GORT’S remote office space is offering two days of rental for €30 during December.
Forge Works in Ballyhugh offers rental working spaces for remote workers. It’s perfect for those working in Dublin or Galway who “don’t want to make the commute,” explained Forge Work’s Manager, Pamela Ward. She added, “We all know how crazy houses can be during Christmas, so it's a great little escape.” From December 1st to December 22nd , they will be offering a discounted price of €30 for two days instead of the usual €25 a day.
Currently holding nine individual offices, the company is situated near local cafés/restaurants and has super-fast internet, air filtration systems, printing facilities, a kitchenette with free tea and coffee, and free outside parking.
Pamela said, “It’s quite unusual because in most remote working hubs, they’re all hot desks,” an organisational workspace system where desks are used by different people at different times, maximising space efficiency. She explained that the individual model was based on the fact that the company was born during COVID.
Set up collaboratively with Enterprise Ireland in 2021, Forge Works has supported Burren Lowlands since its opening. Pamela explained that for small businesses that don’t have the finances for a full office, “It’s a lot more affordable to come in and rent an office with ourselves.”
In 2014, the founder of Burren Lowlands, Cathal O’Donoghue, Lecturer at NUIG, conducted a survey with Teagasc to find out the “detrimental effects that the crash had on the South Galway and North Clare regions, and how we were very largely dependent on the construction industry,” said Pamela. After this study, he decided to set up an organisation, the Burren Lowlands, with an ethos of “a better place to live, work, and visit.”
“In the Forge Works, it’s like a community,” said Pamela. They encourage their clients to meet up for breakfast in local Gort cafés; “It’s nice to have social interaction with other people there in a great little group,” she added. Coming up to Christmas, Forge Works will be holding a Christmas lunch for its clients.
“We try to create a community, especially for people who are working in an office all day by themselves.”
Forge Works are open Monday to Friday, from 9am-5:30pm, until December 22nd. They will reopen after the New Year on January 2nd. Once-off renters are given a key and code to access the spaces, but clients booking on a weekly or monthly basis are given 24-hour access. To book an office space, visit connectedhubs.ie.
