[4] O'Rourke "started as a 'pony boy' carrying muck out from under London as the Victoria Line was being constructed."
[2] O'Rourke purchased the construction company Swift Structures, owned by his brothers-in-law, Jim and Matt Halligan from County Mayo.
[6][4] His son, Cathal, works for Laing O'Rourke,[2] and in March 2023 was appointed the company's chief operating officer.
[7] In June 2024, it was announced that Cathal would succeed his father as Laing O'Rourke CEO from the beginning of July 2024.
[8][9] O'Rourke has honorary doctorates from the Dublin Institute of Technology, and Queen's University, Belfast.