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How Dublin Works: The Guinness Enterprise Centre

The Guinness Enterprise Centre, on Taylor’s Lane in the heart of Dublin’s Liberties, is managed by Dublin Business Innovation Centre and has been named the no.1 university associated business incubation centre in the world. In the first of two articles about the GEC, Dublin.ie talks to Eamonn Sayers, the centre’s manager since 2011. Dublin.ie: I’m an entrepreneur. I’ve got an idea. What can the GEC do for me here? Eamonn Sayers: The first step here is that we’ll try and put you in front of an entrepreneur who’s in the same industry. We’ll say have a chat with this person, see what they’re thinking. If you’ve identified your target market, again we’ll say we know someone here who’s in the same market and they’ll have a coffee with you too. Dublin.ie: Then what happens? Eamonn Sayers: Our role here is to help your company grow and scale. We help to make it become better and we help to make you a better entrepreneur. We create an environment and a community and a sense of belonging that makes entrepreneurs very comfortable, makes them enjoy the fact that this is their office, this is their workplace, so that both the entrepreneur and their teams are in the best place to grow their businesses.

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How Dublin Works: The Fumbally Exchange

Co-working that went from pop-up to permanent The Fumbally Exchange began as part of the pop-up space revolution that took Dublin by storm a few years ago. Its name came from its first temporary location, which was on Fumbally Lane – right next to the well-known Fumbally Café. Today, however, the Fumbally Exchange has a permanent home in the freshly refurbished Argus House in the popular Blackpitts area of Dublin 8. It has even expanded to a second location in Waterford. So what exactly is the Fumbally Exchange?

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Seven Stories of Creativity – Anne O’ Mahony, The Dressmaker

We all know Grand Canal as the home of Google but unbeknownst to many, tucked among the tech giants is a building where ancient crafts are still practised, THE DESIGN TOWER. The Tower’s seven stories of studios play host to jewellers, fashion designers, conservationists and more. After meeting Violinmaker, Michiel De Hoog Dublin.ie revisited the Tower and met Dressmaker Anne O’ Mahony. Anne O’ Mahony creates made-to-measure pieces as well as costumes for film and theatre, including The Gat

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How Dublin Works: Jam Art Factory

Dublin.ie talks to Mark Haybyrne of Jam Art Factory about his family business and the future of Irish art and design. Since 2011 brothers Mark and John Haybyrne have been showcasing the best of contemporary Irish art and design in their store, Jam Art Factory. Stocking a range of Irish art and design they give independent artists – such as illustrator Claudine O’Sullivan, Arty Smarty Jewellery and KaroArt Ceramics - a platform to exhibit and sell their work. Having started in the Liberties, they now have another thriving store in Temple Bar and ship internationally from jamartfactory.com.

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Seven Stories Of Creativity – Michiel DeHoog, The Violinmaker

We all know Grand Canal as the home of Google but unbeknownst to many, tucked among the tech giants is a building where ancient crafts are still practised, The Design Tower. The Tower’s seven stories of studios play host to jewellers, fashion designers, conservationists and more. The Tower started its life as a sugar refinery in 1862. In 1978 the IDA bought the Tower to form part of their Enterprise Centre with the aim of preserving and restoring it to create a home for many of Dublin’s craftspeople. Today this enterprise is managed by Trinity College. Dublin.ie is going behind the tower walls and

a close up shot of the fish and seafood

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How Dublin Works: George’s Fish Shop

Ever wondered what it would be like to be your own boss? Graham Rogerson did. After several years doing shift work in IT, he was ready for a change. Relaunching George’s Fish Shop One thing that got him thinking about opening a shop was that he’d get to meet people. “And that didn’t really happen much in IT,” he remembers. The question ‘what sort of a shop?’ was a bit of a no-brainer. Graham is a member of a family with sea water coursing through its veins. His grandfather James and James’s brothers had their own fishing boats. Before they were 12 years old, Graham’s father, George, and his uncle, Tommy, were selling fish on

a close up of prawns on toast in haute cuisine style

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Dublin Food Chain: Supporting local businesses

Attention Dubliners: we’re incredibly lucky to inhabit a city with such foodie inclinations and a culinary largesse. Right now, Dublin offers an exquisite blend of Michelin-starred fare, outstanding street food, hipster eateries and friendly local restaurants. And let’s not forget the evolution of our drink culture either. We were once a city of avowed tea drinkers and pint lovers; we’re now as au fait with cocktails and customised artisan coffee blends as any seasoned mixologist or barista – and loving them. We’ve also fully embraced the juicing phenomenon, but still find time for a cuppa. Or three.

nubi kayode raises his arms as he speaks on stage

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Meet a Dubliner – Nubi Kayode, Entrepreneur

Nubi Kayode – or Nubi Kay – was only planning to come to Dublin for his studies. However, after arriving in 2013, jobs with leading companies in the city’s tech sector kept him here. After gaining experience at both Accenture and Stripe, he is now the Startup Programmes Lead at Paystack – which was acquired by Stripe for $200 million back in 2020. Now, he’s working with African startups – as he always intended. During his time in Dublin, Derek O’Connor at Dublin.ie sat down with Nubi to find out about his experience in the city. In convers

The Fumbally

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How Dublin Works: The Fumbally

A Q&A with The Fumbally Café We visit The Fumbally Café on Fumbally Lane to speak with founder, Aisling Rogerson, about her experience of working at the busy community coffee shop. What is The Fumbally? It’s a popular Dublin 8 neighbourhood café where the emphasis is on all things wholesome, healthy, ethical and delicious. They’re experimental too, making their own fermented drinks. Then, there’s also The Stables – their complementary event space where yoga classes, food workshops and other cultural happenings take place. It also houses an extra kitchen where the café’s chefs can play around with new di

hassan lemtouni stand in blas café wearing a check shirt and black glasses

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Meet a Dubliner – Hassan Lemtouni, Café Owner

Since 2014, Blas Cafe has been serving some of the most flavourful brunches and lunches north of the river Liffey. Think breakfast baps, toasties, eggs Benedict – and everything in between. Based in The Chocolate Factory, which once manufactured Toblerones and Mint Crisps, Blas Café’s neighbours include an eclectic mix of startups and individual creatives who share its coworking space. Setting up Blas Café played a big part in the old industrial building’s transformation. And its founder, Hassan Lemtouni, is extremely proud of what he ha