The Digital Hub welcomes We LOVE Markets to Dublin 8 with monthly public market

  • First market takes place on 20th March 
  • 50 stalls with local food, art and vintage gems
  • Monthly Sunday Market, with free entry and open to all

The Digital Hub and We LOVE Markets have announced plans for a new monthly market on The Digital Hub campus in Dublin’s Liberties. The markets will take place monthly on Sundays, with the grand opening on Sunday March 20th to coincide with the festivities during the St Patrick’s Day festival in Dublin. The market will be free to enter for the public.

The market will host up to 50 eclectic stalls, showcasing a mixture of local design and locally made artisan food, homemade crafts, clothes, furniture, bric-a-brac, vintage wares, artisan goods and plenty of hidden gems. The market will support local enterprises, organisations, designers and creatives in Dublin 8.

The market will bring an added attraction to the area, particularly as societies begin to reopen. Markets provide an excellent venue to reconnect with family, friends and the creative community as well as driving circular economies with one-of-a-kind finds and offering a place for local enterprises to thrive.

Global research from the Brookings Institution[1] has found that local markets can support neighbourhood revitalisation, incubate small businesses and offer unique supply chains which directly benefit local economies. Dublin 8 has a long history of market trading, and it is vital that a markets ecosystem is maintained for the benefit of current and future communities.

Fiach Mac Conghail, CEO at The Digital Hub, said:

“The Digital Hub has always been a focal point for enterprise in the Liberties, and the launch of this market in collaboration with We LOVE Markets is exciting for us. With the reopening of society and the economy, it will be a welcome sight to see the return of traders, our local community and visitors to the Campus while also benefiting local enterprise.”

Emma Brereton, Market Director & Operator at We LOVE Markets, said:

“We as a city and a community have an amazing collection of high-quality local produce. Independent start-ups, local enterprises, businesses and designers, who all together make up our market community. Creating the right atmosphere and a place for sustainability and growth is imperative within the circular economy framework. The markets are the city’s heartbeat.” 

Tara McGuinness, Creative Director and Event Manager at We LOVE Markets, said:

“A return of off-street markets to Dublin 8 is most welcome, we are grateful for the opportunity to work and collaborate with The Digital Hub. We are particularly looking forward to using the space to showcase the incredible locally produced food, art & design. We are confident that the market events will grow into a real attraction for the Liberties and wider Dublin area.” 

The Digital Hub has a longstanding commitment in supporting the local Dublin 8 community. Community initiatives include Screen8 in collaboration with the Dublin International Film Festival, The Liber8 Music Project with BIMM Dublin, Bee8 with the Robert Emmet CDP and Smart D8, Pocket Forests and the D8 Surfers Club and support for the arts through its annual Artist in Residence programme.  The We LOVE Markets at The Digital Hub campus will launch at 11am on Sunday, March 20th.

ENDS

[1] https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2020/04/08/farmers-markets-are-vital-during-covid-19-but-they-need-more-support/

For more information:

Andrew Smith | Murray | asmith@murraygroup.ie | 083 076 5717

Rachel Power | Murray | rpower@murraygroup.ie | 087 939 9605

About The Digital Hub

Based in the historic Liberties area of Dublin city centre, The Digital Hub is an enterprise cluster for growing technology companies. Thirty established businesses operate in The Digital Hub. Together these businesses employ approximately 290 people. The Digital Hub is the largest cluster of digital media, technology and internet businesses in Ireland, providing a space for indigenous enterprises such as Bizimply, Neuromod, Good Travel Software and Akara Robotics to scale and grow. Major global companies like Lonely Planet are also based in The Digital Hub. Since the project’s inception, over 400 companies have progressed through the enterprise cluster at The Digital Hub, generating thousands of skilled jobs. Some well-established alumni include Amazon, Athena Media, Boomerang Pharmaceutical Communications, Distilled Media Group (Daft.ie), eMaint, Etsy, Havok, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (Riverdeep), Kavaleer, Lincor, MTT, patientMpower, Slack, Software AG, Silicon Republic, Square1, Stripe, TIBCO, VSware and Wachsman.

The Digital Hub is a supportive partner of the local community, by running several learning initiatives for people of all ages. Community learning programmes are run with local partners. For example, the Future Creators Cadets is delivered by H2 Learning and supported by National College of Art and Design (NCAD) and The Liber8 Music Project is run with BIMM Institute Dublin. The Digital Hub also works with community groups and organisations such as the Robert Emmet Community Development Project and Pocket Forests amongst others. The Digital Hub is one of three lead partners on the Smart D8 initiative which aims to improve and sustain the health and wellbeing of Dublin 8 citizens through innovation and collaboration.

The Digital Hub Development Agency is the Irish state agency that manages The Digital Hub. The Agency was established by the Irish Government under the Department of Communications, Climate Change and Environment.

In March 2021, the Government decided to dissolve the Digital Hub Development Agency and close The Digital Hub. The Agency will now embark upon an orderly winddown process which will see the transfer of lands to the Land Development Agency. All operations at The Digital Hub, including various community initiatives and partnerships, will continue as normal up until the closure date.

The Digital Hub is in a position to offer leases for new and existing companies up until 2025 following an agreement with the Department of Communications, Climate Change and Environment.

Further information is available at: www.thedigitalhub.com or on Twitter: @TheDigitalHub.

About We LOVE Markets

We are market operators, we have been organising markets for the last 13 years, which include Culture Night Market at Collins Barracks, Portobello Sq Markets, Electric Picnic, Body and Soul, Beach Market on Dollymount Strand for Pure Magic Battle of the Bay, to name but a few. We have worked with Dublin City Council on lots of their events which include Christmas on the Sq in Smithfield, Dublin goes Country on Smithfield Square, Canalaphonic Culture & Arts Festival in Rathmines Cricket Club and Portobello Sq, Fingal Co Council Christmas at Swords Castle. We have also collaborated with Davis events for Culture Night Markets, Smithfield Sq events and St Patrick’s festival. We are delighted to announce we have just got the go ahead to run a regular monthly public market at The Digital Hub D8, in the campus at the beautiful iconic St Patrick Tower site. The Digital hub has been invaluable in all levels, it has been a breath of fresh air with their enthusiasm and genuine support to bring back the value of hosting a public market in Dublin City. They have also invited Murrays PR agency to work with us promoting the event and we are really excited and thrilled that our concept is coming to life!  Successful public markets are the heart and soul of cities and neighbourhoods, infusing them with new energy, social and circular economic activity. This is our aim and mission statement going forward, for the future of Dublin city’s potential and reinvigorating a vibrant city centre.

Emma Brereton – 086 0620874

Tara McGuinness – 083 3285766

www.welovemarkets.ie

Instagram.com/we_love_markets