On a daily basis, Emma Maye faces many reminders of her father Liam, the developer who cofounded Castlethorn and died prematurely of a heart attack at 64 in 2008.
Her surroundings in Dublin are a collection of large monuments, of sorts, to her dad, who led construction of Dundrum Town Centre and big property projects in Adamstown, Dublin’s new suburb.
Whenever she faces a big decision at work, Maye also finds herself thinking of her father.
“I do think, ‘What would he do?’,” Maye says. “I’m not doing exactly what he did, by the way. For instance, I like to sell my investments. My father never sold anything. I’m very proud of him though. I think he’d be very proud of me.”
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Maye, alongside her husband Alan Hegarty, have a string of business interests to their names that have earned them some tidy returns over the past decade.
They have built two significant companies in Ireland, including Core Builders Providers and Ardale, the property development firm, and in six weeks plan to launch a new business called Stow, which will provide self-storage space in Dublin.
When she first set out on her career after college, Maye was keen to avoid her father’s shadow. However, following his death, she devoted time to help her mother, Anne, manage the near €1 billion estate he left behind, which included a large amount of property in Ireland and hotels in London and Spain.
Following the financial crash, Maye was then forced into negotiations with Nama, the State’s bad bank, to resolve debts linked to this portfolio. Non-disclosure agreements with Nama preclude her from talking about the negotiations, but she does not shy from sharing the toll it had on her.
I think I did a great job and my family are proud of what I’ve done. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat
— Emma Maye
“Myself and my husband Alan had two miscarriages. It nearly cost us our marriage and took a toll on my health too through medical burnout.
“I was working 18 hours a day, seven days a week. The pressure was immense and legal letters came every Friday, but they weren’t able to pick up the phone to us.
“I don’t regret any of it. I think I did a great job and my family are proud of what I’ve done. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat.”
The arrangement Maye struck with Nama in 2013 allowed her and husband Alan to bookend a very challenging few years, but they had little capital to pursue the business opportunities they saw at the time.
“We went to the bank, we got money and we both sold our houses to get funds together,” she says. “So everything myself and Alan have built are our own blood, sweat and tears not from anything I would have inherited from my father, because everything went to Nama.”
In 2014, they created Ardale, a property development firm, which has built hundreds of homes in the Greater Dublin Area.
[ Ardale launches chain of plant and tool hire centresOpens in new window ]
Two years later, the pair established Core Builders Providers, a building supplies seller. Growing that company has been one of Maye and Hegarty’s primary focuses over the past decade.
“The only thing I find really difficult is, especially with Core, people think I’ve inherited that from my father, and I didn’t.”
We had queues out the door here of people buying stuff because they were all doing up their houses
— Emma Maye
In 10 years, sales have grown from close to €16 million to beyond the €50 million mark. The business has also recorded consistent profits, with the latest accounts for the year that ended 2024 showing an after-tax profit of €3.1 million and accumulated profits of €11.3 million.
“During the pandemic our gross margins jumped north at 30 per cent because we had queues out the door here of people buying stuff because they were all doing up their houses.”
Maye’s success with Core attracted a lot of attention. She does not name the competitors, but says “the big ones in the market” scoped out if she would sell the business.
“We hummed and hawed, and then Gareth [O’Hare] who was my right hand person in Core came to me and said, ‘Look, if I can raise the money, can I buy it?’ I guess we could have earned more money selling to one of our competitors.
“He was able to find someone to back him and take it over. We still own 25 per cent and I’m chairwoman there at the moment.”
Maye wasn’t drawn on what sum they made from the management buyout. The group was valued in excess of €25 million before the sale, but that included the properties Core Builders Providers are based out of, which are still owned by Maye and Hegarty.
The funds from the sale have given the entrepreneurial pair the financial firepower to put their mind to a few new projects, most notably the launch of Stow, a new venture in the self-storage sector.
The idea for Stow came together after two separate issues confronting Maye and Hegarty came to a head.
“Over the last 10 years we’ve built up a property portfolio. Myself and Alan were brainstorming about what we were going to do with some of our empty space,” Maye says.
Then when they were moving house, they had a need for self-storage space and felt they could provide a better service.
We’re using a lot of AI and we’re using a lot of automated systems, so that’s going to be kind of one of our selling points
— Emma Maye
“We saw things that we feel that we could improve on. We also saw in Clondalkin there isn’t anywhere around the area for storage. There’s a huge amount of businesses in the village and they’re building a huge amount of apartments, and as we all know, apartments are getting smaller, so people need space.
“So we saw an opportunity in the market. We did look at buying other businesses in this space and starting in the middle, but decided to start from scratch.”
Maye says the plan is to launch Stow in six weeks, with one location in Clondalkin ready to go and two further locations lined up.
“The whole of Ireland is our target, but we’re going to do Leinster first and then branch out.”
She adds they have no partners involved in Stow and no external finance.
“There are no partners, it’s just ourselves funding it with no external finance coming in and we own the premises historically. There’s a market here because if you look at it, self-storage provision per capita in Ireland is far lower than the UK and on the Continent ... That’s what gave us the confidence to invest.
