Caroline Viguier, of The Digital Hub (centre) with Catherine Cleary and Ashe Conrad-Jones, of Pocket Forests, at The Digital Hub campus in the Liberties. Picture by Shane O’Neill/Coalesce
Caroline Viguier, of The Digital Hub (centre) with Catherine Cleary and Ashe Conrad-Jones, of Pocket Forests, at The Digital Hub campus in the Liberties. Picture by Shane O’Neill/Coalesce
Dublin’s Liberties is known for many things but forestry is not one of them. But the Digital Hub has partnered with social enterprise Pocket Forests to plant Ireland’s first native tree nursery in an urban location – more than 600 trees are to be planted over the coming months.
“The Digital Hub has long had a commitment to enhancing Dublin 8 as a place to live and work,” said Digital Hub CEO Fiach Mac Conghail. “Biodiversity, green spaces and nature are important factors for health and wellbeing, and the installation of this nursery will have a lasting, positive impact on this community for many years to come.”
Of course, there is a poignancy about the Digital Hub pushing ahead with such a long-term project. It was long billed as a key part of the city’s future and more than 400 companies progressed through the enterprise cluster. It may never have quite fulfilled the lofty ambitions it set itself but last March the Government decided to axe the hub. It is to wind down and close its doors, probably next year.
Some people might accuse the Government of not seeing the wood for the trees.
Bamboo, the pay and order solution for food and beverage venues in Ireland, has now appointed Google’s Craig Fenton to its advisory board.
Fenton leads strategy and operations for Google in the UK and Ireland.
He has worked in the technology sector for over two decades and grew up in New Zealand.
The new board member has acted as a mentor for various startups and founded Big Community Records – an independent record label with a social purpose.
Bamboo allows customers to order and pay from restaurants, cafes, bars and hotels, through its app.
It is currently accelerating hiring and investing heavily in signing up new establishments. Earlier this year Bamboo was acquired by POS8
A detailed report by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission into the acquisition of Smurfit Kappa News Press (SKNP) in Kells, Co Meath, by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp UK & Ireland shows it received four third party submissions. However, all related to employment issues – which the commission does not consider. The deal was approved last month. News UK & Ireland already owns the site, which was leased to SKNP as part of a long-term printing agreement. The site prints a number of publications including The Sun and The Sunday Times.