Members of the engineering industry have come in force for the annual Engineers Ireland Excellence Awards, with the Haulbowline Island scheme coming out as the night's big winner.

The transformation of the East Tip of Haulbowline Island has been voted national 'Engineering Project of the Year' for 2019, while also securing the 'Local Authority Engineering Initiative Award'.

The remediation project, delivered on time and under budget, has seen 22-acres of the island's East Tip transformed from a desolate, toxic, industrial site into a magnificent public recreational facility for local residents, workers and visitors in what has been one of the biggest environmental works in the history of the State.

Cork County Council, RPS, PJ Hegarty & Sons and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine were recognised for their work on the project at Engineers Ireland prestigious ceremony in the InterContinental Hotel in Dublin on Friday evening, 15 November.

Speaking at the event, Dr Cormac Ó Súilleabháin, the Project's Manager from Cork County Council, said: "This was an immensely challenging project considering the extensive risks presented by the uniqueness of the site, nature and characteristics of the waste material involved, and location within Cork Harbour. However, despite all this, the project was delivered in a timely and cost-effective manner and very much provides a template for the successful delivery of transformative public sector projects. Cork Harbour has been transformed by the remediation of the East Tip, and we believe this is a great civil and environmental engineering achievement. It's great to see this recognised by Engineers Ireland and we are very appreciative of this award this evening."

In other award categories, Dr Cristina Paduano, an Aerospace Engineer, won the prestigious 'Chartered Engineer of the Year Award', sponsored by Arup. The professional title of Chartered Engineer, considered to be the gold standard of the profession, was established in Ireland 50 years ago this year. Within the Republic of Ireland, Engineers Ireland is the sole authority to award the title, which is granted to professional engineers who, through a rigorous review process, have shown their ability to apply their professional competencies in the workplace.

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GFG Alliance, Overburden Beneficiation Plant SIMEC Mining by CDE Meta won the 'Geoscience Ireland Award', while the 'Fernhill Park & Gardens by Arup and Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council' won the Irish Water sponsored 'Sustainability Award'. 

Also honoured at the Engineers Ireland Excellence Awards 2019 were: Martin Naughton, Chartered Engineer, Chairman of the Shareholder Supervisory Board of the Glen Dimplex Group, who was presented with the 'ESB Outstanding Contribution to Engineering Award'; Connor McGrath, who received the 'ESB International Engineer of the Year Award' for his work in in Ladakh, India on an upgrade programme at the Druk White Lotus School; and Tom Costello, Head of Construction at IPUT, who won the 'President's Award', sponsored by CRH. The Edge Programme by CONNECT Centre at Trinity College Dublin won the Accenture sponsored 'Engineering Education Award' while brothers Nick and Jack Cotter from Limerick, who won the Siemens 'Innovative Student Engineer of the Year Award' earlier this year, were also recognised at the event.

"Engineering is about making the impossible a reality, it is about thinking beyond the conventional to tackle the biggest challenges in society and this year's projects once again exhibit the best of our sector in this regard," Caroline Spillane, Engineers Ireland Director General, said. "The initiatives recognized by our annual Excellence Awards make a vital contribution to Ireland's sustainable future and showcase the talented and creative engineers we have across the country. I offer my congratulations to each of the project teams and engineering leaders involved, with a special word of mention for the overall Engineering Project of the Year winner East Tip Haulbowline Island Remediation Project, which has been remarkable in its success transforming what was an environmentally toxic waste ground into a magnificent eco-friendly public park of significant amenity value. This has been done through high quality engineering design, construction and project delivery. This project will hugely benefit the region for generations to come."

The full list of winners is as follows:

President's Award, sponsored by CRH

Tom Costello, Chartered Engineer, Head of Construction at IPUT

ESB Outstanding Contribution to Engineering Award, sponsored by ESB

Martin Naughton, Chartered Engineer, Chairman of the Shareholder Supervisory Board of the Glen Dimplex Group

ESB International Engineer of the Year Award, sponsored by ESB International

Connor McGrath, Chartered Engineer, Project Engineer at Arup

Innovative Student Engineer of the Year Award, sponsored by Siemens

Nick and Jack Cotter for their project, The Cotter Crate.

Best Presentation Award, sponsored by Griffiths & Armour and Beale & Company

Presentation: Lean Management Systems applied to Hyper-scale Data Center Construction Breakfast Briefing by: Fiachra O Muíneacháin, Kevin McHugh, Stephen Walls and Pat Egan of MACE Technology (Ireland) Ltd. Nominated by: Project Management society

Sustainability Award, sponsored by Irish Water

Fernhill Park & Gardens by Arup and Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council

Geoscience Ireland Award, sponsored by Geoscience Ireland

GFG Alliance, Overburden Beneficiation Plant SIMEC Mining by CDE Meta

Heritage and Conservation Award, sponsored by the OPW

Swords Castle – East Tower Consolidation by Fingal County Council, David Kelly Partnership and CORA Consulting Engineers

Local Authority Engineering Initiative Award, sponsored by Colas Bitumen Emulsions

Joint winners:

• Mary Elmes Bridge by Cork City Council, Keating and Arup

• East Tip Haulbowline Island Remediation Project by Cork County Council, RPS, PJ Hegarty & Sons and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Engineering Education Award, sponsored by Accenture

EDGE Programme by CONNECT Centre at Trinity College Dublin

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Employer of the Year Award, sponsored by Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland and supported by the Department of Education and Skills

H&MV Engineering

Chartered Engineer of the Year Award, sponsored by Arup

Dr Cristina Paduano, Chartered Engineer, B-Fluid

Engineering Project of the Year Award, sponsored by Transport Infrastructure Ireland

East Tip Haulbowline Island Remediation Project by Cork County Council, RPS, PJ Hegarty & Sons and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

(CM/MH)