Dún Laoghaire was a hotbed of innovation during the industrial revolution, innovations that changed Irish society and shaped modern Ireland. Our logo reflects four of the major technological advances that took place in our town.

The Dargan Forum was established in 2023 in the wake of the launch of Chat GPT, the visible manifestation of the ever increasing pervasiveness of technology at a time when many are already under pressure to cope and adapt to constant change. 

While the innovations of the industrial revolution were physical in nature those of the 21st century are digital. This increasing change from physical to digital in how we experience the world is increasing the digital divide between those that can and do leverage technology and those that can't and haven’t.

Speaking at the Dargan Forum 2024 Minister Ossian Smyth, said that Dún Laoghaire is a town that was built on technology. From when the first massive block of granite was put in place in May 1817 to build the world’s largest asylum harbour (a title it held for over 50 years) it became the ideal destination for Ireland’s first railway which was completed by engineer William Dargan in 1834.

In the words of the Minister one thing led to another, the planned town emerged to capitalise on the new harbour and railway. He said that this progress depended on people envisioning a new world and getting people on board for that. The Minister noted a key advantage of Dún Laoghaire is that it is a port town, which are always very open places, with Dún Laoghaire being the capital’s connection to the rest of Europe, a very cosmopolitan part of our country that was open to new things.