​At the 2019 Engineers Ireland Excellence Awards Ceremony on 15 November in Dublin , GI companies were prominent in being short listed and winning in several categories.

The Geoscience Ireland Award was won by CDE Meta for the design construction and successful operation of its overburden beneficiation plant for an iron ore mining operation in South Australia , leading to the conversion of 17 million tonnes of low grade material to a high value product. CDE, based in Cookstown Co Tyrone, is GI's newest member company.

Other GI companies shortlisted in the Geoscience category were

– Gavin Doherty Geosolutions for its work on landslide risk mapping in Guatemala

– Concrete End of Waste by Golder

– Drought Resilience in South West Ireland by ARUP and Irish Water.

– Also shortlisted was a ground improvement project for LIdl by AGL Consulting, John Paul Construction and Newton Ground Engineering.

Other GI companies which featured at the Awards were

– Priority Construction Ltd, a member of Priority Group, which was shortlisted for the CPD Employer of the Year Award.

– ARUP , which won Sustainability Award for its work on Fernhill Park for Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council. ARUP shared first prize for its Mary Elmes Bridge project for Cork County Council in the Local Authority Sector and was shortlisted for Engineering Project of the Year for its Control Tower at Dublin Airport.

Connor McGrath of ARUP won the ESB International Engineer of the Year Award for his work in repairing a school in Ladakh, Northern India, damaged by a mudslide.

Commenting on the Awards, Koen Verbruggen, Director of Geological Survey Ireland (GSI) said;

"The Engineers Ireland Excellence Awards demonstrate an impressive range of skills and abilities, including geotechnical and environmental engineering which were well represented by the companies shortlisted for the Geoscience Ireland Award."

Photo shows Adam Holland (left) and Kate McCormick receiving the Geoscience Ireland Award from Koen Verbruggen (GSI).