A fleet of five Raimondi tower cranes is now supporting construction work at Southwest Gate in Dublin, one of the Irish capital’s largest residential developments.
The cranes were supplied by Irish Crane & Lifting, Raimondi’s official dealer in Ireland for more than two decades, to main contractor Walls Construction. The fleet comprises three new Raimondi T577-24t flat-top tower cranes and two MRT294-16t tower cranes, all deployed to handle major lifting operations across the multi-phase development.
The project is particularly significant for Irish Crane & Lifting because the three T577 units are currently the highest-capacity cranes in its fleet, each offering a maximum lifting capacity of 24 tonnes.
For a large urban project involving extensive precast installation, that additional capacity can make a major difference to how efficiently heavy structural elements are handled across the site.
Three Raimondi T577 Flat-Tops Take on Heavy Precast Work
According to Raimondi, the five cranes were installed progressively in three phases by the Irish Crane operations team between the fourth quarter of 2025 and the third quarter of 2026.
At the centre of the lifting programme are the three Raimondi T577-24t flat-top tower cranes.
The cranes are working at heights ranging from 48 metres to 61 metres and are each configured with 50-metre jibs. In UltraLift mode, the cranes can achieve a tip load of 12.38 tonnes, giving the site team considerable lifting capacity even at the outer end of the jib.
This is particularly important for precast work.
Large residential developments increasingly rely on precast concrete components because they can help speed up construction and improve consistency. But those advantages only work if the lifting equipment can place the components safely and efficiently where they are needed.
A crane may have a high maximum capacity close to the mast, but what matters on a real construction site is often how much it can lift at working radius.
That is where the T577 becomes especially relevant to this project.
Irish Crane & Lifting said the cranes were selected because of their high tip loads, optimised load charts and ease of commissioning. The T577s can handle elements weighing up to 10 tonnes at the jib tip, allowing the cranes to combine reach with substantial lifting capacity during precast installation.
For a congested urban site, that can reduce the need to constantly reposition lifting equipment or change the construction sequence around crane limitations.
110kW Hoisting System Supports Faster Lifting Cycles
The Raimondi T577 is equipped with an 110kW hoisting gear and can reach a maximum lifting speed of 110 metres per minute.
Its drum capacity is 1,030 metres.
These specifications are not only important on paper. On a large residential project, lifting speed has a direct impact on crane cycle times and overall productivity.
When hundreds or potentially thousands of lifts are required over the life of a development, even small improvements in cycle efficiency can add up.
A faster hoisting system can help move materials between ground level and working floors more quickly, while the large drum capacity provides flexibility for demanding tower crane configurations and higher working heights.
This becomes increasingly important as buildings rise and the vertical distance between unloading areas and installation points grows.
For contractors, the question is not simply, “How much can the crane lift?”
It is also, “How efficiently can the crane move that load throughout an entire working day?”
That difference becomes significant on projects where tower cranes form a central part of the construction logistics plan.
Two MRT294 Tower Cranes Complete the Five-Crane Fleet
Alongside the three T577 flat-tops, Walls Construction is operating two Raimondi MRT294-16t tower cranes.
The MRT294 units are configured with 40-metre jibs and are working at heights of 38 metres and 40 metres respectively.
This mixed fleet gives the contractor a combination of crane capacities and working envelopes across the development.
Rather than using one crane model for every part of the project, the site can assign different cranes to different lifting zones and tasks.
The larger T577 units can focus on the more demanding precast and heavy lifting operations, while the MRT294 cranes support general construction activity in areas where their capacity and reach are more suitable.
This kind of fleet planning is especially important on a large development where several buildings or work fronts may be progressing at the same time.
More Than a Decade of Cooperation With Walls Construction
The project also continues a long-standing working relationship between Irish Crane & Lifting and Walls Construction.
Robert Coffey, Director of Irish Crane & Lifting, said the companies have worked together for more than 10 years on a number of major Irish developments.
Previous projects have included College Square, Grand Canal Harbour and Rathborne Wharf.
Coffey described the latest five-crane rental package as another important milestone in that relationship, particularly because it includes three cranes with the heaviest lifting capacity currently available in Irish Crane & Lifting’s portfolio.
From a rental company’s perspective, this type of long-term relationship is valuable because selecting tower cranes for a major development requires much more than simply supplying machines.
Crane positioning, erection stages, lifting requirements, jib lengths, working heights and project sequencing all need to be considered before the cranes arrive on site.
When a rental company has already worked with a contractor across several large projects, both sides are more familiar with the operational requirements and expectations.
More Than 1,100 Homes Planned at Southwest Gate
When completed, the mixed-use development is expected to provide more than 1,100 new homes together with retail and commercial space, making it one of the largest single residential schemes delivered in Dublin.
The size of the project helps explain why a five-crane fleet is required.
Major residential developments are effectively logistics operations as much as construction projects.
Concrete, reinforcement, precast components, formwork, mechanical equipment and other materials all need to reach different parts of the site without disrupting other activities.
Tower cranes become an important part of that logistics system.
A poorly planned crane arrangement can create bottlenecks, where multiple teams compete for lifting time. A properly designed fleet can allow several parts of a development to progress simultaneously.
For Southwest Gate, the combination of three high-capacity T577 flat-tops and two MRT294 cranes gives Walls Construction a substantial lifting network across the site.
Why the T577 Deployment Is Important for Raimondi in Ireland
For Raimondi, the project also provides a strong reference for the T577 in the Irish market.
The three cranes represent the first Raimondi T577 flat-tops deployed by Walls Construction and demonstrate the model in a demanding precast-heavy residential application.
The T577’s 24-tonne maximum lifting capacity, strong tip-load performance and 110kW hoisting system position it for projects where contractors need more lifting capacity without sacrificing reach or lifting speed.
That combination is becoming increasingly important as construction methods change.
Larger prefabricated and precast elements can reduce the amount of work required at the final installation position, but they also place greater demands on the cranes handling them.
As component weights increase, contractors need cranes capable of maintaining useful capacities further along the jib.
That is exactly the type of application the T577 is handling at Southwest Gate.
A Major Tower Crane Deployment for Dublin
The five Raimondi cranes at Southwest Gate demonstrate how crane selection can influence the productivity of a major residential project.
The three T577s provide the heavy lifting capability required for substantial precast elements, while the two MRT294s expand the lifting coverage available across the wider development.
For Irish Crane & Lifting, the project strengthens a relationship with Walls Construction that has already lasted more than a decade.
For Raimondi, it places some of its highest-capacity flat-top tower cranes on one of Ireland’s largest residential developments.
And for the project itself, the cranes will remain a critical part of the construction process as more than 1,100 homes, together with commercial and retail areas, take shape in Dublin 12.
The interesting question will be whether projects of this scale continue pushing Irish contractors towards higher-capacity tower cranes.
With heavier precast components and increasingly complex construction programmes, I expect lifting capacity at radius to become an even more important consideration when major urban developments plan their crane fleets.
