Even from a young age, Colm Moloney, Managing Director of Headland Archaeology, knew that the past would play a very big part in his future.

Growing up in East Cork, the then schoolboy developed a huge interest in history during his time at Midleton CBS where one of his teachers imparted his own rich knowledge about Greek and Roman civilisations on his students.

Colm's interest in past civilisations and in history continued to blossom as he continued onto secondary school and when the time came for him to decide what studies he would pursue in college the choice was an easy one; archaeology at University College Cork.

After completing his degree at UCC, Colm went on to work in his chosen field in the UK and France and in 1997 he took up a partner position at Headland Archaeology Ltd in Scotland becoming a Director in 1998.

Together with his four other partners, Colm helped to build Headland Archaeology Ltd into the premier supplier of archaeological services in Scotland and one of the top four in the UK but, although Colm loved what he was doing in the UK he was keen to come home to Ireland.

Having kept a close eye on the Irish archaeological scene at all times, in 2001 Colm decided to set up an Irish operation in his native Cork and bring his family back to the town he loved so well.

"At the time, the road projects in Ireland were really taking off. It seemed the perfect opportunity to return home, start the Irish operation and expand into the Irish market. We secured our first road project in 2003, the N25 Waterford Bypass, excavating almost 50 archaeological sites in six months," he explained.

Colm said that the benefits of archaeological work on large scale, infrastructural development became immediately apparent and that it was relatively easy for them to adapt their archaeological operations to this scale of work. It also meant that Headland Archaeology were able to quickly expand their field operations to Galway (2005) and Limerick (2006).

Today, Headland Archaeology Ireland Ltd have ten major road scheme contracts as well as the national canal survey under their belt as well as important planning and development projects within towns and cities, all overseen by Colm . In fact, their Cork office alone employs a core staff of 100 from over a dozen countries and during their most recent road scheme they employed almost 400 people in the field.

Since opening their business in Ireland in 2001, they have uncovered some of the most diverse archaeological finds from ceramic pots which were more than 3,500-years-old to a bronze-age cemetery and Colm believes that over the coming years even more exciting finds will be uncovered in Ireland as the National Roads Programme progresses.

"You can see that in a short space of time, we've taken full advantage of the opportunities presented to us. I have hand picked an incredible team that provide great support on every level: we have some of the most talented archaeologists in the country, our in-house technical specialists are second to none and our business support and logistical teams deliver the goods every time," he said.

Looking to the future, Colm says that in his view "the best is yet to come". He said, "We've expanded our work throughout the country and have a huge publication program to deliver. Our professional staff present papers at worldwide conferences. All of this began in a spare bedroom in Midleton in 2001.

"In my view, the best place in the world at the moment to be an archaeologist is Ireland, and the best place in Ireland to be is Cork. We're proud of what we have achieved in the last few short years, and I am proud that we can bring the business to my hometown. We look forward to future developments and bring our skills to bear on each new challenge."

Headland Archaeology provides a complete spectrum of archaeological services, ranging from initial advice and consultancy through to final publication and report compilation. They are based at Unit 1, Wallingstown Business Park, Little Island, Cork.

For further information call 021-4520286, e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or log on to www.headlandarchaeology.com.

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