Clock is ticking for Lurgan company

Ironically for Canavan Clockmakers, the clock is ticking.

The specialist company based in Ulster Street have been given a tight deadline to meet in order to restore the famous clock at Station Square in Portrush.

They’ve been told they need to be finished before the end of next week so that the clock is up and running in advance of the Irish Open which will be played at Royal Portrush on June 28.

Owner Chris Canavan said: “The clock had been updated instead of restored. Another way of putting it was it had been butchered.

“The clock was in a bad state when we took it down on May 24. There had been pigeons living in it for at least 10 years so you can guess the state it was in.

“A fake front had been put onto it with the original ironwork underneath. It was done as a temporary measure, but then the economy crashed and nothing more was done about it.

“Now with the golf coming up they’ve decided it needs to be looking its best.”

He added: “We wanted to get it down when we first got the contract, but there’s been that many trades about Portrush this last while that we had to wait to get the scaffolding up. That’s why we’re on a tight deadline now.

“Portrush is all go these last few months, but don’t get me wrong - they’re doing a brilliant job.”

Of the current project Chris said: “We have to bring the old original cast iron dials and the copper hands back to new.

“There’s a few bits missing but we’re able to fabricate those to make it look like brand new.

“The old mechanism was beyond repair so we’ll be fitting four new heavy duty electrical mechanisms.

“Something like this should have been a six to eight week job, but it’s down to something like three or four. We’ll get it done. We have to. It needs to be up the week before the golf starts.”

Chris, who started the business in 1994, commented: “I’ve always loved clocks, though I didn’t think I’d be doing this for the rest of my life. Sometimes one thing leads to another and the next thing you know clocks are all around you.

“We’d be one of the main clockmaking companies in Ireland. I always wanted to set up a company that was built for the long term - doing the job to the highest possible standard, not cutting corners.”

By combining today’s precision engineering knowledge with the clockmaking techniques of yesteryear Canavans have established an enviable reputation for quality, accuracy and exceptional reliability.

Chris added: “A clock is a finishing touch to a building. It’s doesn’t cost anywhere near as much as the rest of the building materials, but it’s a centrepiece. People don’t stand and admire four grand’s worth of roof tiles when the arrive on the back of a lorry, but there’s a certain amount of excitement when the clock comes along to finish off a project.”

“Everything about building and design is new, new, new. So it’s nice to have the opportunity to take something that is a hundred years old, restore it and extend its life by another hundred years.”

Other high profile clock projects undertaken by Canavans include Larne Town Hall, Bangor Clock Tower, Queen’s University and George Best City Airport.

They’ve also undertaken many projects throughout Ireland, and closer to home they’ve fitted clocks in the Jethro Centre and outside After Dark bridal boutique, The Batcave and Campbell & Haughey solicitors amongst other locations.