Issue of Equity

CRH PLC
5 September 2000

CASH PLACING OF UP TO 19.57 MILLION NEW ORDINARY SHARES

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN, OR INTO, THE UNITED STATES OR
CANADA

THE PROPOSED PLACING

CRH plc ('CRH' or the 'Company') announces that, in accordance with the
authority granted by shareholders to allot equity securities for cash,  it
intends to place up to 19.57 million new ordinary shares of euro 0.32 each in
the Company (the 'New Ordinary Shares'), representing approximately 5 per cent
of the existing Ordinary Shares of the Company (the 'Placing').

The invitation to participate in the Placing is expected to close not later than
3:00 pm on Thursday, 7th September, 2000 and may be closed at any time prior to
that. Dealings in the New Ordinary Shares are expected to commence on Monday,
11th September, 2000.  The price at which the New Ordinary Shares will be issued
is expected to be announced as soon as practicable after the invitation to
participate in the Placing closes.

REASONS FOR THE PLACING

In the first half of the current financial year, CRH spent euro 931 million on
over 30 acquisitions including the purchase of the Shelly Company at a cost of
euro 350 million. This expenditure follows a total acquisition spend of euro
1,421 million on over 40 deals in 1999, including the purchase of
Finnsementti/Lohja Rudus (euro 420 million), Thompson-McCully (euro 425 million)
and the completion of the euro 550 million Ibstock acquisition with the buy-out
of  the remaining 49 per cent shareholdings. This active acquisition programme
has been financed from the Group's cash flow and by increased utilisation of the
Group's debt capacity. 

CRH is experiencing a significant increase in the number and size of acquisition
opportunities as the building materials industry worldwide continues to
consolidate.  With its 14 development teams throughout Europe and the Americas,
the Group is strongly positioned to capitalise on this trend 
which CRH management believes will continue.  

CRH's exceptional growth over the past three decades has been largely financed
from internal cash flow supplemented by occasional equity inputs from
shareholders. The extra funding now being raised is intended to support the
Group's ongoing development strategy and to broaden its investor base. This
strategy continues to focus on small to medium-sized add-on acquisitions 
augmented as appropriate by larger deals which expand geographical coverage and
open new strategic opportunities.
 
TERMS OF THE PLACING

The New Ordinary Shares will rank pari passu with the existing Ordinary Shares
of the Company save that they will not carry any entitlement to the interim
dividend of 6.70c announced today in respect of the six months to 30th June,
2000.   The existing Ordinary Shares go ex-dividend on Monday, 11th September,
2000. 

Application has been made to the UK Listing Authority, the London Stock Exchange
plc (the 'LSE') and The Irish Stock Exchange Limited for up to 19.57 million New
Ordinary Shares to be admitted to the Official List of the UK Listing Authority
and for admission to trading on the LSE's market for 
listed securities and on the Irish Stock Exchange,  respectively.  It is
expected that permission to admit the New Ordinary Shares will be granted on
Friday, 8th September, 2000 and that admission will become effective on Monday,
11th September, 2000.

UBS Warburg and Davy Stockbrokers will act as lead managers of the Placing. 
Details of the number of New Ordinary Shares to be issued and the price at which
they will be offered are expected to be determined and announced, following a
global bookbuilding process, as soon as practicable after the invitation to
participate in the Placing closes.

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.

UBS Warburg and Davy Stockbrokers are each acting for the Company and no one
else in relation to the Placing and will not be responsible to anyone other than
the Company for providing the protections afforded to its customers nor for
providing advice in relation to the Placing.

This announcement does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in the
United States.   The information contained herein is not for publication or
distribution to persons in the United States.   The New Ordinary Shares have not
been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 (the
'Securities Act') and may not be offered or sold in the United States unless
they are registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or pursuant
to an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act.


OTHER INFORMATION

Conference call
A conference call with Liam O'Mahony and Harry Sheridan is being offered to all
institutions at 2:15 pm today London time.  The conference call number is 00 353
1 240 5490.

Investor presentation
The institutional investor presentation on the Company's Interim Results for the
six months ended 30th June, 2000, will be available from 8:30 am today on the
Company's web site at WWW.CRH.COM.

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]
E-MAIL [e-mail]               WEBSITE www.crh.ie  
Registered Office, 42 Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin 2, Ireland