Connor McGrath wins ESB International Engineer of the Year Award

Connor McGrath wins ESB International Engineer of the Year Award

On 15th November Engineers Ireland held their annual Excellence Awards, with ESB as title sponsor. The awards provide an opportunity to showcase and celebrate the invaluable contribution the engineering profession makes to society and applaud the innovation and quality of work produced by engineers both at home and abroad.

The event has vast media coverage with over 350 members in attendance including Pat O’Doherty, CEO and Marguerite Sayers, Executive Director of Customer Solutions. Marguerite was this year inaugurated as the President of Engineers Ireland.

The ESB International Engineer of the Year Award aims to acknowledge the contribution of the Irish engineering diaspora by recognising the excellent work of Irish engineers around the world.

Sponsorship of the award is vital to enhance the image and reputation of ESB International and gain exposure to international engineers from graduate level upwards.

In 2018, Connor McGrath travelled to Ladakh, in northern India, where he was volunteering as the Resident Engineer on a mudslide repair and seismic upgrade programme at the Druk White Lotus School. The school was designed by a team of architects and engineers from Arup and Arup Associates and has been ongoing project since 1997. It was hit by a major mudslide event that occurred in 2010 and submerged the school campus in up to 2m of mud and water, leading to extensive rot to damage the structures.

While Connor’s official title was that of Resident Engineer, his responsibilities went far beyond the typical role. Connor was the only engineer onsite throughout the project; he worked closely with a local Construction Manager on coordinating programme, labour and materials in order to implement the remedial works, as well as guiding and teaching the local workers with improved construction methodology.

Huge congratulations to Connor!