Result of Equity Issue

CRH PLC
29 March 2001

FINAL

29/03/01 UK: CRH PLC RESULT OF EQUITY ISSUE

CRH plc 29 March 2001

Not for release, publication or distribution in or into the United States,
Canada, Australia, Japan or Sweden



                               CRH PLC ('CRH')


              86.7 PER CENT. ACCEPTANCE OF 1 FOR 4 RIGHTS ISSUE

The Board of CRH announces that, by 3.00 p.m. on 27 March 2001, being the
latest time and date for acceptance and payment in full under the Rights
Issue, valid acceptances had been received in respect of 89,869,802 Rights
Shares, representing approximately 86.7 per cent. of the 103,622,311 Rights
Shares offered to Qualifying Shareholders at euro 10.50 per share.

Subscribers have been procured for the 13,752,509 Rights Shares for which
valid acceptances were not received, at a price of euro 16.50 per share. The
net proceeds, after deduction of the Rights Issue Price and the expenses of
procuring subscribers, will be paid pro rata by cheque to the Qualifying
Shareholders originally entitled thereto, except that entitlements of less
than IR£3.00 will not be paid but will be aggregated and retained for the
benefit of the Company.

The Rights Issue was fully underwritten by UBS Warburg and Davy.
Sub-underwriters will not be required to subscribe for any new CRH Shares.

For Qualifying non-CREST Shareholders it is expected that definitive share
certificates in respect of the new CRH Shares will be despatched on or before
26 April 2001. For Qualifying CREST Shareholders it is expected that CRH's
registrars will instruct CREST to credit the appropriate CREST Member Accounts
on 20 April 2001.

For further information please contact:
CRH

Liam O'Mahony, Chief Executive                        00 353 1 404 1000
Harry Sheridan, Finance Director                      00 353 1 404 1000
Myles Lee, General Manager Finance                    00 353 1 404 1000

UBS Warburg

Paul Nicholls, Corporate Finance                      00 44 207 568 2016
Philip Shelley, Capital Markets                       00 44 207 568 2730

Davy Stockbrokers
Kyran McLaughlin, Head of Equities                    00 353 1 614 8949
Paul Burke, Head of Investor Relations                00 353 1 614 8965





CRH plc, Belgard Castle, Clondalkin, Dublin 22, Ireland

TELEPHONE [phone]

FAX [phone]

Additional information

UBS Warburg and Davy acted as underwriters and financial advisers to the
Company with regard to the Rights Issue. This announcement has been issued by
and is the sole responsibility of the Company. It has been approved by UBS
Warburg which is regulated in the United Kingdom by The Securities and Futures
Authority Limited, solely for the purposes of Section 57 of The Financial
Services Act 1986 and by Davy which is regulated by the Central Bank of
Ireland pursuant to the Investment Intermediaries Act, 1995 and the Stock
Exchange Act, 1995 of Ireland.

UBS Warburg and Davy acted exclusively for CRH and no-one else in connection
with the Rights Issue and will not be responsible to anyone other than CRH for
providing the protections afforded to customers of UBS Warburg or Davy or for
providing advice in relation to the Rights Issue or any matter referred to
herein.

These materials are not for distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into
the United States. These materials are not an offer of securities for sale
into the United States. The securities are not being registered under the US
Securities Act of 1933 and may not be offered or sold in the United States or
to, or for the account or benefit of, US persons (as such terms are defined in
Regulation S under such Act) unless they are registered or exempt from
registration. No public offering of securities is being made into the United
States.