A Fond Farewell Dympna

R.J. Maxwell, under the umbrella of the TBF Thompson group, bought Hadden Quarries on the 1st of January 1989. Hadden Quarries consisted of two quarry operations at Carrickmore and Mountfield.

At this stage, Dympna was already in place as a despatcher at the Carrickmore location, which was the primary operation of the two, as it had a blacktop plant. Dympna joined Hadden Quarries at 16 years old, just after leaving school. Simply put, she was not just the despatcher at Carrickmore; she was the beating heart of Hadden Quarries. She knew everything about the business. She was the salesperson, credit controller, transport manager, and bidder for local government tenders. She knew all the competitors and customers, was able to handle any crisis, and was the go-to person for John Hadden (and everyone else).

Dympna was a massive help to her good friend, the late Frank McKernan, Quarry Manager at Carrickmore, and Peter Doherty when he was appointed General Manager in October 1989.  Peter says, "I could not have performed my role in those days without the support of Dympna. The operation became very successful for the group, with the additional public spending West of the Bann post-1990 and the arduous work of Dympna significantly supporting it."

Dympna is widely known and respected within our industry for her kindness, loyalty, and generosity, and it's only fitting that she now gets the opportunity to spend more time with Pete and her two sons, Patrick and Cathal. Having celebrated 35 years of service on 2nd January 2024, we all agreed she deserves a well-earned rest; for that, we all wish her good health and happiness in her retirement.  We know she is already looking forward to her trip to Vegas and Tennesse in September 2024.  It is fair to say she will missed in Carrickmore, Mountfield and across the NSM business.