Free wi-fi in Dublin centre

Free wireless internet is now available in a select number of public areas in central Dublin, including the area around City Hall on Dame Street, St Patrick’s Park and Smithfield.

Dublin City Council will launch free WiFi available in other busy areas of the city centre such as Grafton St, O’Connell St and Temple Bar by the end of April.

In 2007 the council had to abandon a city-wide WiFi project after receiving complaints from other wireless providers. It is now offering free WiFi in "key public spaces" instead.

Basic internet access with speeds of up to 512 Kbps (kilobits per second) will be free, with users being charged for speeds of up to three and six Mbps (megabits per second). The service is being provided by Gowex, a Madrid-based firm with similar operations in 65 cities worldwide.

The council commissioned pixel artist Craig Robinson to create 14 wall mosaics to identify the WiFi hotspots. The images feature Dublin characters such as a street cleaner, a Viking and the fictional "Pyjama Girl",  as well as musician Phil Lynott and literary giant Oscar Wilde.