Prominent architectural firm closes

One of Ireland's best-known architectural firms Murray Ó Laoire has gone into liquidation, with the loss of more than 120 jobs.

The company cited cumulative bad debts, the difficult market and problems in getting paid on time for the collapse of the business.

"The firm is unable to meet its current financial obligations as a result of cumulative bad debts and the ongoing difficulty of securing profitable work as well as the increasing difficulties in getting paid on time, or at all," it said in a statement.

Murray Ó Laoire has offices in Dublin, Limerick, Cork, Slovakia, Russia, Germany, Libya, Barbados and Abu Dhabi. The company employs 127 people, with the majority of its staff based in Ireland.

All offices will be shut as the firm goes into liquidation, including its design and the international subsidiaries. A creditors' meeting will be held in the coming days.

In September Murray Ó Laoire let 40 of its staff go, as the slowdown in the building sector affected its business.

The company said in October last year that it would make a loss for 2009, projecting 35 per cent drop in turnover compared to 2008. However, it had predicted a return to profit in 2010, with its focus turning to overseas markets in a bid to boost business.

The firm was involved in a number of high profile projects in Ireland, including Thomond Park Stadium, the CIT Cork School of Music and the Green Building in Temple Bar, Dublin.

It was also selected as the preferred candidate to design the €750 million new Children’s Hospital of Ireland as part of a consortium with Brian O’Connell and NBBJ. The contract was announced in October 2009, and the hospital was due to open in 2014.

The Royal Institute of Architects in Ireland (RIAI) estimates that more than 50 per cent of all registered architects in the country are now out of work.