T BOURKE was established by Ted Bourke in 1968. The company set up offices in Dublin on Rathmines Road Lower. Ted had worked for HA O’Neills where he had gained extensive experience in the mechanical and electrical industry. However, his entrepreneurial spirit called and so T Bourke & Co. was formed. The company’s primary focus was mechanical contracting and one of the first large project secured was the Royal Dublin Hotel on O’Connell St. Dublin 1. This was no small undertaking for a newly established company, however the strong links with the development and design team meant confidence in a quality build was not in question. Turbulent times of recession loomed and strikes were abundant, that said the project was completed and T Bourkes firmly established as a player in the market.

The company was now eleven years and continued to compete and win high profile projects. One such project is that of Tralee General Hospital. Tralee was served by St. Catherine’s Hospital which was located in Rathass on the grounds of what is now the Áras an Chontae Buildings or the HQ of Kerry County Council. Tralee General Hospital was a new build on a green field site. The project was a sizeable challenge with full mechanical services including associated medical gases. Today, the hospital is known as Kerry General Hospital.

After several moves around offices in the Rathmines area including Ontario Terrace and Ardee Road. T Bourke & Co. acquired new premises in what was then the suburbs of County Dublin. The new property with two floors of office space and dedicated workshop provided modern office space and allowed for future expansion.  The company still trades today from Stillorgan Industrial Park.   

The Irish BTU (British Thermal Unit) Golf team was an industry led society golf team that competed and won at the Belfry in Birmingham. It was the first time an invitation had been issued to the Irish BTU society and the travelling team didn’t disappoint by winning the competition by an eighteen point margin. Ted Bourke was a member of the ten man strong team.

1986 Ted Bourke (Front row, 4th from left) attends the Génie Climatique International (the European Association of Heating, Ventilation and Plumbing Contractors) Annual Convention held in Dublin.

1986 Ted Bourke at the Banquet of the General Assembly of Génie Climatique International (the European Association of Heating, Ventilation and Plumbing Contractors), in the Shelbourne Hotel, Dublin in May 1986. Pictured from left are four Irish Presidents along with the President of GCI, Eoin Kenny, President of CIBSE UK, Ted Bourke, President of MEBSCA, Chris Jones in his role as President of CIF, Poul Steffensen, President of GCI Denmark and Paddy Clonan, President of CIBSE Ireland.

 

The Mechanical Engineering & Building Services Contractors Association represents mechanical contractors who undertake heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) works including design, installation, inspection, testing and maintenance. In 1987, after a number of years on committee Ted Bourke is appointed President of MEBSCA.

 

In a change to social and urban sprawl of Dublin city. New suburban shopping centres started to appear on the outskirts of Ireland’s cities. The square in Tallaght was one such centre. The shopping centre opened on 23 October 1990 to a crowd of 45,000 by An Taoiseach at the time, Charles Haughey. T Bourke & Co. was the principal mechanical contractor on the scheme. It was the first of four large shopping complexes built in the towns surrounding Dublin from the late 1980s onwards and was for a while the largest shopping centre in Ireland.

As the construction industry changed and the need for continuous improvement grew, so did T Bourke & Co. In 1991, T Bourke & Co. was one of the first mechanical companies to secure ISO 9002 QMS accreditation. Ted Bourke was presented with the certificate by Minister of Finance, Bertie Ahern.

 

T Bourke began works on one of Ireland’s largest arenas, Croke Park stadium. This started what ended up been nearly a decade of ongoing works at the stadium. This was due to the staggered and staged scheduling of works. The overall capacity of the stadium when finished was 82,300. This made Croke Park the 2nd biggest in the EU after the Nou Camp, Barcelona. The new Wembley stadium has now taken over second place with Croke Park in third.

Due to ongoing company expansion and ongoing projects in the south. T Bourke open a regional office in Limerick. This office allowed the company have a local presence while still maintaining the support of services and administration in Dublin.

T Bourke secure the mechanical installation on the Department of Agricultural Laboratories. Located at Backweston in Celbridge. This project was one of the largest of its time. The mechanical value was over €20 million for a 24 month period. It was a complicated project due to scale and complexity of services required.

DC Engineering was a Limerick based electrical contractor. As part of a natural progression into the electrical services delivery, the opportunity presented itself to acquire DC Engineering. As T Bourke had already established a local presence, the addition of an electrical services offering made sense. T Bourke moved to a new premises on the Dock road with warehouse facilities which allowed off site fabrication and four floors of office space allowing plenty of space for staff and future expansion. T Bourke continue to trade from the Limerick office and offer both mechanical and electrical services.

Niall is appointed MD following Ted’s decision to retire. Since joining the company in 1992, Niall has directly been responsible for some of the largest projects in the company. His appointment secures the future growth of the company and keeps the Bourke values at the helm of the organisation.

As part of progression through committee, Niall Bourke takes up the role as president representing mechanical and electrical engineers. Niall chairs committee meetings and represents MEBSCA at CIF meetings.

T Bourke acquires HTS as part of their services expansion offering within the mechanical services sector. HTS is a leader in the supply, installation, and maintenance of medical and process gases for Irelands Hospitals, Pharma, Food and Process industries. Established in 1990, the company has a reputation for high-quality installations with a nationwide support and maintenance division. The acquisition strengthens T Bourkes market position while diversifying its service offering.