Athenry News & Views Winter 2025

Athenry News & Views

Lands in Athenry

By Philip Magnier

It encompasses 32.5 hectares of land – that’s 80.3 acres or 325,000 square metres – and the factory building itself will be just under 30,000 square metres spread over four stories. Yes, Dexcom in Athenry is a noteworthy addition to the local topography, the largest neighbourhood vista we’ve set eyes on, and will probably be a massive part of any economic future we can foresee for the town. Needless to say, the Dexcom company has been welcomed with open arms. The financial statistics are appealing: a €300 million investment with a projected 1000 “highly skilled” jobs hired over the five years after opening. Meanwhile the car parks are jammed with construction people working flat out using an impressive variety of machinery. CGM products Dexcom’s products are CGM (continuous glucose monitoring) systems for those with diabetes, types 1 and 2. They can be fitted on arms or stomachs, and the monitoring is mostly done with smartphones. A sensor fits just under the skin and is connected to a transmitter which wirelessly sends the glucose data to a smartphone. Unsurprisingly for a company that uses such modern technology, Dexcom is quite new, being founded in 1999 with its first CGM device appearing in 2006. The Athenry facility is squarely aimed at the European market as their first manufacturing location on this continent and will co ordinate with their HQ in San Diego, and other manufacturing sites in Arizona and Malaysia. The IDA has said the Athenry facility would have the capacity to produce “millions” of devices each year.

Buses, bikes, and trails Galway county council have imposed some interesting planning requirements. One is to provide shuttle buses to and from the Athenry train station and Galway city. Another is a bike share scheme operating between the factory and Athenry train station and town centre. There will be a 2.1 kilometre walking trail around the perimeter of the land area and some of that will be landscaped with trees and plants. Dexcom must provide just over a million euro for the provision of infrastructure, services and facilities that will be to their benefit. And of course, aside from planning obligations, we already know they have entered into a 12 year naming deal with Connacht Rugby that has seen the Sportsground become Dexcom Stadium. Why Athenry? Irishman Adrian Furey (pictured in Athenry with Dexcom CEO Karen Ronan) who was named by Maria Walsh MEP as the site lead and general manager of Dexcom Ireland, is unequivocal in saying: “We strategically chose Athenry for our first manufacturing facility in Europe to ensure our location was easily accessible to the best talent, not only in Galway, but to the surrounding counties.”