[ Ardale acquires KCR Builders providers in €1m-plus dealOpens in new window ]
“The other providers in the market are going well and want to expand, but have difficulties getting the properties. But we have them. We have spent just shy of €1 million kitting out the first premises.”
Maye and Hegarty will be going up against some big operators in the sector, which boast nine-figure valuations, including U Store It, which was sold in 2022 for €125 million, and Nesta, which has been touted for sale at a valuation of €110 million.
Maye says Stow can get an edge on competitors by making better use of technology.
“We’ve done a huge amount of research into it. We’re using a lot of AI and we’re using a lot of automated systems, so that’s going to be kind of one of our selling points.
“A lot of the storage businesses you can’t actually book online. You have to call and speak to someone, so we’re hoping that everything can be kind of online. Obviously, you can speak to a person, but if it is 11pm at night you can get access.”
While some of the funds Maye and Hegarty earned from the sale of a large stake in Core are being siphoned into Stow, further cash the pair have raised from the sale of a large land bank has empowered them to make a much-planned leap into the UK property market.
Ardale, the property developer led by Maye as chief executive, has been focused on several phases of large housing developments in Wicklow for the past decade and trying to get a foothold in the UK property sector for several years.
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The firm is about to launch phase two of Mariner’s Point near Wicklow Town, its last remaining site in Ireland that will deliver 145 homes upon completion.
Ardale owned further residential land in Tinakilly, Co Wicklow, with capacity for 400 new houses, but the company recently struck a deal to sell the 28-acre site to Cairn Homes, the stock market-listed developer led by Michael Stanley, for more than €22.5 million.
Ardale acquired the site, which was part of a larger 132-acre land bank, in 2015. They brought in D-Res as the builder to develop 350 houses on the land, but difficulties with obtaining planning and legal challenges have delayed completing the residential element of the site.
“We did well to get the first homes delivered and meanwhile we were working on phase two, which was going to be about 350 homes.
“We had to appeal a planning decision to the board and an expired county development plan meant planning became a little uncertain. Then when a draft development plan was coming, we ended up having to do a judicial review on the planning.
“So fast forward from 2015 to 2025, we built 350 homes but still didn’t have planning permission for the rest of the site despite putting a lot of money into the project.”
England just seems to be much easier to work in
— Emma Maye
Following the judicial review, Ardale secured planning permission for 220 units and recent changes to the local development plan have now allowed for 400 units to be built on the site.
Maye said the near decade-long ordeal to secure permission to complete the site left her “a little worn out”.
She adds the company would consider buying land in Ireland again, but the UK is where the opportunities are right now, specifically in Greater London.
“We are going to start looking to the UK because we’re finding Ireland a little bit difficult. England just seems to be much easier to work in.
“The Home Counties are where we’re looking to dip our toe because there are opportunities. Every day there’s a negative story politically in the UK economy and the housebuilders are struggling over there with sales.
“We plan to put a land bank together with a view to commencing construction in two years time. We have two land banks in legals at the moment in the UK.”
Maye has a vivid memory, which means she remembers some of the lowest moments of her life quite clearly.
“Some people talk about carrying trauma, but they’re the things that probably shaped me as well,” she says.
I know intelligence comes in different packages now, I think people, and the world can see that now
— Emma Maye
She can clearly describe the moment she stood in Dublin Airport on the Monday morning in 2008 her mother called to say her father had died of a heart attack.
Moments from her childhood also stick with her to this day, including the difficult time she faced at school.
“I remember as a 10-year-old my spelling test was lifted up in class and it showed I got zero out of 10 and nearly everyone was smirking.”
Fifteen years ago, Maye was diagnosed with dyslexia, which has helped her to make sense of the issues she faced at school.
Maye, who joined the board of Dyslexia Ireland in late 2025, has only started to talk about her diagnosis in the past two years.
She describes it as a “light bulb moment” that has helped make sense of a lot of issues she and her family have faced, but knows it has shaped her and her children.
“We have a lot of neurodiversity going on in our house, but the kids today talk about it and looking at my kids and where the world has gone to now, it’s much more acceptable.
“I suppose, with school being so difficult with my dyslexia, it taught me how to find routes around things. I’ve worked really hard to get where I am. It hasn’t been easy, but I know now you don’t have to be the most intelligent person in the world.
“I know intelligence comes in different packages now, I think people, and the world can see that now.”
CV
Name: Emma Maye
Age: 50
Job: Chief executive of Stow, chief executive of Ardale and Chairperson of Core Builders Providers
Family: Married with four children: William, Toby, Alex and Robyn, and two dogs
Hobbies: Playing tennis and sea swimming and loves music. “You’ll often find me at concerts, musicals and even getting to the Eurovision.”
Something you might expect: She will always show up. Whether it’s the school bake sale or a meeting, she makes time for everyone.
Something that may surprise: She is a wedding and funeral celebrant, who has three weddings lined up this year.
