In a tight-knit team with decades of experience, building for the future means passing knowledge on – one skill, one person at a time.
“A high standard means welds that are clean and sharp, gates that are perfectly square, and a finish that looks brand new when it leaves the factory.” – Brian Moloney, Production Manager
For all the talk about technology, certifications, and evolving construction standards, the heart of Irish Fencing is still the workshop floor. A small team, many of whom have been here 10, 20, even nearly 50 years. That kind of continuity shapes everything: how people work, how knowledge moves, and how standards are kept.
The next generation isn’t arriving in batches.
It arrives one person at a time. And right now, that person is Jayden, the company’s sole apprentice, learning directly from a crew with thousands of collective hours behind them.
This month, we spoke with Production Manager Brian Moloney and apprentice Jayden Moloney about skills, culture, and how a small workshop builds for the future.
1. Standards Built Over Decades – and Still Evolving
Irish Fencing’s quality isn’t something that appeared recently. It’s the product of decades of skilled hands, repetition, and pride.
What has evolved is how that quality is documented, communicated, and safeguarded for the next generation. ISO 3834 didn’t make good welders – it gave structure and clarity to what they already did well.
Brian explains that the team now works with clearer shared understanding: “The lads know what they’re welding, how to weld it, why they’re welding it.”
This structured approach helps when delivering complex architectural work, like the large multi-panel gates at Claremont: “Every bar had to line up perfectly… it took an awful lot of work and an awful lot of measuring.”
For a workshop of this size, quality is not an aspiration – it’s a daily discipline.
2. One Apprentice, Supported by a Lifetime of Knowledge
Jayden joined Irish Fencing for what was meant to be two weeks in May 2024. Eighteen months later, he’s a qualified welder and progressing faster than he expected.
At the beginning, he thought the work seemed straightforward: “In the first week or two, I thought it was easier than I expected… but then you realise there’s a lot more to it.”
As his experience grew, he started to see the layers behind even simple tasks: “You think it’s A, B, C… but really it’s A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H.”
His progress is shaped by direct mentorship. Every day he works beside Paul, a fabricator with decades in the trade. “He’ll say: this is what you’re doing, why we do it, how to do it… He makes sure you know everything before you start.”
In a team this small, matching personalities matters. Brian is deliberate about it: “You have to match the apprentice with the fabricator… they need to get on.”
In Irish Fencing’s workshop, progression isn’t a programme – it’s a relationship.
3. A Culture Shaped by Time
Irish Fencing’s culture is unusual in the modern construction world: People stay. They stay long enough to develop shorthand, trust, and the ability to solve problems together without fuss.
Jayden describes it simply: “Everyone gets on like they’re friends or family… everyone knows each other 10, 15, 20 years.”
This closeness influences everything:
- Drawings are questioned, not followed blindly
- Fabricators regularly check in with Pavel on technical details
- Better solutions emerge because people feel comfortable speaking up
Brian sees this as core to quality: “The more you get the lads on the floor involved… the better the work comes out.”
This is how a long-established team keeps improving – not through scale, but through shared ownership.
4. A Trade With a Long Horizon – Even From a Small Workshop
Jayden is only halfway through his apprenticeship, but he already sees how far welding can take him: “Literally everything needs to be welded… you can go anywhere in the world.”
He’s thinking about pipe welding, travel, additional certifications, maybe moving abroad for experience some time in the future.
Brian backs that mindset: “The Irish apprenticeship system is one of the best in the world… employers in other countries look for it.”
A small workshop can still open big horizons. Sometimes the best training ground is the one where you know every face in the room.
5. What “Building the Next Generation” Really Means
With a team this size, the next generation isn’t abstract.
It’s very literal: one apprentice, one mentor, a tight knit, highly skilled and experienced team, one skill passed down properly.
It’s about making sure decades of craft don’t fade.
It’s about articulating the why, not just the what.
It’s about ensuring that when a gate leaves the factory, it still looks like it was made yesterday – no matter who welded it.
For Jayden, it’s also about pride: “It’s always nice to see something that you made… showing each other things and helping out.”
For Brian, it’s about stewardship – making sure the team’s knowledge becomes someone else’s foundation.
And for Irish Fencing, it’s a reminder:
Quality doesn’t scale.
Quality is passed on.
If you’d like to see more of the work our team is producing – or explore how we approach high-standard fabrication for complex sites – we’re always happy to talk: https://www.irishfencing.com/contact-us/