The Ludgate Hub is in the old cinema in the town and it is the brainchild of a group of business people including John Field who donated the building and Leonard Donnelly who is the former chairman of Dublin’s Digital Hub.
While the hub does not officially open until July it is already operational with 30 business people in situ. The main reason that the hub was possible and is attracting businesses to set up there, is because of the building’s internet connectivity.
“The town and every building will have one-gigabyte connectivity which puts it on a par well beyond Tokyo, well beyond Seoul in Korea, we are on a level-playing field with Shanghai,” tech entrepreneur and local man Leonard Donnelly told the Irish Examiner.
Mr Donnelly is part of the voluntary group that came together to make the Ludgate Hub possible. Other Ludgate team members include RTÉ’s new director general Dee Forbes, and Vodafone CEO Anne O’Leary.
“The five-year plan at a high level, has the objective to create 2,000 jobs and to increase the local economy in Skibbereen and west, west Cork by €37.5m annually,” Mr Donnelly said.
How the hub works is that individual business people can rent a desk there from as little as €15 per day. For this, a business person has access to things such as super fast fibre optic broadband, printing facilities, meeting rooms and a canteen.
“The hub will be formally opened on July 29, but of the 80 places that we have to fill, there are already 30 people in there and there will be another 50 very, very fast. By October that building will be completely filled,” said Mr Donnelly.
“We’re already looking at Ludgate two and three,” he added.
Mr Donnelly said the idea came from the “heart” of those involved.
“I’m from Skibbereen. It’s a combination of a very deep recession which has been worse in rural areas, with an awful lot of young people away, the fact that we’re of a certain age and we have more time. We are all connected with the area, we all have kids, it was from the heart,” he said.
Furthermore, it is not just the old cinema building where the hub is housed, that has access to the one- gigabyte broadband connection, but every building the town.
So far the hub has attracted Irish emigrants, from Barcelona and Chicago home to work. It has also attracted foreign businesses, with no previous connection to Ireland or Cork, to set up parts of their business there. One family from New York and one family from LA have relocated to Skibbereen because of the hub.