In this episode, Padraig Coffey, CEO of Zartis, is joined by Sean O’Sullivan, CTO at Engage EHS, as they explore the evolution of the Irish tech sector in the second half of the 20th century. Note: The ‘History of Software’ podcast has been rebranded to The Story of Software since the recording of this episode.For the past 5 years, Ireland has ranked as the fastest growing economy in the European Union. This is in no small part due to its booming technology sector. In this episode, we explore how the Irish tech industry as we know it today came to be.The first stored-program computer was purchased by the Irish Sugar company, and it arrived in Ireland in 1957. Its purpose was to perform complex calculations regarding payments to sugar beet farmers. Around the same time, in 1956, the first multinational – IBM – set up in Ireland. A decade later, in 1968, the first indigenous technology company – System Dynamics – was set up.In the following decades, Ireland would see a growing number of multinationals and indigenous tech companies open up offices. This has enabled a shift in the wider economic and societal outlook of the country. Moving away from an agrarian society towards high value-added industries, from a conservative to a more liberal society.To learn more, follow us on a deep dive through the second half of the 20th century in the Irish tech sector.We hope you enjoy listening to our tech podcast and feel free to share any feedback with us: [email protected].

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