“We don’t build a lot of kilns but we certainly build a lot of bridges.”

Kilnbridge chief executive Owen Dannatt is a bit stumped. He’s not sure how the Kilnbridge name originated. He had heard that it was the amalgamation of two villages in Ireland but like most of these things is a bit unclear of the exact detail.

It turns out, in fact, the name is not dervived from villages in Ireland or anicent family surnames but was instead chosen to reflect the firm’s Irish roots and also be a nod to what the firm wanted to build, namely heavy structures and infrastructure. 

The company was set up in 1992 by brothers Dermot and David McDermott. Its first office was a former modular building at Canary Wharf no longer needed by its previous owner and it initially specialised in the smaller work larger subcontractors tended to overlook after the firm spotted a gap in the market.