At a recent annual dinner of the Republic of Ireland (RoI) branch of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), distinguished Engineers Ireland Fellow and civil engineer Anne Marie Conibear was announced as the recipient of the ICE RoI’s Outstanding Achievement Award for 2026, in recognition of her impressive civil engineering career.

Each year the committee of the ICE Republic of Ireland branch presents its Outstanding Achievement Award to a civil engineer who has made a significant contribution to the profession in Ireland. The year 2026 marks the 12th year of this award since its inception in 2015.

Anne Marie Conibear is presented with the ICE RoI outstanding Achievement Award for 2026.

Candidates for the award are nominated by previous recipients, by the ICE RoI committee and by the membership of the ICE in the republic. The recipient of the award is then decided by vote of the previous award recipients.

Water treatment, wastewater and flood relief schemes

Anne Marie Conibear’s career, spanning almost 35 years, has included a leading role in the development of water treatment, wastewater and flood relief schemes across Ireland and key roles in major water infrastructure and flood relief projects in the UK, Latvia, Macedonia, Turkey, Albania, Croatia, Bosnia/Herzegovina and Lesotho.

After graduating from University College Dublin in 1991 with a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, she began her career in the UK with the civil engineering consultancy of Binnie and Partners, later to become Binnie Black and Veatch, a firm with an international reputation for hydraulic engineering. This was to prove pivotal in determining the future direction of Conibear’s career.

During seven years with Binnie, she gained valuable experience of the water sector, which was further enhanced by secondments to consultants Ferguson and McIlveen and contractor Taylor Woodrow Civil Engineering Ltd.

Returning to Ireland in 1998, Conibear joined JB Barry and Partners, a firm at the forefront of water engineering in this country and overseas. She remained with JB Barry for the rest of her career, becoming one of the company’s most valued members and amassing an unrivalled portfolio of projects across the entire range of the water sector in Ireland and internationally. Her work covered feasibility reports, detailed design, tender assessment, construction supervision and project management of flooding, water and wastewater-related major civil/environmental infrastructure projects.

During her remarkable career, Conibear has been associated with many of Ireland’s most important water sector projects, such as the recently completed major upgrade of the Ringsend Wastewater Treatment Plant, vital for the future management of Dublin’s waste water. Over a period of nine years, from 2016 to 2025, she acted as project director for this critical infrastructure project.

For the greater part of her career, Conibear held leadership positions, frequently leading multiple teams on several projects simultaneously. As project manager and project director of major infrastructure projects impacting on a wide range of stakeholders, she established a reputation as a leader with the ability to foster and develop relationships with key leaders and stakeholders. Several of her projects involved working in joint ventures, where Conibear took the role of liaison with JV partners.

Appointed a director of JB Barry in 2016, she played a key role in determining the future direction of the business, up to and including its acquisition by the international consultancy group egis shortly before her retirement in 2025.

Energy management and the sustainable development of cities

Anne Marie Conibear is presented with the ICE RoI outstanding Achievement Award for 2026.

Latterly, in addition to her ongoing work in the water sector, Conibear expanded her role within Barry/egis to encompass the emerging fields of energy management and the sustainable development of cities, ending her career with egis as Ireland country lead in energy & sustainable cities. She currently acts as consultant to egis across all her areas of expertise.

Professionally, Conibear is a Chartered Engineer, a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers since 1998 and a Fellow of Engineers Ireland since 2010. She is also a professional consulting engineer and a Fellow of the Association of Consulting Engineers of Ireland (ACEI) since 2016. Throughout her career she has supported her professional institutions, culminating in a term as president of the ACEI, the first woman to hold the position in the ACEI’s 86-year history.

With a strong commitment to her personal Continuing Professional Development, Conibear acquired numerous post-graduate qualifications in management, leadership, business practice, strategy and innovation, company direction and a range of technical and health and safety topics.

Away from the hectic world of engineering, she enjoys travel and golf, and is acknowledged as (in her words) a reasonably proficient artist in oils and watercolours.

Announcing the award, ICE RoI Branch chair Keith Elliott said: “To sum up, Anne Marie Conibear is a shining example of a professional civil engineer – encompassing technical excellence, leadership, teamwork and a dedication to improving the lot of society as a whole, through her lifelong commitment to a vital aspect of infrastructure. She is an inspiration to any young person considering a career in civil engineering, but especially to women, having established herself firmly in the upper echelons of this traditionally male-dominated profession.”