Sean McDermott - MD of Cuilinn Engineering Ltd. - is a GAA man through and through. A member of the Camlough Craobh Rua hurling team, he also played football for Whitecross in his youth and has served the Camlough club as a sponsor and underage coach. Hogan Stand caught up with the Armagh man in the wake of the Orchard County's magnificent Nicky Rackard Cup victory. 

An ardent hurling man, Camlough Craobh Rua clubman Sean McDermott is also the driving force behind a successful mechanical and electrical consultancy and process engineering firm.

Cuilinn Engineering Ltd. is an Irish company providing focussed consultant and project management facilities to a range of sectors within the engineering industry. Built upon a committed, experienced and innovative workforce, Cuilinn Engineering Ltd delivers the most comprehensive and viable solutions for a range of commercial and industrial needs that are inevitably encountered within the industry.

Cuilinn Engineering Ltd. is dedicated to the incorporation of new, well researched systems into its custom solutions. In the world today, technologies are becoming obsolete at an ever-increasing pace in favour of new and improved methods and systems. This is a reality as there is increased emphasis put on waste reduction and energy efficiency.

Operating within a very competitive market, Cuilinn Engineering Ltd. maintains its advantage through dedication to its clients. It promotes a strong one-to-one approach with the aim of developing a personal knowledge of each client's field of business. This knowledge enables it to arrive at effective, tailored solutions for a client's current issue in the most time-efficient manner and in some cases, pre-empt future issues before they occur.

Located in Jonesborough, County Armagh, midway between Newry and Dundalk and hence, Belfast and Dublin, Cuilinn Engineering Ltd. is strategically located to access and be accessed by an extended range of public and private sector applications with minimal lead times. Cuilinn Engineering Ltd. is currently the only M&E consultant in the Newry and Dundalk region.

From building service consultancy projects to specific mechanical and process designs within the pharmaceutical and food sectors, Cuilinn Engineering Ltd. delivers outstanding results through a high degree of engineering excellence. Operations extend to mechanical and electrical consultancy work for GAA clubs, which can range from pitch lighting to new clubhouses or training facilities.

Managing Director Sean McDermott has - as well as many members of the Cuilinn Engineering staff - been a member of the GAA for most of his life, as both a footballer and hurler as well as an underage coach and sponsor. The GAA has always been close to his heart and the Camlough Craobh Rua clubman was thrilled to see Armagh claim the 2010 Nicky Rackard Cup at Croke Park.

Sean established Cuilinn Engineering in 2008. As part of the design team, working predominantly on commercial buildings, the company provides a superb mechanical and electrical consultancy service. By enlisting the services of Cuilinn Engineering, clients substantially reduce the long-term running costs of their buildings through energy-saving and sustainability.

As there are fewer new buildings being commissioned these days, Sean notes: "A lot of our clients are now looking to upgrade the sustainability and efficiency of existing buildings and that accounts for around 50% of our business right now. It's a worthwhile service as companies can make significant savings by improving the efficiency of their buildings."

The service is provided nationwide and Sean has even overseen work as far afield as Edinburgh. Cuilinn Engineering have worked on a number of high-profile projects, including the Terminal Two building at Dublin Airport. On the GAA front, their services have been enlisted by Cooley Kickhams in Louth, Down clubs Drumgath and Attical, Crossmaglen Rangers and Sean's own club, Craobh Rua in Camlough. He will also be making his services available to new Armagh club St Michael's, Killean.

Sean is joined on the Camlough senior hurling team by former Derry hurler Joe McIldowney, who is a member of the team at Cuilinn Engineering. As an ardent gael, who speaks fluent Irish and maintains a keen interest in the Irish culture, Sean keeps very strong links with his local GAA club and sponsors kits and bags to the U16 team.

"I started off playing football with Whitecross but then I started doing Irish language classes in Camlough and got to know the chairman of Craobh Rua," he explains. "He asked me to have a run-out for the hurlers and, even though I hadn't hurled since school, I knew after my second training session that hurling was the game for me. I concentrated completely on hurling and the football was soon forgotten…"

A junior hurling club in the Orchard County, Camlough supplied Fiachra Bradley and Paul Cunningham to the Armagh side that won this year's Nicky Rackard Cup with a thrilling victory over London at Headquarters. "We've had brilliant success at underage level," Sean continues. "Our U12s won the Armagh championship and Feile two years ago and they have been winning all around them so far at U14 this year. We also have a good minor team coming along.

"I managed the U14 team two and three years ago, and a lot of those lads are playing U16 and minor hurling now, while the goalkeeper is already on the senior team at 17. There are only two hurling clubs in south Armagh but there is an overpowering presence of football clubs - all massive clubs - and unfortunately most lads tend to commit to the football, which makes things difficult for us. But a lot of work is going into developing the underage structures and it's paying off because more and more young lads are now staying with us at senior level."

Regarding Armagh's historic 3-15 to 3-14 defeat of London in the 2010 Nicky Rackard Cup decider at Croke Park on Saturday July 3rd, Sean says: "Three years ago, I was up at the final against Roscommon and I felt they left it behind them that day, but the experience of that defeat probably stood to them this time. It was fantastic to see them win it. We had two clubmen on the team and I know through them the kind of work they are putting in. It's also great as Armagh can be argued to be the traditional home of hurling.

"It's great to show people that hurling is being played here. The local papers are dominated by football - and even by games like pool - but now people know we have a serious hurling team too. Hopefully this success will spark a new interest in the game and open some doors. The Hurling Board has put a lot of work into it and it's nice to see those efforts rewarded. Croke Park also made an investment in Armagh hurling two years ago and that has paid dividends. Hopefully we can now go on to hold our own in the Christy Ring Cup and show people that hurling is a game for everybody, not just six or seven counties."

Sean uses the Irish language extensively in all aspects of his company's operations (the website can be navigated either in English or as gaeilge)and this commitment led to Cuilinn Engineering Ltd. picking up a Barr Gno Ceidhe award for promoting the native tongue in business. All in all, he's certainly doing his bit to preserve and promote Irish culture. Tweet

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