Our People

Aidan attended Bolton Street and completed a Diploma in Construction Technology, followed by a BSc in Construction Economics. He commenced his career as a project surveyor with a Tier One contractor, before assisting Jimmy Manning as a part time advisor on commercial aspects of the then fledgling business in 1975. In the years that followed, Aidan worked on several significant projects throughout Ireland, including the Revenue offices at Dublin Castle and the Corrib Great Southern Hotel in Galway. He continued to assist Jimmy Manning as an advisor before moving to the UK where he gained extensive experience in large-scale construction projects with an engineering company specialising in relocating listed buildings. During this time, he gained experience in managing complex projects requiring underpinning, hydraulic sliding, and bridge slides for British Rail. Aidan's experience as a Commercial Manager in the UK included projects such as Ilford shopping centre, Castle Mall Norwich, Queens Arcade Cardiff, a large office development in Edinburgh, and several multi-storey car parks in England. His subsequent experience in Ireland included managing the installation of the concrete frame at the Cusack Stand in Croke park. Following completion of this project, Aidan rejoined Mannings, becoming a co-owner of the business in 2005. Aidan currently serves as Chairman of Mannings Construction Group.

Colm has worked with Mannings Construction Group since 2004 as Contracts Manager, Construction Director and in his current role as Managing Director since 2018. He previously worked in the UK with Interserve Construction Plc, a company with an annual turnover of £3.25bn and 80,000 employees, and Clancy Docwra, a company with an order book in excess of £700m and 2,500 employees. During his time with Interserve and Clancy, Colm worked on a number of large-scale public infrastructure projects including roads, bridges and drainage civil engineering works. Mannings Construction Group is ‘the family business’ for Colm. His father, Aidan, together with his business partner, bought the company from its founder, Jimmy Manning in 2004. Colm worked in the company during school and university holiday periods and from an early age has gained an indepth knowledge of the business from his father. Colm understands the importance of building relationships with people and this has been the secret to the success and longevity of client relationships with Mannings Construction Group. Colm has proved himself as a successful Construction leader who works well with clients and the public. He has managed individual projects valued in excess of €30m and has worked with international clients including Quintain, Tesco, Aldi and Decathlon. Colm also has experience working with Pharmaceutical companies including Mylan and with the online retail and logistics giant, Amazon, as well as various other independent Clients. Colm holds a degree in Quantity Surveying from Sheffield Hallam University and a Masters degree in Planning and Development Surveying from the Dublin Institute of Technology, Bolton Street.

Ronan is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants holds an honours degree in Finance and Monetary Economics from Trinity College, Dublin. He has over 20 years of experience in the property development and construction sectors. Prior to joining Mannings Construction Group, Ronan worked with the Menolly Group for ten years, joining Menolly Homes in 2006 as Group Financial Controller. The Menolly Group had developments in Ireland, UK, mainland Europe and the United States. Ronan held directorships with Menolly entities in the US, UK, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland and Montenegro as well as with the management companies on Menolly developments in Ireland. Ronan has strong systems, financial control, debt management, contract negotiation and sales negotiation experience and experience of working on complex transactions across multiple jurisdictions.

Breda joined Mannings in April 2020 with a mandate to: digitise the business through cloud services; identify opportunities to streamline the business through process change; develop and gather data from across the business to deliver business intelligence dashboards and; make the data available for interrogation through power BI. Breda has worked in the construction industry for over 30 years. Commencing in Geo Surveying in Bolton Street and subsequently completed a full time Computer Aided Design (CAD) training course before commencing with leading Architectural firm, BKD Architects as an Architectural Technician, During this time Breda developed 3D models and walkthrough models of significant projects, BKD were at the forefront of CAD at this time. Breda became a certified Autodesk trainer (AutoCad and Revit) working with a leading IT support company providing customer support, on site installations, customisation of software and training, later moving to Mott MacDonald ( Consulting Engineers) as a BIM /CAD manager Ireland, with responsibility for the delivery of the BIM requirements of the Bergen Light Rail Project, Depot and Workshop Project in Bergen, Norway. Breda later assumed the role of BIM lead for Ireland and was administrator for the Bentley Project Wise Document Management System, supporting projects globally. Breda’s experience in programming and managing the introduction of new software resulted in her joining John Sisk and Sons ( Contractors) in 2016 as IT Project Manager for the business, with responsibility for driving digital maturity across the business. Breda worked with the stakeholders to identify process strengths and weaknesses within the organisation and address issues with new procedures and staff development. As part of this process, the management system was reviewed to introduce digital practice and support technology at the core of the business where it could bring value. Across her career transformation of process as been at the heart of her roles , driving change from within organisations to extract business benefits across all aspects of the construction project life cycle.

