We talk to the head of Google in Dublin, Ronan Harris, who believes that Ireland has built the critical mass to be the capital of Europe’s data economy.

Google employs 5,000 people in Dublin and has been in the Irish capital city some 13 years now. In a rare insight into the goings-on at Google in Dublin, , we learn that the company’s operations on Barrow Street are at the forefront of initiatives in Europe’s apps economy, digital start-ups and the future of digital publishing.

According to Harris, Google first came to Dublin to create 50 jobs and now employs 5,000 people across a broad range of roles from sales to HR, finance, apps, start-ups and engineering.

On the engineering front, Google employs 400 people and is building its second data centre on the edge of the city.

Words by John Kennedy