Lough Key, near Boyle in Roscommon. Image: Peter Fuchs/Shutterstock
New start-up space in Roscommon could facilitate 20 new jobs for the Shannon region.
A 19th-century former spool factory and newspaper office is being turned into a start-up space in Boyle, Co Roscommon.
The Spool Factory is the brainchild of the former owner of the Roscommon Herald, original Shannonside Radio promoter and local entrepreneur, Brian Nerney.
‘It is my wish to develop an informal yet productive facility where start-ups are nurtured’
– BRIAN NERNEY
The new co-working and events space will also be connected to 100Mbps broadband and could ignite growth in the Shannon region.
Spinning out start-ups
Nerney told Siliconrepublic.com that the original building had been the home of the Roscommon Herald since 1859 and before that, it was a spool factory.
He had originally rebuilt the site just before the property crash of 2008, and has since refurbished the building.
Nerney estimates that the Spool Factory has the potential to facilitate more than 20 local jobs in the long term.
The new building follows a trend of new, regional co-working spaces that are popping up all over Ireland, helping to fuel a new entrepreneurial wave.
The facility features single- and multi-user desks for half-day, full-day or weekly rental as well as serviced office suits, meeting rooms and training facilities.
“It is my wish to develop an informal yet productive facility where start-ups are nurtured, co-working is created, and an environment for collaboration, networking and sharing ideas is progressed and fostered,” Nerney said.
Boyle was last year named Ireland’s most enterprising town by Bank of Ireland (BOI), and the Spool Factory is supported by BOI Start-ups. It will be linked with similar co-working centres around the country, Nerney added.
