Life at Market Street Begins!

Without doubt, 2022 has been a really exciting year for us at the PorterShed; a lot has happened and we’ve been delighted about so many developments. Events have returned, our members are fully embracing life back in the office, and we’ve been able to get out on the road to a few amazing offsites.

For the uninitiated, the PorterShed is a co-working and innovation hub that currently spans three locations in the heart of Galway city. We’ve helped start-ups grow, we’ve provided space for big companies to plug into the tech ecosytem, and we’ve run programmes that nurture ideas through partnerships with the likes of the NDRC. 

The big news for us this month is that we have opened the doors to our new building, PorterShed a Dó at Market Street – and we couldn’t be more excited! So much work has been put into getting the new building to where it is now, and we’re so immensely proud of everyone’s efforts. Our CEO Mary Rodgers and our Community Manager Anthony Shaughnessy have been putting in a sterling effort to get things ready for over a year now, and the results really speak for themselves.

PorterShed a Dó at Market Street is our largest building, and with room for some 200 people to use, it expands the capacity of the PorterShed to welcome fantastic start-ups, scale-ups, and hot-deskers. Featuring high-end facilities, a large innovation space, and a culture worthy of amazing ideas, it’s the place to be if you want to turn your big ideas into even bigger realities.

Photo:Andrew Downes, xposure.ie

Owing to its multi-level layout, PorterShed a Dó at Market Street is well-equipped to accommodate a large number of companies. With both private office space and open-plan co-working areas, it has the perfect mix of working layouts.

PorterShed members have started getting set up at their desks and we are steadily starting life in our newest building. Already, there is a buzz in the air – and we’ve started hosting some amazing events, get-togethers, and community happenings under the one roof. 

Earlier this month, we hosted our first event at PorterShed a Dó’s state-of-the-art innovation space as we welcomed distinguished guest, David Murphy from the University of Notre Dame, to take part in a fireside chat with our very own CEO, Mary Rodgers. David oversees Student Entrepreneurship and the ESTEEM Graduate Program at the university, and it was fascinating to hear his insights – and Mary was full of expertise about why Galway’s ecosystem has experienced such amazing growth in recent years.

We also held an ARISE Social Enterprise event in partnership with the Western Development Commission, where social entrepreneurs Martin Ward (BounceBack Recycling), Iseult Mangan (Teen Turn), and Ronah Corcoran (Carers Network Ireland) shared their expertise to a large crowd.

Plus, we provided the innovation space for the 2022 Galway Empathy Jam – a user-experience research and design event that returned to the Portershed after two years of virtual delivery. It was fantastic to see so much energy in the room from all the participants. Plus, we invited RTÉ Ultimate Hell Week’s Ray Goggins to speak to our community about building resilience, and we’ve had lots of other events, too.

Suffice to say, the PorterShed is well and truly into the next chapter of growth, but we couldn’t have achieved it without the support of so many amazing people, groups, and supports. Each have given us the added encouragement to do what we do best: connect people and help transform ideas into reality. 

There’s plenty more to come from the PorterShed – for the next few weeks, we’ll be bringing you weekly updates, and we’re excited to share our ever-evolving story, and the amazing news from our members, ecosystem supporters, and daredevils who are innovating anew in all sorts of areas. Stay tuned!

By Trevor Murray

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