Victoria and Tom Quigley are engineers and both work in Irish Water’s Asset Planning team. Their work puts them at the fore of wastewater engineering and involves looking to the future and designing sewer networks that will better serve the people of Ireland in the decades ahead.
This year, the couple are celebrating Engineers Week a bit differently. They are usually based in Irish Water’s Mallow office, but for the last 12 months, they’ve been working from home in Ballincollig and, like many others, juggling their workload with home-schooling Tom Jnr. (9) and Kate (8), and entertaining their energetic toddler, Liam (3).
For many married couples, working alongside each other at home might be a new experience, but Victoria and Tom met at work in 2002, married in 2010 and the rest, as they say, is history!
A Cork City native and Ballincollig blow-in, Victoria’s work on the Cork City and Ballincollig drainage network projects are of great interest to her. Having studied in CIT, her research into the evolution of Cork’s drainage network and the piping of old waterways, which now form the main thoroughfares of the city centre, sparked a real interest in the water services aspect of civil engineering.
Victoria says:
Surveys and CCTV footage of sewer networks reveal the incredible workmanship of those who culverted the waterways back in the early 1800’s. They have even revealed some unusual ‘rebel’ residents, like a seal who made a home in one of the outfalls to the River Lee.
My work involves collaborating with colleagues in technical design companies, as well as with local authority staff, caretakers and surveying contractors across the country. I work on projects from Cork City to Monaghan town and many towns and cities in between.
Through her work, Victoria addresses issues such as flooding, Climate change, protecting Ireland’s environment, as well as social and economic development.
Tom hails from Tipperary but is an honorary Cork man, having lived across the county bounds for many years. His work involves looking to the future and deciding where capital investment is made, whilst considering the environmental, social and energy impacts, as well as the range of technologies available.
Tom says:
My role allows me to meet (on-line!) and discuss challenging issues with a wide range of colleagues every day. I collaborate with colleagues across Irish Water and Local Authorities to deliver improvements where they are needed most. It’s always interesting and no two days are ever the same.
Victoria and Tom agree that the variety of projects and challenges they encounter daily make engineering an interesting and rewarding career choice. They want to inspire young people, especially girls and young women, to consider a career in engineering. Irish Water is committed to highlighting the achievements of its female engineers and promoting engineering as a career choice for girls.
Victoria says:
When I graduated in 2002, there was only one other girl in our class of 40. Having immersed ourselves in home-schooling our son and daughter these past few months, we are delighted to see Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects on a par in both the all-boys’ and all-girls’ schools they attend. It is really encouraging to see how the gender balance in engineering has changed for the better over the past 20 years. Long may it continue!
They have both experienced first hand how the pandemic has changed the way many of us deliver our work over the last 12 months.
Tom says:
It will be interesting to see if the pandemic will result in permanent changes to the way we work. Initially working from home was an unexpected and bizarre experience. We joked about whether we were ‘working from home’ or ‘living at work’. Technology has made working from home a real option. Of course we look forward to the day we can be back in a meeting room with real people, but we don’t miss the hectic pace of life we had less than a year ago; rushing out the door in the morning, not spending enough quality time with the kids, sitting in our cars for far too long each day and spending each evening getting ready to do it all again the next day,’ he says.
Victoria agrees,:
The pandemic has definitely taught us to enjoy a different pace of life. Lunchtime walks to Ballincollig Regional Park are now a regular occurrence, we rarely use our cars anymore, and we have so much more time with the kids. Not every day is easy; we both know we were not born to be teachers and we dearly miss seeing our family and friends. We consider ourselves very lucky to have worked throughout the pandemic, unlike so many people across the country who are currently out of work. We have a very supportive network of colleagues in Irish Water and most importantly, we have happiness and health.’
Irish Water is delighted to be promoting Engineers Week again this year and staff across the country are sharing stories about their careers in the water industry and highlighting the size and scale of the work in safeguarding Ireland’s water and wastewater infrastructure for the future. For further information on the range of activities being organised by Irish Water as part Engineers Week please visit www.water.ie/engineersweek
#EngWeek2021 #STEPSEngineersWeek #EngineersWeek2021 #SafeguardingOurEnvironment
Notes
Engineers Week is a week-long festival of nationwide events celebrating the world of engineering in Ireland and is coordinated on a national basis by Engineers Ireland’s STEPS programme– a strategic funded partner of Science Foundation Ireland’s (SFI) Smart Futures programme. Engineers Week takes place from 27 February – 5 March 2021. The Engineers Ireland STEPS programme encourages primary and post-primary students to explore the world of STEM while also promoting engineering as a career choice. For further information: www.engineersweek.ie
Engineering 2019 – a barometer of the profession in Ireland was launched by Engineers Ireland on 6 March 2019 and is available to download here http://www.engineersireland.ie/EngineersIreland/media/SiteMedia/communications/publications/Engineering-2019-report.pdf
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