Category: News

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Irish Embassy At WHY2025

WHY2025 is a nonprofit outdoors hacker camp taking place in Geestmerambacht, the Netherlands (approx 42km North of Amsterdam), on 8-12 August 2025. The event is organised for and by volunteers from the worldwide hacker community. Knowledge sharing, technological advancement, experimentation, connecting with your hacker peers, forging friendships and hacking (everything from computers to food) are at the core of this event.

WHY2025 is the successor of GHP, HEU, HIP, HAL, WTH, HAR, OHM, SHA, and MCH making it the tenth event in the series, continuing the quadrennial hacker camp tradition in The Netherlands since 1989, a proper milestone!

This is What Hackers Yearn 2025!

The Irish grouping of hackerspaces/makerspaces and wider community are travelling to the camp and will form a village aka the Irish Embassy. You will find us in the larger Milliways Cluster. Find out more about us on the wiki, drop by or follow our Masdadon account.

Our own members are contributing to the camp with Isabella giving a talk titled “Sega Saturn Architectural hell” – https://cfp.why2025.org/why2025/talk/E7R73F/ and Jeffrey running workshops all camp in the Hardware Hacking Area.

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đźš— DIY Electric Vehicle Meetup đźš—

Calling all DIY enthusiasts! Are you searching for an exhilarating and wallet-friendly project that promotes eco-friendliness? Look no further than converting your very own electric vehicle (EV)!

Embrace the philosophy of “reduce, reuse, recycle” for your personal transportation.

Picture that beloved car from your youth, revamped into an EV. Or envision a compact and low-maintenance runaround that’s affordable to operate.

Join a community of passionate bike, car, and motorbike tinkerers who have embarked on the journey of converting their vehicles to electric power.

đź“… Date: Saturday, August 16th
⏰ Time: 3 pm – 7 pm

This casual meetup is the perfect occasion to discuss, explore, and inquire about the EV conversion process. Bring the entire family along, as this event is child-friendly. Reserve your tickets here and get ready for an inspiring afternoon.

🎟️ Eventbrite – DIY Electric Vehicle Meetup

We’ll have tea and coffee available on site, and Tog has an affordable tuck shop with fizzy drinks and snacks. After the event, Tog’s monthly open social night will be on with pizza and chats. Please consider adding a donation to your ticket to support this non-profit space. Suggested donation: €10

This event is run in partnership with the Electronic and Computing division of Engineers Ireland. The Electronic and Computing division members work in software development and testing, including the gaming industry; mobile and fixed line telecommunications; internet services; embedded systems development, and signal processing.

Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to delve into the world of electric vehicle conversion and meet like-minded individuals. See you there! 🔌🌿 #DIYEV #ElectricVehicles #GreenTransportation #EVConversion #SustainableMobility

This you are looking to spend the whole day in Tog, why not also check out our workshop that morning, Build Your Own RISC-V Computer – Olimex RVPC Workshop.

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From Vienna to FAB25: A Maker’s Journey Continues

Here’s a travel diary from one of our members, Jeffrey, who recently attended FAB25, a global gathering of fab labs and makers held this year in Brno and Prague. He shares highlights from workshops, talks, late-night chats, and even a few vegan cakes.

After wrapping up the multimeter workshop at Metalab in Vienna, I continued my summer travels by heading to FAB25 in Prague, the annual gathering of fab labs and makers from around the world. This year’s theme? Bridge the Gap. And what better way to bridge communities than by bringing a bit of Ireland to the Czech Republic?

Day 1 – Brno

The conference this year was split between two cities: Brno and Prague. To kick things off, I jumped on a ~2-hour bus from Vienna over to Brno. After an uneven journey and a quick check-in, I was meeting people right away.

I caught up with Andreas Kopp and Charles Eck from the Erfindergarden Foundation based in Munich. We talked about all things repair and what we should cover in our upcoming working group session together.

The conference kicked off with a great opening, especially a talk from Scotty Allen on storytelling and making. There were also some interesting sounds and beats from Noisy Pots, a Czech duo who put on a great show to get things started.

Day 2 – Brno

The day kicked off in the beautiful Janáček Theatre with talks about the future of the Fab Foundation. In the afternoon, I joined the first of a three-part workshop by the Vulca Network (of which I’m a member), titled Define Your Erasmus+ Strategy.

