We would like to take this opportunity to wish our Chairman, Sean Fitzpatrick, a Happy 80th Birthday. Last week our team joined together to celebrate this incredible milestone and Ciara Pryce, his daughter and our CEO, took the opportunity to share some stories about her father with the team.
Below is an excerpt from the speech that she delivered to the team last week …
“Eighty years. It’s hard to put into words just how much life, love, and legacy that number holds. In eight decades, he has witnessed history, built a family, shaped friendships, built a hugely successful business and had an unforgettable impact on everyone lucky enough to know him.
What’s so extraordinary about him isn’t just the years he’s lived, but how he lives them — with strength, heart, kindness and humour, and with an unwavering sense of who he is. He’s taught us what it means to show up for others, to work hard, to care deeply for the people around you… and he’s also been an incredibly successful businessman.
He was born in Co. Cavan, Ireland, on 17th May 1945, just as World War II was ending. Life in post-war Ireland in the 1950s wasn’t easy, but his zest for life was sparked early. He was always helping his father on the farm, herding cattle, and always on the move. By all accounts, he was good-natured but a mischievous little boy, full of curiosity — always asking “why” and “how.”
He started at the local village school, then moved on to St. Patrick’s College in Cavan, boarding there for several of his teenage years. Those years weren’t always easy; school wasn’t his favourite place to be (!). He was a bit of a mummy’s boy and took great joy in the cakes and treats she brought when she visited. Although, to stop the other boys from stealing them, he used to wrap them in his dirty football socks and hide them!
After St. Pat’s, a job was lined up for him at the dairy in Killeshandra, but he wasn’t quite ready to settle down and undecided on a career in agriculture. So, he took off to England for the summer — and landed right in the middle of Swinging Sixties London.
He threw himself into life there. He worked all sorts of jobs — security, construction sites, the production line at the Walls sausage factory, and bar work in the evenings. It was whilst working in a bar that he noticed something: the people having the best time, and making the most money, were the ones in the band. So that was it — he decided that he would join a band. Never mind that he couldn’t play any instruments! He started on drums, then moved on to lead guitar and vocals.
His aunt, Sister Catherine, concerned about how much fun he was having in London, decided he needed a proper career and steered him toward teaching. He began teaching at Botwell House Primary School, then trained at Strawberry Hill, (now St Mary’s University.) Whilst there, he made it onto the social committee and booked bands like Status Quo for student events — clearly combining business with pleasure early on.
After college, he got a maths and physics teaching job at Cardinal Wiseman Secondary School in Greenford. But to make ends meet, he joined a band, the Laurie McCahill trio, on the Irish music circuit in the evenings. Eventually, he formed “The Fitzpatrick Four,” which became incredibly popular.
Around this time, he met Olivia, another musician and teacher, at an Irish dance hall in Fulham. He roped her into the band to play the accordion. After a whirlwind six-week romance, he proposed, and they married in 1972.
By the mid-70s and into the early 80s, he was teaching, playing in the band, doing management accounts for small companies — and had a wife and four daughters.
He met Bart Keaney in the late 70s whilst doing business accounts for him. They decided to work together, and he left teaching to enter the construction world.
Some thought he was mad — giving up a stable teaching career to support a growing family in a completely different industry. But he made the leap and stuck with it through the tough times.
From the back room of his small terraced house in Hayes, to a cabin on the site that would eventually become Stockley Park, to offices in Kew, the Great West Road, Perivale, to Cardinal House in Ruislip in 2008 and now offices across England and Scotland — he has built something extraordinary.
Business was never easy, and my father would be the first to admit that. But he has always said, “If you enjoy what you do, success will come.” And looking at him now, it’s hard to argue with that.
VGC has grown and evolved thanks to Dad’s vision, the work of Bart and Laurence, our senior leadership team, and everyone who contributes to VGC every day. We are honoured to be delivering at the highest level on the UKs largest and most prestigious projects including HS2, Sellafield, Devonport, Sizewell and National Highways projects across the UK. At its heart, VGC is a business built on family values, ethical delivery, respect for people, and a commitment to developing others — principles rooted in his family values and teaching background. He has an open-door policy and really enjoys chatting to everyone in the VGC family.
But it doesn’t stop at business. He has always taken his social and moral duties seriously. He’s been a giving member of the local community, especially through the church and charitable work. His many roles have included being chairman of the board of governors at Botwell school, a member of the Catenians, where he served as President of his local circle in 2005. He’s also been treasurer and trustee of the AP Taylor Trust for over 25 years, and a trustee for Harlington Hospice, helping support palliative care locally. He is an active member of the Irish Community in London and served as chairman of the board of the West London Irish Society and the London St Patricks Day Committee for many years.
We were thrilled when he was named Businessman of the Year by the Irish World newspaper in 2007, and again when VGC won The Irish Post Business of the Year Award in 2024, alongside countless other industry accolades. He was also invited back to St Mary’s University a few years ago to give the keynote speech at the graduation ceremony at Westminster Cathedral.
Last year, his many contributions were formally recognised when he received the Freedom of the City of London in a ceremony at the Guildhall.
Growing up, my father was an incredible role model. He and my mother encouraged me and my three sisters to achieve our potential, made sure we all completed our education, and encouraged us to pursue music, dancing, and sports — passions we’ve now passed on to our own children – his eight wonderful grandchildren.
But the most important thing he taught us was the value of family. Being present, supporting each other, and enjoying time together. Music remains central to every family gathering — and it brings us such joy.
I’ve had the rare privilege of working alongside my dad for almost 25 years. It has been an absolute joy and a privilege.
So what does the next act look like for Dad?
Apparently, when he and my mother first met, he used to quote Shakespeare to her and one quote, in particular, now seems especially fitting:
“All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts…”
Well, you’ve definitely played many parts: teacher, musician, businessman, community leader, husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend. And we hope this next scene will be filled with fun, walks (no less than 10,000 steps a day!), family time, and trips to Portugal — surrounded by the love and admiration of all who know you.
To reach 80 with such grace, humour, and generosity is something to truly celebrate — and even more to admire.
So everyone at VGC would like to raise a toast to the past that has shaped you, the present that brings us all together, and the future still full of laughter, love, and stories yet to be told.”
Happy 80th birthday Sean!
