The Digital Hub has today officially opened the ground floor of the historic St Patrick’s Tower as a new event and exhibition space, enabling the landmark Dublin 8 building to be used for the first time since the 1860s.
The opening follows the completion of renovation and conservation works to the ground floor of St Patrick’s Tower, which were funded and supported by Dublin City Council.
The new venue in what was once a working windmill, will be available for use by The Digital Hub’s member companies as well as local businesses, community enterprises and groups, arts and cultural organisations, schools and colleges.
Pictured from left, Richard Shakespeare, CEO of Dublin City Council, poet Annemarie Ni Churreain, Lord Mayor of Dublin Daryl Barron, Darina Kneafsey, Chair of the Digital Hub Development Agency, and Fiach Mac Conghail, CEO of the Digital Hub Development Agency. Poet Annemarie Ni Churreain recited her specially commisioned work ‘Angels’ Share’. PHOTO: Mark Stedman
The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Daryl Barron, officially opened the venue at an event attended by Richard Shakespeare, Chief Executive of Dublin City Council; Darina Kneafsey, Chair of the Digital Hub Development Agency (DHDA); and Fiach Mac Conghail, Chief Executive Officer of The Digital Hub.
The venue can accommodate up to 50 people, is wheelchair accessible and benefits from excellent acoustics and an intimate setting.
St Patrick’s Tower will host its first official event as part of Beta Festival, Ireland’s festival of art and technology, when the festival returns to The Digital Hub campus in November 2026.
Fiach Mac Conghail, Chief Executive Officer of The Digital Hub, said:
“We are delighted to open St Patrick’s Tower and bring the ground floor of this remarkable building back into use for the first time in generations. It gives us a unique and much-needed new venue for events, exhibitions and community activity at the centre of our campus in the heart of The Liberties.
“We look forward to the space being used by our member companies, local businesses, artists and cultural organisations, schools, colleges and community groups. Renovating and reopening the ground floor of St Patrick’s Tower was a commitment in our Strategic Plan and the completed project reflects our wider approach to maintaining and enhancing the historic buildings in our care and finding new uses for them.
“The Digital Hub has spent more than two decades bringing enterprise, cultural and community activity into historic buildings across our campus at the heart of Dublin 8. We are very proud to add this new event and exhibition space, and I would like to thank Dublin City Council for its support and funding for this important project.”
The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr Daryl Barron, said:
“I am delighted to officially open St Patrick’s Tower and welcome this beautiful new event and exhibition space to Dublin.
“St Patrick’s Tower has stood over The Liberties for more than 250 years and is an important part of the history and identity of this part of the city. Bringing its ground floor back into use allows people to experience the building in a new way while creating another space for culture, creativity and community activity.
“Historic buildings are a crucial part of what makes Dublin distinctive. Finding new uses for them helps ensure they remain active parts of the city and can continue to be experienced and enjoyed by future generations.”
Richard Shakespeare, Chief Executive of Dublin City Council, said:
“Dublin City Council was pleased to fund and support this project, which has brought one of The Liberties’ best-known landmarks back into active use while respecting and protecting its historic character.
“The Digital Hub has developed considerable experience in restoring and managing historic buildings and finding new uses for them that support enterprise, culture and the local community. St Patrick’s Tower is another strong example of what can be achieved through that approach.
“The Council has worked closely with The Digital Hub over many years, and we recognise the important contribution it makes to The Liberties. We look forward to continuing that collaboration and to seeing St Patrick’s Tower become another active and well-used part of this historic area.”
St Patrick’s Tower is a protected structure and one of the most recognisable landmarks on The Digital Hub campus in The Liberties. Dating from 1757, the former smock windmill was central to the Thomas Street Distillery, a business that would later become part of the family-owned George Roe & Co.
As part of the renovation project, The Digital Hub carried out conservation works to the exterior of the tower, including the addition of new seating and the careful repointing of parts of the structure.
It also commissioned historian Catherine Scuffil to write a new history of St Patrick’s Tower and has erected new exterior and interior interpretation boards telling the story of the tower and its place in the industrial history of The Liberties.
The new history is also available on The Digital Hub’s website.
As part of the official opening, The Digital Hub commissioned a poem by Annemarie Ní Churreáin.
The Angels’ Share takes its title from the distilling term for the portion of spirit that naturally evaporates from an oak barrel as whiskey matures.
The Digital Hub received planning permission for the renovation works in 2022.
The project included a detailed conservation management plan, with conservation architects, archaeologists and structural engineers involved in overseeing the works.