Sisk becomes new sponsor of Focus Ireland's Shine A Light

Sisk has been announced as the new sponsor of Focus Ireland's Shine A Light fundraising sleep out, giving Ireland's largest construction firm a prominent platform around a campaign the charity hopes will raise €1.2 million as homelessness figures continue to rise. Taking place nationwide on Friday 9 October, on the eve of World Homelessness Day, the event asks business leaders, companies, schools and communities to sleep out for one night in support of children and families without a home. There are currently 17,527 people living in emergency accommodation in Ireland, including 5,659 children.

Sisk is Ireland's largest construction firm, founded in Cork in 1859 and headquartered at Citywest, Dublin, employing more than 4,200 people across Ireland, the UK and mainland Europe. The group reported revenue of more than £800 million and completed its acquisition of Northern Ireland contractor Farrans Construction from CRH in late 2025.

Focus Ireland is a national charity working to prevent and address homelessness in Ireland, providing frontline services to individuals and families without a home.

The sponsorship formalises a relationship built over seven years of Workplace Sleep Outs at Sisk's Citywest offices, converting informal staff participation into the charity's named corporate sponsorship for the campaign.

Focus Ireland chief executive Pat Dennigan said Sisk's continued commitment through Shine A Light shows what is possible when businesses step up, describing the company's embrace of the Workplace Sleep Out as a strong example of corporate social responsibility in practice.

Sisk group company secretary and chief legal officer Maura Toles said the company is committed to taking its support to the next level as sponsor, rallying its people, partners and communities behind the campaign as it enters its third year hosting a Workplace Sleep Out at its Citywest head office.

For the sector, the deal reflects a pattern among large Irish contractors of using established internal CSR activity, in this case staff sleep-outs already running for years, as the basis for a formal named sponsorship rather than launching a new campaign relationship from scratch.

Source: Irish Building Magazine