Category: Workshops/Events

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Eat the Streets Ballyfermot Community Festival!

We’re delighted to be taking part in Eat the Streets, a family-friendly festival celebrating food, community, and sustainability in Ballyfermot.

The idea is simple (and right up our alley): grow, cook, create, and discover together — bringing families, urban growers, and chefs straight from the streets to the table.

TOG workshop: Learn to wire a plug (with Jeffrey Roe)

As part of the festival, our own Jeffrey Roe will be running a hands-on “learn to wire a plug” skills workshop.

If you’ve ever looked at a plug and thought, “I should really know how to do this properly” — this is your chance. It’s a practical, confidence-boosting skill, and we’ll keep it friendly and beginner-friendly.

(Some festival workshops have limited capacity and may require free tickets — if you’re planning to do a few sessions, it’s worth checking the bookings.)

Can’t make it on the day?

No stress — if you miss Jeffrey’s learn to wire a plug workshop at the festival, we’re running the same workshop again in March as part of Engineers Week at TOG Hackerspace.

You’ll get the same practical, step-by-step guidance (and the confidence to do it safely at home).

Full details and booking info are on the TOG site:
https://www.tog.ie/2026/02/learn-to-wire-a-plug-engineers-week-edition-workshop-at-tog/

What else is on?

There’s loads happening across the afternoon, including:

  • Cooking demos: Batch Cooking, FakeAways, and Empty Your Fridge
  • Workshops: Grow it Yourself, Natural Remedies, Fun Tie-Dye and more
  • Information stalls
  • Family fun: Free face painting and children’s entertainment

Event details

  • Location: Ballyfermot Community Civic Centre
  • Date: Saturday, 14th February 2026
  • Time: 12pm – 4pm
  • Cost: Free

Come eat, learn, share, and connect

Pop down, bring the family, meet local growers and community groups, pick up a few ideas for reducing food waste, and come chat to us at TOG while you’re at it.

More info (and tickets where needed): eatthestreets.ie/festival

#EatTheStreetsFestival #SustainableFood #CommunityEvent #UrbanGrowing #FoodCulture #Ballyfermot #FamilyFriendly

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Soldering Workshop (Engineers Week) – Build a Kit on the Night

We’re running a beginner-friendly soldering workshop at TOG Hackerspace for Engineers Week.

If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to solder (or just get more confident with it), this is a hands-on session that starts from the basics and finishes with you building something real.

Like our previous soldering workshops, we’ll cover safe tool use, good technique, and the common mistakes that catch people out.

What to expect

In this class, our instructors will guide you through the process of soldering components onto a circuit board. We’ll start with the fundamentals — how to use a soldering iron properly, how to get a clean joint, and how to spot (and fix) issues — then you’ll build your own project.

New for this Engineers Week edition: choose your kit

On the night, you’ll get to pick one of five different kits and build it after the lesson. Each kit is designed to be achievable for beginners, with help on hand if you get stuck.

Workshop details

No electronics experience needed — just come along ready to learn. (If you want an age limit like the last one, drop it in here.)

Why Engineers Week?

Engineers Week is all about celebrating engineering in everyday life — and soldering is one of those skills that turns curiosity into “I can actually build that”. It’s a brilliant gateway into electronics: you learn how components fit together, how circuits come to life, and how to make something solid and reliable with your own hands. You’ll leave with a finished kit you built yourself, and a lot more confidence the next time you open up a project, fix a cable, or start tinkering with electronics at home.

And if you’re in the mood to learn another practical skill during Engineers Week, check out our Learn to Wire a Plug workshop too:
https://www.tog.ie/2026/02/learn-to-wire-a-plug-engineers-week-edition-workshop-at-tog/

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Plant All The Things

seeds

It’s a New Year and January has already given way to February. Many of us at TOG are keen vegetable growers and we’re now looking forward to spring and the growing season ahead. The harvest last year was super, so let’s hope for a repeat.

Join us at TOG for a free seed and plant swap on Saturday 21st February from 3PM to 7PM. We’ll be planting lots of seeds on the day and hopefully no one will go away empty handed. We’ll have plenty of pots, bags and potting compost.


If you have anything surplus that you’d like to share, why not bring it along…. seeds? plants? cuttings? We’d love to hear your own stories of what you like to plant in your own garden or space. Tell your friends and family about the event. If you’re involved with any community gardens, then definitely tell them also. The kettle will be on all day with plenty of tea and coffee and biscuits.

From 7PM that same day, it’s our regular monthly Open Social event which you are welcome to join also. There’ll be pizza and plenty of chat and craic as usual. TOG is a non-profit space run by unpaid volunteers. Donations are always welcome.

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Learn to Wire a Plug (Engineers Week Edition) – Workshop at TOG

We’re running our Learn to Wire a Plug workshop again at TOG Hackerspace — a practical, confidence-boosting skill that’ll serve you for years. If you’ve ever looked at a broken plug or a dodgy extension lead and thought “I should know how to sort that”… this is the evening for you.

What’s it all about?

This is a hands-on session where we’ll guide you through safely wiring a 13A plug and connecting it to a 4-gang extension lead. No prior experience needed — we’ll go step-by-step and explain the “why” as well as the “how”.

Each participant will:

  • Wire a 3-core cable into a standard plug
  • Connect that cable into a 4-way socket block
  • Learn about fuses, strain relief, polarity, and safe wiring practice
  • Get their finished lead PAT tested so it’s safe and ready to use at home
  • Take home a working, tested extension lead they built themselves

All tools and materials are provided.