The session explored how fab labs and makerspaces can access Erasmus+ funding and collaborate internationally. It was practical, clear, and very encouraging, demystifying a system that often feels daunting.

Later that day, I helped run the session How Repair Cafés Can Save the World alongside Andreas Kopp and Rafael Calado from Repair Café Lisboa. We explored how to start, sustain, and connect Repair Cafés across regions and the role they play in circularity, empowerment, and community resilience.

The evening ended with the Conquer the Castle Party, complete with traditional Czech music, brilliant views of the city, and lots of maker chat.

Continue reading “From Vienna to FAB25: A Maker’s Journey Continues”
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Returning to Vienna – A Workshop at Metalab

Here’s a post from one of our members, Jeffrey, about his recent trip to Vienna and a visit to a fellow hackerspace.

It’s not every day you get to revisit a place that helped shape your own hackerspace journey. Earlier this month, Jeffrey made a stopover in Vienna on his way to FAB25.cz, and while he was there, he paid a long-overdue visit to Metalab, Vienna’s oldest hackerspace.

His last time in the city was way back in 2010, for a line-following robot competition. Jeffrey and fellow Tog member Robert Fitzsimons built a painfully slow but determined robot. Of the robots that actually finished the course, they came in last, but technically not last overall, since a few didn’t finish at all. A win’s a win! Old Photos.

That trip also included a visit to Metalab, which left a lasting impression. Its open layout and strong community vibe were a big influence on how we later designed Tog 2.

This time around, Jeffrey got the chance to give back by running a multimeter workshop. There was a great turnout, with participants learning how to properly use a multimeter to measure voltage, current, and resistance. It was a fun and hands-on evening full of questions, demos, and the kind of tinkering we love to see.

After the workshop, Jeffrey got a tour of the space from Hetti, a longtime Metalab member. From the workshop room humming away to the welcoming lounge area full of creativity, it’s clear Metalab continues to thrive.

And making the visit even more special, Meg, one of Tog’s founders, who now lives in Vienna, gave Jeffrey a tour of the city and the best swimming spot to get away from the heat.

📸 Check out the photo album from the workshop and Metalab tour.

Big thanks to the crew at Metalab for the warm welcome and to everyone who joined the workshop. If you’re ever in Vienna, be sure to drop by. It’s a space full of great people and maker magic.

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The Rocking Chair that Came Back to Life at Laois Repair Café

Over the weekend, we hit the road and went to Laois, and what a weekend it was! We managed to fix over 45 items, ranging from toasters to clothes to a whole host of quirky gadgets. People came in with broken stuff, and by the end of the event, many of them were walking out with their favourite items fixed and ready for another lease of life.

But the real heartwarming story of the weekend? It has to be Pauline’s rocking chair, which got a fresh lease of life thanks to our very own Shane Phelan. Now, this wasn’t just any chair; it had history.

Pauline shared a bit about it: “Thanks a million! Chair is fantastic work—my husband is currently sat on it watching a match! It was purchased for my dad (by my mother—they married in 1973) in 1968 for his 21st birthday in June 1968, in Roches Store, Patrick St. Cork! I got it recovered, sanded, varnished, and refurbished (!!🤡) in 2021 but it wasn’t right. Today my husband said he feels more secure in it, so thank you Shane!!”

The rocking chair had been through a lot, but with a little TLC and a touch of Shane’s magic, it’s now back in action and more solid than ever.

The Laois Repair Café was filled with similar stories. There were people bringing in everything from old radios and lamps to stuffed toys and even kitchen appliances, all with one goal: to keep it out of the landfill, and give it another chance. And that’s exactly what we did.

As always, it wasn’t just about repairs. The event was a great chance for people to learn a few tricks, share some stories, and connect with their community. The event was hosted by The CUBE – Low Carbon Centre of Excellence in their lovely building.

These special Repair Café events were only possible with the support of Laois County Council, in collaboration with the Eastern-Midlands Waste Region, and with the generous backing of the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment.

Massive thanks to everyone who came along, and to the volunteers who made it all happen. Check out some of the photos from the weekend in our gallery, and we can’t wait to do it all again soon!