Racing ahead in the online marketplace


A London-based entrepreneur says that south-west Donegal will always hold a special place in his heart. Samuel Hunt (28) is co-founder and CEO at Materials Market whose creative solution to ease supply chain issues sparked the interest of seed venture capitalist fund, Fuel Ventures, which invested £1.5m in the new tech start-up last month. Born […]

What happened after two Donegal lads left secure jobs?


FIFTEEN years ago two Donegal friends took a leap of faith and left secure, stable jobs to set up their own recruitment company. Today, 3D Personnel is a leading name in construction recruitment for the UK, Ireland and Europe with a turnover in excess of £50 million (Stg) last year. The company employs more than […]

Happy working his way from the top to the bottom


DERMOT Kane, 70, has gained a reputation across the construction industry for his work on big tunnelling jobs around the world. Dermot, who was born in Benroe, Bruckless, began his career more than fifty years ago on the construction of London’s Victoria line. Since then he has worked on many  projects around London and tunnels […]

From joinery shed in Falcarragh to £1.5b portfolio


A DONEGAL man is responsible for managing a £1.5 billion real estate portfolio across the UK. Damien Sharkey is managing director of HUB, the London-based residential developer, which is building 5,000 new homes for sale and rent aimed at middle-income workers. A former pupil of Pobalscoil Chloich Cheannfhaola (PCC), Damien (36) is the son of […]

‘Pushing things along’ despite Brexit and pandemic


A DONEGAL man is responsible for overseeing daily operations at one of Europe’s and UK’s fastest growing recruitment agencies. Falcon Green is a specialist construction and engineering recruitment agency, which employs more than fifty office-based staff with 1,100 operatives working on sites across the UK and Ireland each week. Joseph Sweeney from Gweedore founded the […]

King’s Cross is latest major contract for Donegal man


A DONEGAL company has secured a multi-million pound contract to renew platforms as well as track, signalling and overhead line equipment at London’s King’s Cross Station. Pod-Trak, who specialise in the construction and maintenance of transport infrastructure, was founded by Paul O’Donnell in 2007. It’s a company that saw an opportunity, grasped it and has […]

Nine months later, life of opera singer still on hold


A LETTERKENNY man who is experiencing the effects of “ long Covid” says he can’t understand why people don’t wear masks. Michael McLaughlin (39) from Westhill was diagnosed with the virus in late March and spent two weeks in Letterkenny University Hospital. Nine months on, he has yet to return to work. Some days he […]