Declan is an experienced Safety, Health, Environmental and Quality Manager with over twenty years’ experience within the construction industry. Declan has a higher diploma from University College Dublin (UCD) in Safety, Health and Welfare at Work and a Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) diploma in Managing Safely for Construction Managers. Declan is experienced in fulfilling the requirements of PSCS and PSDP and he has managed safety, health, environmantal and quality on a range of projects including multi-million-euro retail, office, leisure, industrial, logistics, pharmaceutical, health and residential projects including works completed in live environments where managing the safety of the public is of significant importance. Prior to joining Mannings Group, Declan was responsible for onsite Health and Safety management on multi-million euro projects with Elliott Properties, Weslin Construction and James Elliott Construction. He has been directly involved in onsite safety management on projects for leading private sector multi-national and public sector clients including Leo Pharma, Arup Engineering, Dublin Airport Authority, and Irish Rail. Declan commenced working with Mannings in 2014 and has successfully managed the Company’s Safety processes and procedures in line with the Safe T Cert Health and Safety Accreditation, following successful third-party audits. Declan works with the Chief Information Officer to regularly review, develop and streamline the Mannings’ Safety, Health, Environmental and Quality Management systems on the Group’s digital platform.

With more than 25 years industry experience in the construction industry and a wealth of technical knowledge, Robbie has been a key contributor to the successful delivery of a variety of demanding projects with complex MEP requirements. Robbie is tasked with managing the Mechanical and Electrical elements of projects from pre-construction stage right through to final handover including overseeing testing and commissioning. Robbie has an indepth knowledge of design, statutory regulations and implements a practical approach to achieve project delivery on time, He works closely with the site management teams, contributing greatly to the high-quality service we deliver our clients.

Ian has a BSc in Building Surveying and is an experienced Senior Contracts Manager and key member of the Mannings leadership team. He is responsible for managing Mannings construction site management teams on multi-million-euro projects including the new €23 million retail and multi-storey carpark project in Adamstown, Co Dublin and the new Decathlon Head Office and flagship store in Ballymun. Ian joined Mannings in 2001 having previously worked for Paul Mealy Consulting Architects and as Project Manager for one of the largest Housing Associations in Ireland. Ian has a broad range of experience in the retail, commercial, industrial, healthcare and residential sectors and has successfully delivered projects throughout Ireland and the UK. Ian has developed good relationships with new and existing clients leading to repeat business. Ian’s innovative approach to construction and site management and his desire to exceed client expectations resulted in him achieving the Considerate Constructors Scheme ‘Performance Beyond Expectations’ award for his management of the Decathlon project and the achievement of a ‘BREEAM Very Good’ environmental rating.

Conor joined Mannings in 2014 having previously worked for a respected PQS firm for nine years. He has successfully managed costs on multi-million-euro projects across a range of sectors including retail, office, industrial, logistics, pharmaceutical, medical, educational and residential, for leading international Clients. Conor holds an Honour’s degree in Construction Management and a Diploma in Building and Services Management.

John is an experienced Construction Director with 30+ years’ experience in the construction industry. He has a track record in leading large-scale projects for public and private sector clients and he has a successfully delivered an annual turnover of £100m+, with project values ranging from £4m to £45m across public and private sectors. John’s core strengths include leadership, communication, strategic planning, collaborative and working. John is passionate about the built environment. He is focused on ESG issues, incorporating positive actions within project plans. John believes full team collaboration will ensure the client brief is achieved on time, within budget, and to the highest safety, environmental and quality standards. John was responsible for numerous projects and frameworks and represented the region on steering committees including business growth/strategy, Health & Safety, Risk, QA and IT. John has a commercial approach towards problem solving. He manages and co-ordinates construction activities by implementing effective solutions to ensure project deliverables including safety, quality, programme and cost are achieved. John is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Building and has a BSc (Hons) in Construction Management.

