Pictured L-R: Martin Shanahan (CEO, IDA Ireland), Tim Cook (CEO, Apple), An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD, and Frank Ryan (Chairman, IDA Ireland)
The Apple campus in Hollyhill, Cork employs 6,000 people who work across a variety of sectors, including: Customer care, finance, localisation, manufacturing, sales support, and transportation management.
In January 2020, Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, visited the country to be awarded with IDA Ireland’s inaugural Special Recognition Award. The award, which was presented to Cook by An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD, recognises the unique contribution of FDI to Ireland.
Apple has had a presence in Ireland for 40 years. In 1980, the US-based tech giant opened its headquarters for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) in Hollyhill, Cork. This marked the first time the company set up an office outside of the United States.
From the 1980s to the 2000s, Apple’s Mac production in Ireland represented a huge portion of its worldwide sales.
Since that time, Apple has continued to grow its presence in the country. Today the campus in Hollyhill employs 6,000 people who work across a variety of sectors, including: Customer care, finance, localisation, manufacturing, sales support, and transportation management.
Apple has had a presence in Ireland for 40 years. In 1980, the US-based tech giant opened its headquarters for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) in Hollyhill, Cork.
Apple Sales International, which deals with all sales outside of the United States, is also located in Cork, alongside Apple Distribution International, which similarly deals with Apple’s international distribution network.
At the event in January, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe TD opened the event by noting, “If you look at the modern Irish economy today, we have an economy that is performing strongly … [This] is symbolised in the relationship we have with Apple.”
An Taoiseach spoke next: “Today Apple is Cork’s largest employer with 6,000 people of over 100 different nationalities and is a global operation.
“During this period Ireland has become the tech capital of Europe. We succeeded by looking to the future, opening our country to trade and competition.”
Cook, who would later visit the Apple campus in Hollyhill, said of the award: “It recognises the contributions of our incredible team here who work tirelessly to serve our customers around the country, and around the world.”
While international tech companies like Facebook, Google, Indeed and LinkedIn have since found a home in Ireland, Apple was one of the leading instigators of the country’s tech development.
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