Project record

Inis Oírr Pier Improvement Project

Existing Inis Oírr concrete pier operating with a Doolin ferry alongside before the published extension works

PUNCH Consulting Engineers; existing Inis Oírr pier and ferry context from the project portfolio, not a construction-progress image

Galway County Council is extending the Inis Oírr concrete pier by about 90 metres, adding inner and outer breakwaters and dredging roughly 2,500 cubic metres of rock. Ward & Burke holds the EUR 26.861255 million design-build contract, while PUNCH Consulting Engineers holds a separate EUR 1.271423 million resident-engineering award and remains scheme designer and Employer's Representative.

Project signal

Construction in Ireland

Current status The construction contract started on 24 September 2025 and Marine Notice 23/2026 records Ward & Burke commencing the two-year marine works; no later completed work package has been published Source confidence Confirmed

Location

Ireland / Europe

Segment

Port infrastructure

Status

The construction contract started on 24 September 2025 and Marine Notice 23/2026 records Ward & Burke commencing the two-year marine works; no later completed work package has been published / Confirmed

Last checked

2 August 2026

Coverage

Related sectors

Port infrastructure is the primary work classification. Related sectors connect this record to adjacent marine delivery and market coverage.

Subject index

Related subjects

These subject pages bring together related projects, technical articles, reports, and evidence methods.

Project anatomy

Contract scope and delivery roles

Client / authority
Galway County Council, with the EUR 35.75 million overall programme funded by Ireland's Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht
Delivery parties
Ward & Burke Construction Ltd. - single-party framework winner and design-build contractor for the initial Inis Oírr marine works contract, PUNCH Consulting Engineers - scheme designer, project and cost manager, Employer's Representative, PSDP and resident-engineering provider
Contract route
Galway County Council procured a single-party framework for design-build marine developments with Inis Oírr as the initial contract. TED records Ward & Burke as winner, three tenders, a EUR 26.861255 million contract concluded on 27 August 2025 and a EUR 40 million maximum framework value. A separate open competition for 39 months of resident-engineering staff produced two tenders and a EUR 1.271423 million PUNCH contract concluded on 6 October 2025.
Execution window
The council records a construction-contract start on 24 September 2025 and target completion on 24 September 2027. Its September 2025 executive report placed the first phase in detailed design and physical modelling. Marine Notice 23/2026 then recorded Ward & Burke commencing marine works in May 2026 for about two years, subject to weather and operating constraints. The notice is mobilisation evidence, not completion evidence.
Works package
Extend the existing concrete pier by approximately 90 metres, build an approximately 160-metre outer breakwater using concrete primary armour, add an approximately 20-metre inner breakwater and outer berth, and dredge about 2,500 cubic metres of rock to improve tidal access. Ancillary marine, access and safety works connect the new structures to the operating island pier.
Marine interfaces
The design-build package combines structural extension, wave and overtopping protection, concrete armour, rock dredging and navigation geometry inside a live island ferry harbour. Construction must preserve ferry and tourism access while managing exposed Atlantic weather, marine plant movements, berth operations and the transition between the existing pier, new summer berth and dredged channel.
Commercial evidence boundary
The EUR 26.861255 million figure is the exact design-build contract value reported by Galway and TED. The Irish government separately announced EUR 35.75 million for the overall development, while TED reports a EUR 40 million ceiling for the wider single-party framework. PUNCH's project page cites EUR 28 million as a project value, and the government describes the construction contract as over EUR 30 million; neither should replace the exact award figure. The EUR 1.271423 million resident-engineering award is a separate professional-services contract. Both award notices state that subcontracting was not declared; no construction subcontractor, armour-unit supplier, dredging plant owner or specialist marine installer can yet be assigned from the cited record.

Project timeline

Material developments

Dated events that changed scope, counterparties, delivery, commissioning or operating status.

Open this project in the Change Log

Marine Notice records the works commencing

Ward & Burke was identified as commencing the pier extension, outer sea wall and breakwater, inner breakwater and dredged channel for a two-year period subject to weather and operational constraints.

Source

PUNCH secured the resident-engineering contract

The separate supervision award fixes PUNCH's EUR 1.271423 million role for resident-engineering staff and adds a second accountable delivery chain beside the design-build contract.

Source

Ward & Burke concluded the initial design-build contract

The EU result records three tenders, an exact EUR 26.861255 million initial contract and a EUR 40 million maximum value for the wider single-party framework.

Source

Evidence gap

What remains unverified

Outstanding evidence

  • Physical model and detailed-design acceptance
  • Rock dredging plant, quantity and material route
  • Ninety-metre concrete pier extension
  • Outer breakwater and concrete primary-armour placement
  • Inner breakwater and dredged-channel completion
  • Live ferry, tourism and navigation interfaces
  • As-built hydrography, berth acceptance and September 2027 completion

Related records 2

Reporting status

Construction, confirmed confidence

Last checked 2 August 2026 across 9 cited sources. The dated timeline above carries the project events.

Last checked 2 August 2026 Cited sources 9

Sources and related records

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Source collections

Project sources 9