The Concrete Practice in Ireland (CPI) symposia series was initially conceived by Prof. Sean de Courcy as a means of providing a snapshot of current practice and recent developments in concrete technology and practice, documented at ten-year intervals.
The event was hosted by UCD every ten years from 1965 until 1995. Following Prof. de Courcy’s passing in 2004, the decennial CPI series was paused in favour of a tribute symposium to his memory in 2006. The Irish Concrete Society began a new phase of the CPI series in 2015, hosting the event again in 2025.
The CPI series and resulting proceedings provide an important record of the developments in materials, regulations, design construction, production and research over the previous 10 years. The collected views gathered and recorded in each proceedings also help to guide progress in the field of Concrete Practice in Ireland over the following decade.
The structure of the symposia has remained laregly unchanged with seven papers covering different facets of concrete practice with authors, chairpersons and speakers chosen for their expertise and diverse perspectives within the industry.
This format, in the words of Aodh Dowley (UCD) in the 1995 Proceedings is ‘far from indicating any lack of imagination on the part of the organisers, illustrates the qualities of durability and continuity which are inherent in concrete artefacts of the highest quality!’