The Convention Centre Dublin

Before we get to the meeting capabilities, high tech setup or next-level transport links. We’ve got to talk about how stunning this venue looks both inside and out. If you want to wow guests by hosting your conference at a location that’ll stick with them - this is a brilliant pick.

The building stands tall on Dublin’s skyline, along the docklands that face the River Liffey. It’s hard to miss the stunning glass fronted atrium that can at once be seen from all around the city and offer panoramic views of it from the inside.

The interior is a brilliant, modern space with accessibility and Irish Heritage in mind. As you enter the Main Foyer space, flooded with natural light from the atrium, you’ll see “Cead Mile Failte inscribed in large font across the interior wall. This means “A hundred thousand welcomes”. The team told us they wanted this phrase to capture the welcoming heart of Irish Hospitality, and let us tell you, The CCD has that in bucket loads. Newer venues, especially larger Convention Centres can often be held captive by their size, meaning it’s harder to infuse a sense of identity into the venue, but The Convention Centre Dublin feels so brilliantly unique everywhere you look. Whether it’s the one of a kind architecture, the incredibly helpful staff or the intelligent and dedicated events team, there’s a bit of that welcoming spirit everywhere you look here!

But how did we get there? Well we’ll tell you there’s a thousand ways to get to The Convention Centre Dublin - maybe not quite 1000 but you get the idea… Firstly, as we mentioned before, Dublin airport is 15 minutes away and Dublin Bus operates a 24-hour direct bus service from the venue to the airport. Failing that, Dublin Express coaches also offer a direct service to and from the international airport which has daily flights across Europe, the USA, Asia and more, including over 180 direct routes. For organisers who may be driving to the venue, The Convention Centre Dublin is just minutes off the M50 with over 320 spaces in their private underground parking facility. Within the vicinity of the venue there’s over 2000 parking spaces available making this venue one of the most easily accessible - and well linked - in the country. We think the infrastructure for travel is truly brilliant in Dublin, it was a constant theme as we spent time here for our Destination of the Month visit, and The CCD really benefits from this - making it a great fit for international meetings!

We’ve also got to drop a mention to the brilliant surrounding attractions that date all the way back to Dublin’s time as a Viking city. The joy of this amazing city is its walkability, allowing you and your team to take a guided walking tour of the incredible sights and sounds on offer, from lively buskers to the artsy alternative corners of Temple Bar! The Guinness Storehouse, Botanical Gardens and Kilmainham Gaol Museum are all brilliant experiences a stone's throw away from this venue - fantastic spots to take your team on an unforgettable team building day-out!

Venue Name: The Convention Centre Dublin
Venue Address: Spencer Dock, North Wall Quay, Dublin 1, D01 T1W6
Venue Website: www.theccd.ie
Sales Contact: Niamh Burns
Phone: 0866034099
Email Address: Niamh.burns@theccd.ie

Distance from nearest airport: 10 km. 20 minutes drive via Dublin Port Tunnel
Distance from nearest railway station: 1km. 3 minutes drive

One of the central focuses of The Convention Centre Dublin is their efforts towards sustainability and wow - do they knock it out the park. There are four key pillars to their efforts in this sector: Working towards being a net carbon zero venue, making a positive impact on the local community, sustainable hospitality practices and halting use of all single use plastics. We had a great lengthy chat with the team about how they’re achieving these goals (like using clean electrical energy and eliminating sourcing food by air-freight) and some of the accolades they’ve received for their work (Gold accredited Healthy Venue and Origin Green) which really proved just how dedicated they were!

Once you make it through the 900 square metre foyer, there’s so much exploring to do in this amazing building. There are five floors with each having a dedicated foyer, filled with natural light, meaning there’s always reception space. The ground floor is home to the largest flat floor space - The Forum. This is a seriously impressive exhibition space that sprawls a bewilderingly large 2721 square metres.

Past the gold and mirror clad Foyer on Level One you’ll find The Liffey rooms which we won’t spoil as they’re one of the stars of our Meeting space highlights! The second floor houses two large, pillarless rooms for small conventions or large conferences, both with a 200+ capacity. There’s also a plethora of meeting rooms on this floor, all with natural light, which are perfect for smaller board meetings, training or interviews!

Levels three four and five all provide access to the huge auditorium, the most impressive space at the Convention Centre Dublin. These floors also boast the most impressive views of the Liffey and Dublin skyline. All of the floors are serviced by a centrepiece escalator that stands five stories high, tying the whole venue together like vast metallic shoelaces.

MEETING SPACE HIGHLIGHT: The Auditorium
One of the most impressive spaces we’ve ever had the joy of visiting, this nearly 2000 capacity auditorium is as functional as it is beautiful, and let us tell you, this is a truly beautiful space. There is amazing intricate visual detailing like their gorgeous wood-panelled walls sourced from sustainable forests and premium Figueras ‘eight-hour’ chairs, each complete with their own ventilation, fold down laptop tables, power socket and data ports. These furnishings may be the standouts elsewhere, but here, the CCD take it a step further by outclassing their own high standards with limitless functionality for your event in this space. Whether it’s taking advantage of the fly tower and orchestra pit, the integrated autocues or state-of-the-art AV control - or with the brilliant accessibility features of the room like 20 wheelchair spaces and 7 interpretation booths scattered around the room - this is the kind of next level auditorium space for venues you’ll want delegates never to forget.

Location: 3rd - 4th - 5th Floors
Natural daylight: No
Theatre style layout – capacity: 1992
AV equipment: There is a Technical Production package included in the conference rental for The Auditorium - lights, sound, technicians, equipment, front of house support (Hosts & Event Manager).

---------------------------------

MEETING SPACE HIGHLIGHT: The Liffey Suites
The Liffey Suites are some brilliant, highly technical rooms that are divided by a state of the art piece of technology. The Skyfold system allows you to divide The Liffey Room into two parts, A and B, while simultaneously soundproofing the rooms. Divided or together, these rooms have brilliant capabilities for gala dinners, awards, conferences, exhibitions and trade shows. This flat floored room can also be serviced by the building's commercial lift which allows trucks of up to 40 ft up to the second story in order to load in everything you might need to make your event bespoke and unforgettable! There are also five small meeting rooms (The Liffey Meeting rooms) which are brilliant for breakout spaces or even to be used as reception/storage areas for your delegates using the main Liffey Suite.

Location: 1st Floor
Natural daylight: No
Room size 1650 Sq.m
Theatre style layout – capacity 2151
Cabaret style layout – capacity 700
Dinner – capacity 1290
Drinks reception – capacity 1600
AV equipment: There is a Technical Production package included in the conference rental for The Liffey Suite - lights, sound, technician, equipment, front of house support (Hosts & Event Manager)

---------------------------------

MEETING SPACE HIGHLIGHT: 5th Floor Foyer
Different to the large scale, blank canvas Liffey Room or the Grandiosity of the Auditorium, the foyer spaces at The Convention Centre Dublin provide an airy, open feel, flooded with natural light. On our visit, we were lucky enough to have a dinner up here and can testify to the unbelievable catering on display here. If you’re looking for a space with a view then this, one of the highest conferencing spaces in the city, is the one for you - capable of so much, from classy dining to a warm reception drinks evening.

Location: 5th Floor
Natural daylight: Yes
Dinner – capacity 100 Fork Buffet
Drinks reception – capacity 150 people standing

Summary
What an amazing building The CCD is, from the catering, to the technology on display, to the accessibility and sustainability efforts, this is in the highest calibre of conference centres in the country, if not all of Europe. The team is full of fantastic experts and makes your event at this space seamless, functional and unforgettable. This is the place to combine a destination city with a destination venue!