Karen is an experienced Operations Manager with 20+ years’ experience in the construction and engineering industries. She has worked with a diverse client base helping to deliver projects across Europe and the UK delivering data centres and office fit-out projects. As a highly skilled and successful operations manager with key experience of implementing successful business initiatives and procedures, she possesses a wide range of knowledge and experience that allows her to contribute toward the success of the companies that she works with. Karen's expertise lies in successfully developing and implementing processes and procedures that allow profitable development whilst providing a framework in which staff can work knowledgeably, effectively and confidently. Through her experience, she has become adept in overseeing a full range of operational responsibilities including planning and organisation of staff, developing communications both internal and external, liaising with external agencies and bodies, and implementation of ISO quality and environmental standards.

Ben is responsible for the commercial management of the UK business, having worked in construction industry for over 20 years he has a wealth of knowledge and experience working on a variety of projects within different sectors of the industry. Ben has a FdSc in construction Management and a 1st class honours degree in quantity surveying.

Jonathan is an experienced Project Director with over twenty years' experience in the construction industry. He has a proven track record of successfully delivering projects on time and within budget. Jonathan's skills include leading teams through all phases of the projects life cycle, from tender and design to cost management to project completion. Jonathan is focused on achieving client expectations and ensuring the project team achieve project completion safely, within programme, to the very highest quality standards and within budget.

Natasha brings experience from a dynamic bidding background in engineering consultancy. She holds the CF APMP certification and has great knowledge of the Shipley bidding process. Natasha is well-versed in the intricacies of bid management and has a profound love for governance. She has an innovative approach, a great eye for detail and exceptional presentation skills. With a fresh perspective on bidding in the construction industry, her passion for driving excellence, combined with meticulous attention to detail, will contribute to Manning's continued success in the competitive construction sector.

Jonathan Carville is an experienced Senior Quantity Surveyor with a comprehensive background in the construction industry. A graduate of the University of Ulster, Jonathan has built a solid foundation working with established main contractors before joining Mannings in 2021. Over the years, he has honed his expertise in estimating, procurement, contractor management, and cost consulting, managing both financial and contractual aspects of projects from inception to completion. Jonathan has a proven track record of delivering complex projects on time and within budget, while optimising project costs and ensuring value for clients. His in-depth knowledge of construction processes and contract law enables him to navigate challenging project environments and mitigate risks effectively. He is well-versed in managing the full lifecycle of a project, including cost planning, tendering, cost control, and final account settlements. Known for his meticulous attention to detail and ethical approach, Jonathan consistently upholds the highest standards of integrity and professionalism in every aspect of his work. He is passionate about fostering a collaborative and supportive environment, particularly through mentoring junior surveyors and encouraging their growth and development. Jonathan is a results-driven professional who understands the importance of building strong client relationships and delivering tangible outcomes that align with both business objectives and client expectations. His commitment to excellence and customer satisfaction makes him a trusted asset to the Mannings team.

Rachel is Health and Safety Advisor in Mannings Northern and guides the construction management team and supply chain partners on issues pertaining to safety, health and welfare on operational projects

Noel has over 40 years’ experience within Construction working across the UK and Ireland in all facets of the preconstruction stages of projects. He has managed the estimating and bid management functions throughout his career but his main skills are in business development and assisting Mannings with market expansion in the UK. Noel is a Trustee Board member for the Chartered Institute of Building and also a Board Member for the Construction Industry Training Board (NI). Throughout his career Noel has actively been involved in supporting others in their career development, working with schools, colleges and local training enterprises in their career advice and employment training programmes. Noel is passionate about Equality, Diversity and Inclusion within the construction industry and is an active member and advocate for Design & Build UK Women in Construction Hub and the Women in Construction Network (N.I). More recently he has involvement with the Construct-Ability network for people of all abilities, raising awareness of the positive contribution of people with disabilities at work in our industry.