Work

We all know Grand Canal Dock as the home of Google but, unbeknownst to many, tucked among the tech giants is a building where ancient crafts are still practiced. At The Design Tower, seven stories of studios play host to jewellers, fashion designers, conservationists, sculptors and more. In our series exploring The Design Tower, Dublin.ie meets long-time resident Elizabeth O’Kane. She is a sculptor and painter, who has worked at The Design Tower for almost 20 years. She tells us about her path to art, her cra

The evolution of Dublin’s creative spaces In recent years, Dublin has lost some of its most important creative spaces to a building boom that’s reminiscent of the Celtic Tiger era. Block T and South Studios were both closed down in 2016 with a significant loss of square footage for artists, photographers, designers and writers. Since then, The Joinery, Moxie Studios, Monster Truck and Richmond Studios have all followed suit. Our vision was to create a unique, shared workplace in Dublin city centre. In their place, however, a new generation of coworking spaces have come along. And many of them are aimed specifically at servicin

Izzy Wheels works with artists and top designers to transform wheelchairs into fashionable works of art. Today, the brand sells its wheelchair wheel covers to customers all over the world, but it all began right here in Dublin. Sisters Izzy Keane and Ailbhe Keane founded the business back in 2016 when Ailbhe was a graphic design student at Dublin’s NCAD. Today, she is the company’s Creative Director. Peter Varga spoke to Ailbhe Keane on behalf of Dublin.ie. She tells him about her path to entrepreneurship and the inspiration behind Izzy Wheels.

The last Typewriter Shop in Dublin On Dorset Street in Dublin’s north inner city, there’s a typewriter shop that’s been there as long as I can remember. Founded in 1983, it’s run by Joe Millar and his son, who’s also named Joe. It’s the last typewriter shop in Dublin and the only one in the Golden Pages where it’s listed, simply, as ‘The Typewriter Shop’. A million machines, but no more manufacturers Before setting up the shop, Joe Sr. had worked in the typewriter trade for the American manufacturer Remington. “They had offices in Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Galway and Limerick,” he says. They sold typewriters to offices and serviced

If you live in Dublin, it’s almost impossible not to be aware of the shortage of affordable housing. If you haven’t joined the back of a long queue to view a property in recent years, chances are you know a lot of people that have. And for many the consequences can be far worse; about 140 people sleep rough every night, there are some 3,000 homeless who are dependent on hotels and B&Bs, and a further 100,000 are on social housing waiting lists. It’s something that’s garnered a lot of media & governmental attention, and often the solutions proffered are quite grandiose; build up and build quickly. As a nation, we tend to have a penchant for the new when it comes to housing. While that may be a part of the solution, it’s certainly not the only approach. In every corner of this city, there are spaces going to waste.

The bedding in your local park, the roundabout at the end of your road, the planter on the quays: Dublin’s famous for its bursts of floral colour. Any journey you make in the city is likely to take you past some cheery display. But did you know that every plant you see comes from a single nursery, lovingly grown from seed to flower? St. Anne’s Park on the northside of the city is an embarrassment of riches. Its the second largest public park in the Dublin area, the grounds of the former estate of Lord and Lady

I didn’t really like school that much. I’m dyslexic and I couldn’t handle it. I hated even reading at the time. I left school when I was 16 and got into a trade in air conditioning and refrigeration. I bought my first house when I was 19, my second when I was 22, my third when I was about 24. I rented out the houses and was involved in different businesses, investing money as well as working in refrigeration. In my early 20s, I had nice cars, everything was going great, I travelled all over the world and had a ball! I realised I liked the hustle and bustle behind the camera. It was being creative but it was still business, and I like dealing with people

The world, according to a Dublin foreman This is no occupation for old men – to twist what Yeats said. I wouldn’t mind, but I’m not even that ancient. Climbing up all these flights of scaffolding. Then the scaffolding gives way to ladders. Ladders for a couple more floors. As a result, the sweat is breaking out when we get up here: this windswept top floor with stunning views. If only it was safe to stop watching your footing and look out on the city and the Liffey flowing into Dublin Bay. Painting a picture of the landscape We’re down on the North Wall, near the 3Arena. Commanding these stunning views is a nine-storey building – not co

If you went to school in Ireland in the late twentieth century you’d have been taught a lot about our nation’s struggle against imperial oppression. But other nations still in the clutches of various empires got short shrift from our school books. Latvia? Estonia? Lithuania? If we even knew they existed, we didn’t trouble to separate them in our minds from Russia. Sure weren’t they all just the Soviet Union – where girls fell in love with their tractors and unlucky dogs got sent into space? Indra Variakojiene didn’t have a tractor. In fact before she came to Ireland she worked as a chemical analyst – in a laboratory attached to a flour mill in Lithuan

What happens when you choose the road less travelled and forgo a full-time college course on leaving school? We chat to successful sales rep Craig Andrew about what he did instead. Craig Andrew on career building without college The Leaving Cert can seem like the biggest thing in the world when you’re 18. It could define the rest of your life. You’ve got to work hard if you want a job. You’ve got to work even harder if you want a well-paid job. And you’re just lucky if you enjoy it. That’s how Craig Andrew and many others felt when they were that tender age. Craig’s Leaving Cert experience “It’s not like I didn’t try,”

Meet Andrew Harris – Dublin’s traffic control room supervisor “There’s always someone looking at you,” sang Dublin band the Boomtown Rats back in 1979. Today, in the city, that someone is Andrew Harris at the Traffic Control Room. Checking out Dublin’s traffic cameras Andrew and his staff monitor the screens in their room in Wood Quay, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They’ve got 400-odd cameras in locations all over the city. Some of them you can see – up at the top of street lights, for instance. However, it’s the ones