Born out of the London Olympics, The Big Red Barn
THE task of erecting and securing 2,000 marquee structures in the Olympic Park for the London 2012 Olympics led Aghamore entrepreneur Dónal Byrne on a quest to design and construct a weather-proof temporary building, writes Tom Gillespie.
And so the Big Red Barn concept was born.
The company designs and manufactures modular structures that are 100% Irish, from smoking shelters and temporary storage units to office units. The company also specialises in event structures that come complete with bar, stage, flooring, furniture and lighting and other accessories required for any event.
The company can provide a bar licence if required, represent their client in court to seek bar or occasional dance licences, and organise the full running of the actual event, including promotional work, securing of entertainment and security services.
Now the eye-catching red barns are springing up at festivals countrywide, replacing outdated canvass marquees.
Following the downturn in the construction industry and because of his involvement in event organising and the building trade, Dónal was successful in being hired as operations manager for the Olympic Park in London in 2011.
He takes up the story: “We had over 2,000 marquees (to erect) and they broke my heart with all the rain. I decided when I came home that I would build something stronger - Irish-proof and weather-proof. We drew up the plans and got an engineer to certify it and we got a prototype made for the Big Red Barn, and it went away from there.
“We were offering an alternative to the usual canvass structure. We were targeting all events - music festivals, ploughing championships, etcetera.
“Our aim was to try to solve one of the biggest problems we would have encountered, or anyone involved in the events industry - that we were dealing with far too many people, the electrician, the plumber, the sound and lighting and bar personnel, etcetera. We tried to offer all those things in a package. It would come so that all you would have to do was put drink behind the bar, if you wanted to run the bar yourself, and we can also book a band for the stage.
Dónal said they get a lot of repeat business. They are four years doing the Marquee in Drumlish, their biggest event, and going to Ballyhaunis Rugby Club.
He added: “Organisations or clubs are reluctant at the start to use us but when they make the change they don’t go back.
“We are back at the National Ploughing Championships this year. We were there last year with LIDL. We built them a two-storey structure, the first of its kind in Europe.
'Once we get the patent on how it goes together we can make anything modular. We could take the plans of your house and make it modular.
“Only a few weeks ago we did a small modular home and we hope to do further prototyping on that and try and tender for a lot of Dublin City Council’s modular buildings to tackle the homeless crisis. Once we have the patent and the design we can adapt it to anything.
“For setting up for a festival we would come on site two days before, in case there was a weather problem. It would take us a day to erect. The following day we would kit it out, depending on what the client wants. We can provide as little as you want or as much as you want.
“Some festivals have a publican on board and some don’t so we can go to the court to get the bar licence. Our operation is tailor-made for the organisers. We provide a complete package. We sit down with them at the start to see what they want. If they don’t make money and fail we won’t be back next year. If it works for everybody we are guaranteed to be back.”
To disassemble the structure takes a day, depending on the size of the barn. The standard is 20 metres by 20 metres and will hold 800 to 1,000 people. The barn comes on one articulated truck. They can go three times that size if required.
And how did the Big Red Barn name come about?
“I had wanted to paint it red, like the American barns,' said Dónal. “It took a while to get the right colour and when we got it and mixed it, the name just popped out straight away and it is exactly what it says on the tin. We can, of course, customise colour the structure.
“The weight of the structures is important if you want to hang chandeliers or other props. It will take serious weight, unlike canvass.
“We had one barn up for Storm Desmond in Longford at the Christmas market and it was side-by-side with a marquee. The marquee had to be closed but the barn was there and Patrick Feeney was inside playing away. The barns are slower to put up because of the weight but you are guaranteed it will be there in the morning.”
Dónal Byrne of the Big Red Barn can be contacted on (087) 1152295 or info@bigredbarn.ie.
* Do you have a story to tell about your business? If so, Tom Gillespie would be delighted to hear from you. Get in touch at (087) 9680780 or gillespietom49@gmail.com.