Sisk Celebrates 50 Years Of Toy Making Tradition

Sisk carpentry and joinery apprentices at its Dublin training centre have celebrated 50 of years of its toy making tradition.

An estimated 800 handcraft toys will be delivered to children's charities and hospitals across Ireland, UK and Europe in time for Christmas.

Over the past 50 years around 20,000 handmade toys have been produced by Sisk apprentices after the tradition was started by John G Sisk.

By embracing new ways of working and putting sustainability at the forefront, this year the Sisk team have made an effort to make more wooden toy such a rocking horses, trucks and art stations.

These items are crafted from 70 per cent recycled wooden materials sourced from timber off-cuts obtained from Sisk construction sites across the country. Among these materials are Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF), with a significant portion originating from unused site hoarding and signage.


Digital construction has now modernised its toy making approach with all of this year's toys being designed using digital tools with its apprentices now having the skillset and capability to design its toys. A CAD programme is now utilised and this has significantly reduced the time needed to design the toys.

One-third of the toys are delivered to Sisk construction sites to donate to local charities and the following two-thirds of toys are delivered by its apprentices to children’s charities and hospitals throughout Ireland.

Ronan Murphy, Sisk Joinery and Training Manager said: "Our toy story is culturally engrained into the business and is a testament to the family culture within Sisk. It gives perspective to our apprentices and is a real eye opener for our new younger trainees who come back from children’s hospital visits with a real sense of appreciation.

"Our apprentices participate in the whole toy making lifecycle having physically produced the toys right down to delivering them into the hands of the end user. In this case usually very sick or disadvantaged children. This initiative gives everyone connected with Sisk a real sense of pride and is a key part of our apprenticeship programme that enables us to mould good people upon completion of their time with us."