Data Centers in Cork

Cork – Strategic Gateway for Transatlantic Speed

Executive Summary

Cork serves as the primary secondary hub for organizations requiring geographic redundancy outside of Dublin. It acts as a high-performance landing point for subsea cables, making it a critical choice for enterprises prioritizing low-latency connections between European markets and North America. This strategic positioning ensures resilient connectivity and high-speed data transfer for global operations.

Cork: At A Glance

Network & Connectivity Ecosystem

Cork functions as a critical junction for international traffic, moving data between continents with minimal delay.

Carrier Density & Carrier Neutrality: Carrier count: over 10 as of September 2025. The market supports a mix of local and international carriers, providing approximately 10–15 unique connectivity options. Carrier neutrality is the standard here, facilitating flexible interconnection across the local ecosystem.

Direct Cloud On-Ramps: 0, enabling access to 0 cloud regions as of September 2025. While no hyperscale on-ramps are physically located in Cork, high-speed private extensions to Dublin facilitate access to AWS, Google Cloud (GCP), and Microsoft Azure.

Internet Exchange Points (IXPs): The Cork Internet eXchange (CIX) serves as the primary local peering point, keeping regional traffic local and lowering latency for southern users as of September 2025.

Bare Metal: Scalable infrastructure is available through global providers such as Latitude.sh, supporting hybrid deployments for edge-heavy workloads as of September 2025.

Power Analysis

Energy infrastructure in the region is increasingly influenced by wind generation, aligning with national sustainability goals.

Average Cost Of Power: €0.22–0.28/kWh, as of September 2025. These rates are influenced by grid modernization and natural gas costs, though renewable wind generation helps stabilize the mix. These costs remain competitive for enterprises prioritizing geographic diversity over the crowded Dublin market.

Power Grid Reliability: The local grid is well-engineered with redundant configurations. Infrastructure in the Hollyhill area and surrounding business parks benefits from multi-substation support to maintain high uptime for high-density environments as of September 2025.

Market Access, Business & Tax Climate

The region is home to a high concentration of multinational pharmaceutical and technology companies, creating a valuable ecosystem for service providers.

Proximity To Key Business Districts: Data centers are centrally located near major hubs like the Hollyhill Industrial Estate. This proximity is critical for firms serving the European headquarters of major global technology brands as of September 2025.

Regional Market Reach: Cork serves as the gateway to southern Ireland, providing an effective service point for a population of over 500,000 in the greater metropolitan area as of September 2025.

Tax Advantage For Data Centers: Operators benefit from a financial advantage through specific tax exemptions. There is a specific exemption from the 6% sales tax on data center hardware purchases, which reduces the total cost of equipment ownership.

Natural Disaster Risk

The overall risk to physical infrastructure is classified as Low (2.1/10) as of September 2025. The region is geographically stable, with few major natural threats to operations.

Coastal Flood (5.9): This is the primary local risk factor, requiring site selection in elevated areas away from the immediate shoreline as of September 2025.

River Flood (3.5): A moderate risk in specific low-lying basins near the River Lee as of September 2025.

Epidemic (1.9): Low risk based on local health infrastructure and response capabilities as of September 2025.

Tsunami (1.8): A low risk, noted only as an indirect regional possibility with minimal impact on inland infrastructure as of September 2025.