Note: This workshop is wiring a portable extension lead for personal use and does not fall under Restricted Electrical Works (as per Safe Electric guidance).

Booking info

🎟️ Tickets: €25 + booking fee
https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/learn-to-wire-a-plug-engineers-week-edition-workshop-at-tog-tickets-1982339639224?aff=oddtdtcreator

Places are limited to keep it properly hands-on — so booking ahead is recommended.

Why Engineers Week?

Engineers Week is all about celebrating engineering in everyday life — and honestly, safe, practical household skills are a brilliant gateway into understanding how things work. You’ll leave with something useful, and a bit more confidence the next time you’re faced with a simple electrical fix.

Workshop details recap

📅 Date: Tuesday, 3rd March
⏰ Time: 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
📍 Location: TOG Hackerspace (see tog.ie for directions)
💶 Cost: €25 + fee (includes all materials + donation to TOG)
✅ Beginner-friendly — no experience needed

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TouchDesigner Meetup Dublin – January

Date: 28th January 2026

Time: 7:00PM – 10:00PM

Tickets are free, but registration via Eventbrite is required to secure your place: 
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/touchdesigner-meetup-dublin-tickets-1980805845606?aff=oddtdtcreator

We are delighted to announce that TouchDesigner Monthly Meetup series in collaboration with TOG Hackerspace will continue heading into 2026. Thanks to the support of Derivative, we will be able to sustain the series for the next six months. In addition to this, we have decided to create a name for our small collective of organisers and practitioners called NóidLab. Please give us a follow, as we aim to promote details about upcoming events and plan on sharing some of the BTS behind the meetups.

We plan on re-using the same structure as last year, as we want to keep the project sustainable and accessible for everyone involved. Each session runs for around three hours in a relaxed, hands-on setting. With multiple rooms available at TOG Hackerspace, we can host beginner and advanced activities simultaneously, ensuring everyone gets the most out of the evening. The first two hours will focus on learning, with a combination of scheduled short and long presentations/demonstrations. The last hour will take a more flattened and open approach, allowing the space for people to chat, share, learn, and explore TouchDesigner. Expect an informal, community-driven environment where the format adapts to participants. So if you would like to bring your laptop and learn the basics, share your projects, or connect with other using the software, this meetup offers a welcoming and supportive space to do so.

The event is also a great opportunity to meet other creative technologists and artists, and to continue building the growing TouchDesigner community in Ireland.

We’ve also set up a Discord server for ongoing discussion and planning. Join us there, or contact us @ noidlab.collective@gmail.com to share ideas for future sessions or to express interest in presenting your work: https://discord.gg/6s3WMdH2

A special thanks to TOG for allowing us to use the space for these events, and Derivative for supporting the project. The meetups are hosted each month by a group of artists and creative technologists:

Workshops:

For the first set of demonstrations will be run by two of our orgainsers—Ciaran & Serdar.

Ciaran will focus on utilising POPs to manipulate 3D models created with 2D images. Following this, Serdar will be demonstrating how to build a digital instrument using TouchDesigner and MediaPipe.

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TOG Turns 17: Birthday Open Social, Pizza, Cake, and a Bit of Craic

TOG is turning 17, and we’re marking it the best way we know how: by rolling our regular Open Social Night into a proper birthday session with pizza, cake, and plenty of chatting, tinkering, and general messing.

If you’ve been meaning to drop in for ages, this is a lovely one to start with. If you’re a regular, you already know the vibe: good people, interesting projects on benches, and the sort of conversations that start with “what’s that board?” and end up with someone soldering at 1am.

When and where

  • Date: Saturday 24th January
  • Time: 7:00pm until late
  • Location: TOG Hackerspace

The space stays open until the last member calls it a night, which often means we drift happily into the small hours of Sunday morning. Pop in for 10 minutes or stay for the whole stretch, you’re very welcome.

What to expect

  • Homemade pizza from the TOG pizza oven, rolling out through the evening
  • Birthday cake (because we’re not animals)
  • A relaxed open evening: tours, chats, and a look at whatever weird and wonderful builds are on the go
  • Community craic: talk, tunes, and the usual “oh go on, I’ll show you how that works” energy

Our Open Social Nights are an easy, no-pressure way to see the space and meet the people. There’s no agenda and no expectation that you’re “good at” anything. Curiosity is the only requirement.

Make a full day of it: Finish-a-thon earlier that day

This birthday party is happening the same day as our Finish-a-thon, running 11:00am to 7:00pm. So if you’ve got a project half-done, a box of parts staring at you, or a nagging “I really should finish that”, you can spend the day getting it wrapped up, then roll straight into the birthday celebrations at 7pm.

Have a look here for the Finish-a-thon details:
https://www.tog.ie/2026/01/a-day-to-finish-what-you-started-finish-a-thon-2/

What to bring

We’ll have food covered between pizza and cake, but feel free to bring along:

  • A drink (or your beverage of choice)
  • Snacks to share
  • A project to show off, or something you want advice on
  • A friend who’s curious about makerspaces

We’ve also got plenty of free parking, so it’s handy to swing by with gear, gadgets, or something for show-and-tell.

Come celebrate 17 years of TOG

Seventeen years of TOG is a bit mad, in the best way. What started as a small group of people who wanted a place to build and learn has grown into a proper community workshop full of skills, tools, and good humour.

So come in, grab a slice of pizza, have a wander, meet the crew, and help us celebrate.

See you Saturday 24th January from 7pm.