Silicon Docks is one of Dublin’s plethora of historic and tourist sites. Dublin is blessed with so many historically rich locations such as the St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the 13^th century Dublin Castle, the Phoenix Park, and the Great National Museum of Ireland.

Beautifully embedded within Grand Canal Dock on the East Coast of Ireland is a large area suitably nicknamed the Silicon Docks. Once described as a symbol of industrial decline it is now a symbol of how far Ireland has developed in its recovery from the 2000’s financial crisis. Here is a look into what it entails.

The Story Behind The Silicon Docks

Silicon Docks, coined by Jamie Smith, began to progress in the late 90’s and early 00’s. It was a tactic of redevelopment whose main aim was to attract tech and multinational firms to Dublin. The development was spearheaded by the advent of Google’s new headquarters on Silicon Docks, which was followed by a pump of other firms like Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, Indeed, and a couple of other start-up companies. 

In addition to the overflow of companies, Silicon Docks has pushed Dublin into number 7 of the top 15 European cities for its start-up ecosystem. Many companies looking to start up and boom have been known to favour their location in Silicon Docks due to their reputation as a centre for innovations and startups.

It is believed that Ireland has one of the youngest and most educated populations in the world, and this is what has made Silicon Docks attractive to many companies, which has in turn been a source of employment to the inhabitants. Silicon Docks is also well known for its cool climate which has helped enough companies reduce the costs of air-conditioning.

Places to Check Out in Silicon Docks

With the European headquarters for Google, Facebook, and X all within touching distance of each other, Silicon Docks has a couple of sites you can tour and feed your eyes with.

You can divide your tour into geographical divisions to soak up the scenery. Here are the different establishments you can set your eyes on in each tour;

Grand Canal Square

Google, Accenture, Airbnb, TripAdvisor, Indeed, Squarespace, Pinterest, Tenable, Salesforce, and Zalando all find themselves on this side of Silicon Docks.

City Centre East

On the East Side of Silicon Docks, we have Arista Networks, X, HubSpot, and Dogpatch Labs.

City Centre South

This side of Silicon Docks plays host to Amazon, LinkedIn, Dropbox, Survey Monkey, Groupon, Nitro, Yelp, Wrike, Zendesk, Asana, MongoDB, Stripe, and Active Campaign.

In addition, we have Etsy in the city centre, Microsoft in Dublin South, and PayPal in the North. The impact of the Silicon Docks is extremely far-reaching and powerful and is a great proof of the benefits of the spurt of technology companies.

Cafes and Bars Around Silicon Docks

In the area, you can also grab a bite or a pint at Mr Toad’s Pub and Kitchen, Eighty 8 Lounge, Wills Restaurant and Cafe, and even the famous Red Roof. You can likewise check out Bord Gais Energy for an unforgettable theatre experience. Dublin Docks also makes provision for a couple of outdoor events like wakeboarding and kayaking.

Bonus: Facebook Dublin HQ 

At the moment, the largest Facebook operation is located in Silicon Docks, and they have already acquired a new 120,000-square-foot office located in Silicon Docks with their current lease on their present location bound to end. A tour around the establishment will definitely leave you fully satisfied, and as you know, there are a host of other companies in Silicon Docks which might not be that big but are close. 

Silicon Docks is a shoo-in for top places to check out when you visit Dublin, especially for the first time.