South Roscommon man celebrates 15 years of multi-million euro business success

Pure determination and hard work seem to be the backbone of the success of Ward Personnel founded by South Roscommon man David Ward. From operating out of a windowless office 15 years ago, the company has now expanded into Europe with further expansion planned.

Last week the company announced ambitious expansion plans into Germany as the construction recruitment firm sets its sights on €50 million revenue in the next two years.

This milestone projection comes as Ward Personnel prepares to expand its services further into the European market this year by recruiting personnel on the ground for Irish Construction, and Mechanical & Electrical companies working on large-scale projects in Germany. The firm has been supplying skilled workers to construction projects in Denmark since 2019 and is forecasting significant growth there also in 2026.

Since its establishment in late 2010, Ward Personnel has provided recruitment solutions to the Construction, and Mechanical & Electrical sectors and it services the majority of the top 50 contractors in Ireland, with on the ground coverage across all 26 counties. With offices in Cork, Dublin, Poland, Denmark, and Germany, the company employs more than 50 staff members who support a workforce of over 650 workers across their clients’ sites.

But behind every success story is another of small beginnings. Born and raised in Summerhill outside Athlone, David is the only son of Matt and Bernie who operated The Arcade business in the town. David recalls there were two shops at the time, one for fashions and another for curtains and blinds. The business was established in the 1930s by David’s grandmother Sally Casserly and was taken over in the 1960s by David’s mother, who was later joined in the business by Matt who hails from Fuerty. When David’s parents retired, the business was taken over by his sister Marese who along with her husband Feargal Shine, still run the business today.

David attended school at St. Aloysius College and later went on to attend University College Galway where he studied Economic and Maths, did a master’s degree in economics and also a H.Dip in Education.

He spent a year part-time teaching but then decided to venture to Australia for a year. When he returned home he “had no desire for teaching” and recalls that a friend helped him to get a job with a construction recruitment company.

He remained with that company for 12 years, learning from the ground up until he became the face of the company. “I learned on the hoof,” he recalled. In 1998 he was asked to go to Cork to set up an office for that company and has remained there ever since, making Cork his home.

He decided to set up his own business in Cork in 2010. “There was just me for the first six months,” he said. “From 2010 to 2015 we were in a windowless office looking out at a windowless corridor. It was not luxurious and we had no natural light for five years! However, it was the perfect place to start a small business.” He admits it was a gamble to start a construction recruitment business at the time as the construction industry itself “was on its knees.” However, he had built up good relationships with clients in his previous job and was “reasonably confident” he could make it work.

At the beginning “it was all about keeping a roof over our heads and putting food on the table for my wife and children,” he admitted.

After six month he took on his first employee, Liam Conlon, who after 15 years just recently retired from the company. “Liam is Ward Personnel royalty. He was with me in the trenches,” David said paying tribute to him.

The father of two admits that there were many challenges down through the years. “Not all of it was plain sailing, but after 15 years I never thought we would be here.” He paid tribute to the amazing team he has saying many of them have grown with the business. He also attributes the success of the company to the staff saying, “they work hard and there is no substitute for that. They have integrity; they like a laugh but they are driven and they care about the relationships we have with our clients & our workers.” The company has some of the biggest names in the construction business as clients and Ward Personnel provides the workers for contracts they undertake. “The reason they use us is they know we run a professional business, and we are 100% compliant with all relevant Sectoral Employment Orders, etc,” he added.

As these companies expand further afield, so too does Ward Personnel. “Our core market is in Ireland, but we are also firmly focussed on Europe. We are now in Denmark and Germany, and we are looking at one or two other countries”. David hopes to announce a further expansion later this year or early next year.

He added, “As we celebrate 15 years in business, we are excited about the strong opportunities ahead as we broaden our operations and services across Western Europe. While our current focus is on Denmark and Germany having established subsidiaries and service teams on the ground in both countries, the next phase of our expansion will extend into additional Western European markets.” To help meet this demand for workers in Europe and Ireland, the firm recruits skilled workers from Eastern Europe to supplement the existing workforce at home and abroad.

“We adopt a candidate-focused approach where each worker is assessed based on their skills and experience to ensure they are matched to a suitable role. Whether you are based in Ireland or abroad, we’ll support you throughout your work journey. Our sourcing infrastructure in Eastern Europe, with a dedicated staff team based in our office in Poland, allows us to access skilled workers not readily available in Ireland or Western Europe. This international approach to addressing our clients’ labour shortages has been a major driver of our growth over the past five years and will remain central to our expansion plans in the years ahead”, said David.

Ward Personnel has made significant investments in its own infrastructure including the introduction of Recruit CRM, an industry-leading candidate database, to further enhance the service delivery to clients.

In 2025, the firm moved to a new Group Headquarters in Blackrock, Cork, providing a modern space aimed at enhancing teamwork, strengthening communication, and fostering a strong team culture.

The firm has made a number of notable appointments at senior management level in recent times including Allan Daly as Head of Management & Technical (M&T), overseeing the recruitment of white-collar professionals in senior management, professional, and technical roles. With rising demand for construction professionals, his 25-year industry experience will play a key part in expanding the company’s presence in this area, supporting clients in recruiting construction professionals across Ireland and Europe.

But David himself remains a proud Roscommon man and visits home on a regular basis staying with his parents for weekends and has installed a small office in his parents’ home.

His three sisters all remain in the area. His daughters, Jane and Beth along with his wife Katheryn (nee Leape from Athlone) laugh at how he still refers to Summerhill as “home” even though he effectively left at 18 years of age.

However, he still loves coming ‘home’ and watching his beloved Clann na Gael play, a club which he played with himself until he was 28 years old.

There seems to be no slowing down for 53-year-old David. He believes that part of his role is to provide opportunities for his staff to succeed and develop in line with the business. “I am more determined than ever,” he concluded.