Why name a section of Dublin after a part of San Francisco, over 5,000 miles away? Well, in many ways, Silicon Docks has become Ireland’s equivalent of Silicon Valley in the United States. Starting in the early 2000s, big tech companies began setting up headquarters in Dublin, in a previously run-down area by the ocean. Google really started the trend in 2002. After Google moved into a big, glass-fronted building on the river, many other companies came to Dublin, too. Dublin offers a few important advantages for international companies, including a low corporate tax rate (meaning companies have to pay relatively little to be here). Dublin also has the youngest population of all the cities in Europe, which means there are lots of young workers to fill the companies’ new glass headquarters. Today, the list of tech companies in Silicon Docks is so long that I’d run out of breath if I read it out loud! A few big ones are Google, Facebook, Airbnb, Pinterest, Amazon and Twitter.
Along with financial firms coming to Dublin because of Brexit, all these tech companies have led to a ton of construction around the city. Look in any direction, and you’ll see cranes hovering over Dublin’s different neighborhoods. In fact, I’ve never seen so many cranes in one city! New buildings are constantly going up, making space for company headquarters, offices, hotels and fancy living spaces.
At the same time, however, Dublin is suffering from a serious housing crisis, partially because there are so many people moving to the city for these new tech jobs. Rent has become way too high for a lot of families, and prices keep rising. Furthermore, there are simply not enough available homes!
