Three Mast Group Helps Sandyford Advance Vision for New Regional Innovation Campus

Nov 21, 2025 - Dublin, Ireland

Earlier this week, Three Mast Group traveled to Dublin to continue its support of Sandyford Business District, a business and innovation district located just south of the city that hosts many major U.S. digital companies that include Microsoft, Mastercard, Salesforce, Google, and Meta, along with Irish and European heavyweights.

Three Mast Group is supporting Sandyford as it develops and advances plans to launch a dedicated start-up and innovation campus, attract investors, and build stronger community and investor engagement programming.

What ultimately unfolded on the ground this week was more than a strategy session. It was a moment in which business leaders joined with academic institutions, as well as local, regional, and national policymakers, to explore how Sandyford can evolve from a thriving corporate district into a fully-fledged regional innovation ecosystem. Several foreign ambassadors also attended, further underlining Sandyford's strategic relevance to the international community.

International and National Leaders in the Room

The event was opened by An Cathaoirleach Cllr. Jim Gildea and attended by a broad delegation of local, regional, and national Irish public servants including Deputy Shay Brennan, Deputy Maeve O’Connell, Leas Cathaoirleach Cllr. Pierce Dargan, Cllr. Jim O’Leary, Cllr. Fiona Murray, and Cllr. Frank MacNamara, alongside Frank Curran, Chief Executive of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, and his executive team.

Adding global weight to the conversation were representatives from several embassies:

• Edward Sharp Walsh, Ambassador of the United States of America

• H.E. Lahcen Mahraoui, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco

• Humaid Al Naqbi, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of the United Arab Emirates

• Ira Haltia, Embassy of Finland

Articulating the Vision for a New Kind of Campus

During the gathering, Sandyford CEO Ger Corbett outlined a vision that would allow the district to deepen its strengths:

• Foster innovation and collaboration

• Support local and scaling businesses

• Drive long-term economic growth

• Strengthen community, research, and connectivity

Partners from Three Mast Group and UrbanDNA expanded on how the district can translate this vision into reality. We emphasized the importance of pairing physical infrastructure with ecosystem design, ensuring the campus supports start-up formation, corporate start-up collaboration, talent pipelines, and international connectivity.

A Regional Model: Learning From Silicon Valley

In our remarks, we highlighted an analogy that resonated with many attendees. Dublin already takes pride in its downtown "Silicon Docks" neighborhood. But the history of global innovation hubs shows that success rarely stays confined to one neighborhood.

After all, Silicon Valley didn’t grow in downtown San Francisco; it flourished across the wider Bay Area, which is a region of interconnected innovation districts.

Sandyford is poised to play that complementary role for the greater Dublin region: a scalable, interconnected, regional innovation node that strengthens the whole ecosystem.

Business and Academic Anchors Strengthening the Foundation

Although the event served a vital role to inform and solidify commitment from many enabling partners, it was also joined by a number of representative corporations, SMEs, and start-ups from Sandyford that stand to benefit enormously from Sandyford's proposed physical and community developments.

Academic partners also joined, including NovaUCD and Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology, with contributions from Liam Cronin, UCD’s Director of Innovation. Their involvement confirmed that universities are ready to play a central role in shaping the campus and the broader ecosystem.

A District at an Inflection Point

For Three Mast Group, the evening (and prior and subsequent one-on-one discussions) provided a view into a district on the cusp of a new wave of transformation. The density of corporations is already there. The political will is clearly growing. The academic community is engaged. And the international community is paying attention.

What Sandyford is building is not just another business park expansion. It is the foundation for a regional innovation platform - one that is capable of generating new companies, attracting global investment, and expanding Dublin’s innovation footprint.

Three Mast Group will continue supporting Sandyford’s management team as it advances the next phase of planning and stakeholder engagement.