Top award for West Clare Businessman

A KILKEE man has been named Clare Business Person for 2022 by the All-Ireland Business Foundation (AIBF).

Diarmuid Keane is the founder of Diarmuid Keane and Associates, a highly-skilled architecture and design firm. The practice offers a wide range of services including architectural design of new builds and extensions, preparation of planning applications, supervision of construction projects, project management.

Diarmuid has been recognised with Business All-Star Accreditation for his outstanding contribution to standards in the construction sector. The prestigious accreditation is an independently-verified standard mark for indigenous businesses, based on rigorous selection criteria.

The accreditation is overseen by the AIBF, whose adjudication panel is chaired by Dr Briga Hynes of the University of Limerick (UL) and Kieran Ring, CEO of the Global Institute of Logistics.

Reacting to the announcement, Diarmuid said: “I am honoured and privileged to have been awarded the Clare Business Person of the Year 2022 by the prestigious All Ireland Business Foundation. On a personal level I am delighted with the award but I have to acknowledge that it would not have been possible without the great team that we have here within Diarmuid Keane + Associates. To achieve this award in addition to being All Star Accredited for the past two years, and having received the All Star Clare Architecture Design Company 2021 and the All Star Munster Architecture & Design Company 2022, is a testament to the high standards that we strive to achieve and maintain within our company.”

Deputy Chair on the Adjudication Board Kieran Ring said the accreditation recognises Diarmuid’s outstanding contribution to standards in the construction sector. “His commitment to operational excellence and conduct in the areas of trust performance and customer-centricity make him a worthy recipient of this accolade,” he said. 

Managing Director of the All-Ireland Business Foundation Kapil Khanna added that the accreditation, which is now held by over 500 firms, is needed by the thousands of small and medium businesses which operate to their own standards but have nothing to measure them by.

“We evaluate a company’s background, trustworthiness and performance, and we speak to customers, employees and vendors,” he said. “We also anonymously approach the company as a customer and report back on the experience. The business goes through at least two interviews and is scored on every part of the process against set metrics.”

The All-Ireland Business Foundation (AIBF) is an autonomous national accreditation body tasked with enterprise development and the promotion of Best-in-Class in Irish business.

The Foundation actively engages and supports its network through peer dialogue, collaboration, mentoring and enterprise development activities. Companies are qualified for accreditation by completing an enterprise audit and are identified by their use of the AIBF’s Business All-Star Marque.

Diarmuid Keane and Associates offers a wide ranging set of services to a variety of clients including homeowners, prospective homeowners, solicitors, estate agents, management companies, builders and other construction professionals among others. The ethos of the practice is that all customers are to be treated with the same high level of professional service, regardless of the size or budget.

ENDS