Meet the Irish company behind the app launched by Thierry Henry

11 Nov 2021

Image: Marino Software

Based in DCU Alpha, Marino developed the Game of Our Lives social platform launched by former footballer Thierry Henry at Web Summit.

Last week, former French footballer Thierry Henry launched a new app to tackle online hate, among other issues, at Web Summit in Lisbon. Called Game of Our Lives (GOL), the social platform was developed by Dublin-based Marino Software.

Released by a foundation of the same name, the new social network aims to provide a gamified platform where social activists and public figures can champion causes of their choice with the help of their fans, with the goal to have 1bn humans giving 1pc of their time to causes by 2030.

GOL was inspired by the UN Sustainable Development Goals and will host people championing causes ranging from human rights and gender equality to mental health. Henry, now a football coach, is one of many elite athletes expected to join the cause and collaborate with GOL.

Henry drew international attention in March when he decided to quit social media until platforms and the companies behind them took racism seriously. His impact team on GOL, titled Highlight the Hate, will focus on removing online hate speech from social media platforms.

“I will be removing myself from social media until the people in power are able to regulate their platforms with the same vigour and ferocity that they currently do when you infringe copyright,” he said in a tweet earlier this year. “I’m hoping this happens soon.”

Irish creators

The team behind the development of the app, Marino Software, is a Dublin-based company headquartered at the Dublin City University (DCU) Alpha campus, which hosts innovative companies working towards the development of future technologies.

Founded in 2006 as a web application development company, Marino was named after the Dublin neighbourhood it was born in. After a turbulent period during the financial crisis, Marino set its sails to new opportunities in mobile app development, which has been its focus ever since.

Marino counts among its clients big players in a range of industries, including Permanent TSB, Expressway, RTÉ, Currys and Primark, among others. In 2016, it helped social media platform Vero to build its Android app, which markets itself as a social network free from ads, data mining and algorithms, and went on to add more than 4m users a few days after launch.

“In a world where social responsibility, inclusion and equality should be fundamental parts of any business, both Vero and GOL share these same core values which are also at the heart of what we believe at Marino,” said CEO Keith Davey.

Garrett Sheridan, principal UX and product designer, told Siliconrepublic.com that Marino has provided software for a diverse group of industries, ranging from social networks to banking and even health. “GOL chose us because of our work on Vero,” he said.

He added that Marino was the only software company behind the creation of GOL’s app, marking the company’s second time working with a social media platform after being a part of the development team for Vero.

While based in Dublin, Marino has production and sales hubs in Limerick, Spain, the US and UK, employing around 50 people and actively recruiting to expand its strategic design and development consultancy business.

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Vish Gain was a journalist with Silicon Republic

editorial@siliconrepublic.com