of respondents to a procurement tender. Truth be told, the firebacks cracked a bit with the heat, so when John Sisk were seeking an acid etched granite finish on window sills for Cavan Hospital which Killeshal couldn’t produce, he and Jackie used the opportunity to pivot and built what is In Granite Recon today, Ireland’s foremost manufacturer of decorative cast stone building components.

When Tom Coughlan (RIP) was speaking about retiring in 1998, Frank worried about the continued supply of steel moulds to Killeshal and In Granite. To secure this supply, In Granite acquired Coughlan Engineering from Tom. In the years since, Coughlan Engineering has evolved into one of the top ten architectural metalworks subcontractors in Ireland.

Obviously on a roll around that time, Frank led a management buyout of Killeshal along with long-time accomplice Pat Nolan and fellow senior management Donie Geraghty, Frank Bracken, Donal O’Connor and Willie Farrell. The timing was good and Killeshal went from strength to strength until the banking crisis hit in 2008. Very quickly, annual revenues in Killeshal dropped from €20m to a low of €4m. Former directors and Enterprise Ireland contributed to a rescue package which allowed Killeshal to navigate the grim years.

It is testament to the quality of management that all three companies, but Killeshal in particular, not only survived that period but have managed to get back to where they were before the crash and probably in better shape.

Frank would hate to take all the credit and, without wanting to exclude anybody, he would want Pat, Frank and Jimmy Nolan and JJ Stapleton singled out for their extraordinary commitment, loyalty and support over the years.

Frank believes in positive energy, the right attitude, relationships and action. He still loves the buzz of business and takes personal satisfaction in his achievements. He values time out and family fun but retirement (if it ever comes) will have to be seen to be believed!”