On August 21, 2015, Google announces a major investment of €150 million to build a new two‑story data centre alongside its existing facility at Profile Park, Grangecastle, West Dublin. This marks Google’s second major data centre investment in Ireland and is part of its ongoing expansion of cloud computing infrastructure.
The new facility is designed to support Google’s global fleet of cloud computing facilities, with a focus on building the world’s most energy‑efficient computing network. The expansion is completed in phases, with the groundbreaking in 2018 for the €150 million project, which takes about 16 months to build.
Google’s economic and employment impact includes over €750 million in capital assets in Ireland since 2003, with the new centre adding to that total. At peak construction, the project creates around 400 jobs; by completion, Google’s Irish operations employ 6,000 people (direct and contracted). A 2018 Copenhagen Economics report estimates the Irish data centre operations supports 4,900 jobs and contributes €400 million to Ireland’s gross domestic product (GDP) between 2011 and 2017.
TaoiseachEnda Kenny describes the opening as “a new chapter” in Google’s story in Ireland, noting the company’s role as a leader in the country’s digital community. Minister Mary Mitchell O’Connor welcomes the investment as proof of Ireland’s competitive advantage for high‑tech companies and its skilled workforce. Ministers Heather Humphreys and Pat Breen call it a “vote of confidence” in Ireland’s business environment and a testament to the country’s technical expertise and infrastructure.
The Grange Castle site becomes a key hub for Google’s EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) operations, with engineering teams in Dublin central to the company’s global efficiency goals. The investment reinforces Ireland’s position as a major European data centre location, benefiting not only Google but also the broader Irish tech and business ecosystem.
In summary, the August 2015 announcement is the start of a significant infrastructure and employment boost for Ireland, with the completed €150 million expansion solidifying Google’s long‑term commitment to the country’s digital economy.
Paul McGuinness, the founder of Principle Management Limited, a popular music act management company based in Dublin, is born on June 16, 1951, in Rinteln, Westphalia, Germany. He is the manager of the rock band U2 from 1978 to 2013.
McGuinness is born in a British military hospital at Rinteln where his father, Philip McGuinness, a native of Liverpool, is serving with the Royal Air Force. His mother, Sheila McGuinness (née Lyne), is a schoolteacher from County Kerry. There are three children in the family: Paul, Niall, and Katy.
McGuinness receives his early formal education in Ireland at the private Jesuit boarding school, Clongowes Wood College. From there he goes on to Trinity College Dublin, where he directs plays, edits the magazine T.C.D. Miscellany, and promotes gigs, but drops out before obtaining a degree.
Before becoming involved with U2, Guinness works as a film assistant director on productions such as John Boorman‘s Zardoz. For a time, he also manages folk-rock group Spud.
McGuinness first meets U2 at a Dublin gig on May 25, 1978, where they are supporting the Gamblers. Following this meeting, he becomes U2’s manager, having been introduced to the band by Bill Graham, a journalist with Hot Press magazine. His original agreement with the band is that the money is to be split equally five ways, though this is later changed.
McGuinness founds Principle Management Limited on March 29, 1984. He and Bill Whelan set up a music publishing company called McGuinness/Whelan Publishing in the late 1980s. Whelan later composes the music for the theatrical show Riverdance.
In 2002, McGuinness is presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Meteor Music Awards at the Point Theatre in Dublin and U2 wins the best Irish Band Award.
Noted for his business acumen, McGuinness is responsible for U2 3D concert films, U2-branded iPods, sponsorship from BlackBerry and the first-ever concert streamed live on YouTube.
McGuinness is regarded as the fifth member of U2, although in an interview with The Irish Press in 1985, when asked if he is the fifth member of U2, he replies, “The fifth member of U2 is in Adam (Clayton)‘s trousers.” He is also regarded as one of the most successful managers in the music business.
McGuinness steps down as manager of U2 after 34 years on November 13, 2013, with Madonna‘s manager, Guy Oseary, succeeding him in 2014 when he sells Principle Management Limited to Live Nation.
McGuinness is a founding partner of TV3 (Ireland) and is one of the owners of Ardmore Film Studios. He becomes a member of the Arts Council of Ireland on January 1, 1988, having been appointed by Charles Haughey. He serves until February 2000 when he resigns.
McGuinness has been an advocate on behalf of artists, record labels, and music publishers. On January 28, 2008, in a speech at the Midem music industry convention in Cannes, he specifically accuses companies such as Apple, Google, Yahoo!, and Facebook of building “multi-billion dollar industries on the back of our content without paying for it.”
In 2015, McGuinness founds Primo Productions, a film and TV company. Primo produces three seasons of Riviera, a drama set in the South of France. He writes the “list of ingredients” for the show: “Rich people behaving badly in the sun, yachts, Maseratis, great clothes, beautiful women, art fraud, money laundering through the auction houses, Russians, English people, American, French. Murder, adultery.” Everyday life on the Côte d’Azur. His production partner is Kris Thykier of Archery Pictures. The show is originally commissioned by Anne Mensah of Sky Atlantic.
McGuinness marries Kathy Gilfillan in 1977. They meet while he is studying at Trinity. Gilfillan is director of The Lilliput Press. They have two children.
seamus dubhghaill 