Cavan man and daughter awarded Freedom of London

A Milltown native and his daughter have been given the Freedom of London, together with all the benefits the unique honour bestows, from driving livestock across London Bridge to carrying a naked sword in public.

“I can move a herd of sheep, and if I get drunk and disorderly, rather than throw me into a jail cell they have to get a cab and send me home,” laughs Séan Fitzpatrick, who with daughter Ciara (Pryce) as Chief Operations Officer at VGC, oversee the running of one of the leading providers of support services to the UK infrastructure industry.

The conferral took place within the Chamberlain’s Court room at the Guildhall, home to the City of London Corporation, last month (May 24).

One of the oldest surviving traditional ceremonies still in existence, the honour was bestowed based on the contributions by Séan and Ciara to the construction and recruitment sectors in London.

The VGC Group last year reported a turnover of £128 million. Employing more than 2,000 people on various major infrastructure projects, the award winning VGC Group has directly contributed to some of London and the UK’s most defining builds. They started out working on the Channel Tunnel rail link, Queen Elizabeth II bridge, Manchester Metro and Sheffield Supertram. In more recent years they contributed to the recently opened Elizabeth Line to Farringdon and Blackfriars stations, the Thames Tideway and East London Line, to the Silvertown Tunnel and national projects including HS2, Sellafield, Sizewell, highways and national rail projects.

VGC have received recognition also for demonstrating an ethical approach to delivering projects, from encouraging sustainable careers among under-represented groups, to leading the way in modern slavery prevention.

In the last two years alone VGC have been involved in delivering projects worth over £45 million in terms of social value.

The VGC Group has also been a keen supporter of the Irish community in London.

They are the proud sponsor of the GAA intermediate championship, while Séan previously served as chair of the London St Patrick’s Day Ball.

Both Séan and Ciara were nominated by, and were joined at the ceremony, fellow Irishman Alderman Vincent Keaveny, who served as Lord Mayor of the City of London in 2021/22.

Vincent Dignam, Business Performance Manager for the City of London/ Court Assistant, Worshipful Company of Carmen Livery, was also present; and the event was witnessed by the dad and daughter’s close family and friends.

From the townland of Corcanidos, Milltown, on the road between Butlersbridge and Killeshandra, Séan grew up one of four siblings. His youngest brother Matthew still resides locally and works the family farm.

After finishing his schooling in 1964 at St Patrick’s College, Séan ventured across the Irish Sea, training as a teacher at St Mary’s and spending a decade working in West London, before acquiring the already established VGC with friend and business partner Bart Keaney in 1977.

“I’ve been at that ever since really,” says Séan, who now serves the business as VGC’s Chairman, with daughter Ciara as COO taking a more prominent role in the day-to-day running. “I’m retired now but I still go in and out. I like to keep abreast of what’s going on,” Séan tells the Celt.

He explains that VGC carved out a niche early on by specialising in the delivery of large civil engineering and railway contracts. Their business strategy and long-term ambition have always been underpinned by upholding the highest professional and ethical standards.

Married to Olivia from Longford, whom he met at the Hibernian dancehall on Fulham Broadway, the couple have four daughters and eight grandchildren. Ciara is their second youngest.

As an immigrant who made England his home, Séan reflects: “I never had any intention of living my whole life here. I probably spent the first 10 years here saying I’d go home the next year. I think most of us are the same. It’s the big difference between the Irish in America and the Irish who came to England, because it was such a big thing moving across the Atlantic.”

He describes switching the classroom for the corporate world, with a young family at home and the risk of leaving a guaranteed wage and pension as a “huge change”.

“I’d trained at St Mary’s in Strawberry Hill, it was a teacher college then, and did 10 years teaching. But I always did different things on the side. I played in a band for a while, doing the Irish circuit in London. The Fitzpatrick’s Four was the last band I had. But then I decided I’d either have to make a career of teaching or do something else. It was very tough in the beginning, but we eventually got our act together,” Séán says humbly of the success of the business in the intervening years.

“You have to have confidence and resilience to keep going, regardless of what’s thrown back at you, and hopefully you learn from that experience. We expanded a little bit every year, never did anything daft or risky, and we’re still going today.”

Séan is of a generation of Irish people to leave their mark on English society.

He recognises: “A lot of Irish people did incredibly well in England, built businesses, even right through the Troubles and all of that, we had the opportunity of doing whatever we were capable of doing.”

Séan concludes by stating that he and Ciara receiving the Freedom of London was not something they ever envisaged happening.

“It’s something, coming from rural Ireland, you never foresee it as being on the horizon. It’s just an honour they bestow, but I have to say we as a family are very honoured by it.”

Fr. Gerry Comiskey, P.P., Drumlane, speaking to the Celt after the celebrations, congratulated Séan and his daughter Ciara on their most remarkable achievement.

He wished to convey best wishes from all the people of Drumlane, most especially Séan’s neighbours and friends in the Milltown area.

“It is an outstanding honour for both recipients. We know of their success in business and their contribution to civic life and charities in the London area. We wish both of them and the whole Fitzpatrick family continued blessings,” said the local priest.