Category: News

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All Island Maker Mobility: Connecting Communities Through Making

We’ve some lovely news to share at Tog. We’ve been awarded funding under the Shared Island Civic Society Fund for a new cross-border project called All Island Maker Mobility, with the tagline Connecting Communities Through Making.

We’re really delighted to be teaming up with Farset Labs in Belfast for this project. Farset are a volunteer-run hackerspace and maker community, and like Tog, they are all about people coming together to learn, build, experiment, repair, and share skills. It feels like a very natural partnership, and we’re excited to see where it leads.

Over the next year, we’ll be working together on a mix of activities to bring our communities closer together. That includes site visits between Dublin and Belfast, a Maker-in-Residence exchange between both spaces, and the development of a shared STEM outreach resource that we can each bring to events and use in our own public activities. We’ll also be taking the project out into the world through events such as Dublin Maker, ShipItCon, and the Northern Ireland Developer Conference (NIDC), helping more people discover what makerspaces are all about and why they matter.

The first part of the project is happening on April 11th, when members of Farset Labs will come to visit Tog. They’ll be joining us for our Repair Café, where there’ll be plenty of fixing, tinkering, problem-solving, and tea. Afterwards, they’ll stay on for our monthly Open Social Night, which should make for a great evening of chat, ideas, and getting to know each other a bit better.

For us, this project is about much more than just a few visits. It’s about building lasting connections between communities North and South, sharing skills openly, and showing how making can bring people together. Makerspaces can be places of learning, creativity, repair, and belonging, and we’re really happy to have the chance to grow that through this project.

We’re looking forward to welcoming our friends from Belfast into the space and sharing more updates as the project develops.

This project is made possible with support from the Shared Island Civic Society Fund through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. We’re very grateful for that support, which is helping Tog Hackerspace and Farset Labs build stronger links through making, shared learning, and community collaboration across the island.

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TOG Hackerspace at Dublin Comic Con Spring 2026

We had a brilliant weekend at Dublin Comic Con Spring 2026, with TOG Hackerspace back on the floor meeting loads of curious visitors, makers, sci-fi fans, and people discovering us for the first time.

Our stand was packed with a mix of what makes TOG great: games, radio gear, 3D prints, and homemade sci-fi props. It gave us a great chance to show off the kinds of projects our members get up to and to chat with people about making, hacking, building, fixing, and learning new skills together.

One of the best parts of the weekend was getting to talk to everyone who stopped by the stand. Some people already knew TOG, while others were hearing about the space for the first time. We had loads of great conversations about electronics, creative projects, fabrication, radio, cosplay props, and all the different things that can happen when you get a community of curious people together in one space.

Events like Comic Con are always great fun for us. They are a chance to share a bit of the spirit of TOG out in the wild and hopefully inspire a few more people to come along to one of our open nights, workshops, or events.

Thanks to everyone who dropped by to say hello over the weekend. We had a great time, and we’re already looking forward to the next one.

You can see more photos from the weekend here:
https://www.tog.ie/gallery/nggallery/album/dublin-comic-con-spring-26

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DMR Demonstration Evening

If you’ve been DMR-curious for a while (or you’ve a radio sitting there with a half-finished codeplug), this is a great chance to see a full setup done properly, step-by-step.

On Tuesday, 24th March 2026, South Dublin Radio Club, in collaboration with TOG Hackerspace, will host a DMR Demonstration Evening at the club in Rathfarnham.

What’s happening on the night

Jeffrey Roe (EI7IRB) will give a practical demonstration covering:

  • Setting up a DMR hotspot
  • Creating and programming a codeplug
  • Tips and lessons learned during setup (the bits that aren’t obvious until you’ve tried it)

This session will suit:

  • Anyone new to DMR who wants the “what talks to what?” overview
  • Anyone with an existing setup who wants to tidy it up, improve it, or avoid common pitfalls

Want to contribute?

Members who’d like to give a short demo or presentation on other parts of DMR are very welcome to get involved — different radios, different workflows, different approaches all help.

Event details

  • Date: Tuesday, 24th March 2026
  • Free: No Booking Required,
  • Time: 19:30 – 21:30
  • Venue: South Dublin Radio Club, Ballyroan Community Centre, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14

We’re looking forward to a good evening of radio chat, practical demos, and plenty of Q&A. See you there!

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TOG Hackerspace at the Phoenix ARC “Coolmine” Radio Rally 2026

Last year we packed up a few projects, a pile of flyers, and the usual “sure we’ll only be there an hour” optimism… and had a brilliant day out at the Phoenix Amateur Radio Club annual rally in Coolmine.

Good news: it’s on again this year, and we’ll be back along representing TOG — EI0TOG — for a chat, a catch-up, and a bit of radio craic.

Radio rallies are for everyone

If you’ve never been to a radio rally, don’t let the name put you off. They’re not just for licensed amateurs or hardcore collectors — they’re for anyone who likes electronics, making, fixing, DIY, audio gear, test equipment, and learning how things work.

You’ll see traders with radios and antennas, boxes of components, the “maybe I’ll need that someday” adapters, and plenty of people happy to help you figure out what you’re looking at (or what you accidentally bought!).

The details

Date: Sunday 15th February 2026
Event: 2026 Phoenix Amateur Radio Club “Coolmine” Rally
Venue: Coolmine Community School, Dublin, D15 FW97
Doors open: 10:00

Say hello to TOG (EI0TOG)

Drop over and say hi at the TOG table. Whether you’re curious about getting started in radio, want to know what a hackerspace is like, or you’re deep into a project and looking for a nudge in the right direction — we’re always up for a chat.

And if you’re already on the air, give us a wave — it’s always great to meet radio friends in person as well as over the bands.

Photos from last year

Want a taste of what the Coolmine Rally is like? Here’s our gallery from last year’s visit — stalls, treasures, and the general rally buzz:

https://www.tog.ie/gallery/nggallery/all/phoenix-amateur-radio-club-annual-radio-rally-2025

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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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TOG joins the VULCA Network

We’ve some good news to share: TOG Hackerspace is now a member of the VULCA Network, a European network of makers, makerspaces and maker networks getting involved at the European level.

VULCA’s story is very “makerspace”. They started as a bunch of friends travelling around Europe, visiting spaces, sleeping on fab managers’ and hackers’ couches, and building friendships the old-fashioned way by showing up and sharing what they knew. Over time that grew into a wider network, with a goal of helping makerspaces build connections across Europe and beyond.

We joined as a makerspace member, and we did it the straightforward way: we applied in December 2025. (VULCA open membership applications twice a year, in December and June.)

So what does this mean for TOG? In practical terms it connects us into a wider European community for exchanges, collaboration and shared learning. VULCA also supports members around mobility and cross-border collaboration, and runs meetups like the annual VULCA Seminar, a multi-day gathering for members to meet, swap know-how and strengthen the wider maker movement.

We’ll share more as we figure out what we want our first “VULCA chapter” to look like, but the aim is simple: more opportunities for TOG members to connect with other community-run spaces, learn new tricks, and bring that energy back to Kylemore Road.