A Decade of Digital Dún Laoghaire / Dargan Institute

Ten years of our work built around three interconnected pillars seeking to create a model of a Digital First Community as a way to regenerate Ireland’s towns: the Dargan Forum — Ireland's flagship annual digital-economy event; the Dargan Hub — a physical home for nine small digital businesses in Dún Laoghaire; and the Dargan Institute — which managed Digital Dún Laoghaire, DunLaoghaireTown.ie, upskilling programmes for local businesses, the Dún Laoghaire Town Chronicle, the Love Dún Laoghaire business promotion campaigns, and founded the Dún Laoghaire Town Team to fill the vacuum left by the Dun Laoghaire BID.

The journey — from the 2016 founding in March to the 2026 transfer of the digital footprint to DLR County Council — was marked by 74 Eventbrite events reaching 3,400+ attendees, 424 LinkedIn posts, numerous research reports on town centre regeneration, 35+ Love Dún Laoghaire campaigns, two books, a national benchmark report, and 4 Dargan Forums that brought ministers, ambassadors, and 149 speakers to Dún Laoghaire.

Our backers - None of this would have been possible without the support of DLR County Council’s Business Area Promotion Grants and the donation of space for our Dargan Hub by Bank of Ireland.