Tag: Bolands

Google Ireland Opens ‘The Factory at Bolands Mill’: A Newly Restored Community, Arts & Culture Space

Minister Patrick O’Donovan TD was joined by Vanessa Hartley, Head of Google Ireland today to celebrate the official opening of The Factory, a dedicated community arts and culture space located at Bolands Mills, the new urban quarter made possible by Google. Designed as a home for creativity, collaboration, and community engagement, The Factory reaffirms Google’s long-standing commitment to its local community.

Long a landmark on Dublin’s cultural map, The Factory has hosted legendary names like The Bolshoi Ballet, U2, and David Bowie, who have spent time here, performing, recording or rehearsing. The Factory has also nurtured some of Ireland’s most talented actors and film-makers.  Paying homage to its rich  history, the space has been restored by Google in consultation with multiple local community groups across the arts and creative industries including the National Performance Arts School, Neurodiversity Irishtown, Ringsend & Pearse Street (NIRP), RMS Music, the Dublin 4 Dance Academy, St Andrews Resource Centre, Ringsend Community Services Forum, Education Task Force and This City Works.

Vanessa Hartley, Head of Google Ireland said:

“For 22 years, Google has been proud to call Ireland home to our EMEA headquarters. What began with just five employees in a shared office has grown into a thriving team of over 5,000 people around Barrow Street. But our presence here has always been about more than just offices — it’s about being a supportive part of the local community. With the opening of The Factory, we’re creating a revitalised  space for arts, culture, and creativity — a space for people to come together, express themselves, and nurture  the talent of the Dublin Docklands. This is just one part of our commitment to being an active, helpful neighbour, and we’re extremely grateful to all those who helped bring this vision to life.”

The Factory is located at the site of the historic Bolands flour mills which was acquired by Google in 2018. Now complete, the restoration of the 150-year-old mill and surrounding site includes over 50,000 square feet of newly landscaped outdoor areas alongside 30,000 square feet of retail and community space. Bolands Mills also provides a new hub for Google’s engineering teams,  retail spaces for an eclectic mix of independent local businesses, as well as 46 discounted-rental apartments made available to key workers supporting the local community via Clúid.

Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan said:

“The restoration of The Factory is a shining example of how we can preserve our cultural heritage while creating new opportunities for creativity and community. Spaces like this are essential for fostering artistic expression, inclusion, and innovation — especially in dynamic urban areas like the Dublin Docklands. I commend Google for their ongoing commitment to cultural engagement and look forward to seeing The Factory become a vibrant hub for local talent and creative collaboration.”

The Factory is now ready to continue the creative legacy of The Docklands. As a versatile hub for all forms of expression, it has been redesigned for flexibility and inclusivity — offering a blank canvas for diverse voices, sounds, and rhythms of the neighbourhood. From 2025, this storied space will be available for local groups to book for various creative, educational, and cultural activities. Requests for booking can be made at https://bolandsmills.com/event-spaces/.

Speaking at the event, local artist Paula Moen said:

“The arts are a vital part of Ireland’s cultural identity. Spaces like The Factory at Bolands Mills are essential in nurturing creativity and community connection. The support of a global company like Google is invaluable and very much appreciated in our local communities—not only does it help preserve our rich artistic heritage, but it also empowers local artists to thrive and innovate. It’s crucial that we continue to champion our homegrown talent and create opportunities for artists at every level, ensuring that the ancient creative spirit of Ireland remains strong and vibrant for generations to come.”

Google Officially Opens First Phase of Bolands Mills Development

An Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar today joined Head of Google Ireland, Adaire Fox-Martin and Google’s Global Chief Marketing Officer, Lorraine Twohill to officially open the first phase of the Bolands Mills development and announce a new €1.5M Google.org scholarship fund for students from under-represented communities in the area of AI. With grant support from Google.org’s fund, the Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics at Dublin City University will enable scholarships for students at universities around Ireland.

The opening marks the 20th anniversary of Google’s arrival in Ireland. The company opened its first office in Ireland with just five employees in 2003. In the past twenty years Google Ireland has grown to become Google’s EMEA HQ with a workforce of over 9,000 people. The new Bolands Mills development will become a hub of engineering with over 1,000 engineers moving into the offices upon their completion.

Lorraine Twohill, CMO of Google, said “Over the past two decades Ireland has become one of the world digital leaders at the heart of Europe and as Ireland has grown, Google has grown in Ireland. We are immensely proud of the strength of our team here and the work they are doing in driving Google’s future. We want to ensure that everyone across Ireland is able to benefit from the next generation of AI technology which is why we are announcing a new €1.5M Google.org scholarship fund. This fund will support AI education for students from under-represented communities. The scholarships will be available across Ireland through a grant to  the Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics at Dublin City University.”

The new fund will enable universities to provide scholarships to students from under-represented communities, including people with disabilities, women in STEM,  first generation students with no history of third level education in the family and members of the Traveller community, who wish to apply for undergraduate courses where Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Digital Safety are core elements of the course. Through the scholarship fund, Google.org is providing a grant to the Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics, which will provide scholarship funding to Access offices in all Higher Education Institutions in Ireland.

Speaking at the event today, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD said, “The opening of this historic building is good for Dublin’s civic heritage and represents a major milestone for Google Ireland driven from their innovative new centre of engineering. This new centre of excellence, alongside the scholarship fund announced today, will help cement Ireland’s role as a digital leader at the heart of European and global digital developments.”

The historic Flour Mills building at Bolands Mills has been expertly restored and adapted into a dedicated collaboration space for Google, with the ground floor opening to the public in 2024.  The building features a range of new designs and technologies so that people can mix and match their workspace to their needs and more closely collaborate with colleagues anywhere in the world.

Adaire Fox-Martin, Head of Google Ireland, “The Flour Mills building is steeped in history and our real estate teams have worked hard to ensure we respect its past, while equipping it for the future. When Bolands Mills opens fully next year, a mix of shops, eateries, public squares, and community and cultural spaces will bring new energy to this historic site. We want Bolands Mills to be an inclusive space that brings communities together: Google employees, our neighbours and visitors alike.”