Ciarán Herlihy

Ciarán advises borrowers, financial institutions and alternative lenders on a broad range of transactional and advisory mandates. He has deep expertise in leveraged and public‑to‑private takeover financings, corporate lending, real estate and development finance.

He has also advised on some of the most significant Irish infrastructure projects of the last decade.

Based in the William Fry London office, Ciarán supports the firm’s UK strategy, while continuing to advise longstanding and new clients and international law firms and their clients on finance transactions and Irish law matters.

Recent deals include advising:

• DNB Bank ASA on its role as lender in connection with the €1.4bn recommended cash offer for Dalata Hotel Group plc, one of the largest public-to-private transactions in the Irish market in recent years;
• EQT Private Equity on the financing aspects of its acquisition of a majority stake in the AMCS Group, a supplier of cloud-based and AI-enabled planning, performance, and sustainability-focused software for waste management, recycling and other resource-intensive industries;
• Grant Thornton Advisors LLC (US) and New Mountain Capital on the financing aspects of the agreement to combine Grant Thornton Advisors with Grant Thornton Ireland’s advisory and tax business;
• the Shareholders of Beacon Hospital on financing matters related to the sale of Beacon Hospital to Macquarie Asset Management;
• EirGrid plc on its ongoing financing requirements, including the €800m financing of the Celtic Interconnector, a 700MW submarine power cable linking Ireland and France;
• the European Investment Bank on:
  • its green loan to Touax Rail to expand its freight wagon fleet, backed by the EU’s InvestEU programme and supporting the decarbonisation of European freight transport;
  • the €250m financing to EquiSisk for the construction and maintenance of community nursing units, the first PPP financing for community nursing and elder care facilities in Ireland;
  • the financing of the Oweninny wind farm in Co. Mayo, Ireland’s largest onshore wind farm and a joint venture
• Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners on the financing aspects of its acquisition of a 50% stake in Statkraft’s offshore wind portfolio in Ireland;
• SIRO on the financing provided by the European Investment Bank and a syndicate of Irish and international lenders to fund the expansion of its fibre-to-the-home broadband network;
• the Department of Environment, Climate & Communications on the structural and financing arrangements for the implementation of the National Broadband Plan;
• the Royal Dublin Society on the financing of the redevelopment of the Anglesea Stand at the RDS Arena in Ballsbridge, home of Leinster Rugby and the RDS Dublin Horse Show;
• the developers on the financing of landmark commercial real estate assets in Ireland, including the Malt House and 2 Grand Canal Quay, a 15-storey, c.145,000 sq ft office development in Dublin’s docklands;
• the developers on the financing of the Aloft Dublin City hotel, a 202-bedroom hotel at Blackpitts in Dublin’s Liberties, and on its subsequent refinancings; and
• daa (Dublin Airport) on its €450m revolving credit facility, acting for daa plc, daa finance plc and daa Operations Limited.