Corkruns on a handful of strong industries. If you’re job-hunting or weighing a move, here’s where the opportunities (and the big-name employers) are.
Top industries & employers
Pharmaceuticals & biopharma
Pfizer, Janssen, Eli Lilly, MSD, Novartis, GSK, Gilead
The reason Cork's economy looks nothing like its size. The plants ring the harbour — Ringaskiddy, Currabinny, Little Island, Carrigtwohill — and in Kinsale, not in the city itself.
Technology
Apple, Dell Technologies, VMware (Broadcom), Qualcomm, Trend Micro
Apple opened at Hollyhill in 1980 — its first facility outside the United States — and has been in Cork longer than in most of the world. Dell sits west of the city at Ovens.
Medical devices
Stryker, Boston Scientific, DePuy Synthes
The same harbour corridor as pharma, and the same pattern: manufacturing and regulatory-affairs roles rather than head-office ones.
Maritime, energy & the port
Port of Cork, Irving Oil Whitegate, offshore wind developers
One of the world's largest natural harbours, Ireland's only oil refinery at Whitegate, and the deepwater berths at Ringaskiddy that make Cork the candidate port for Irish offshore wind.
Food & drink
Musgrave, Dairygold, Irish Distillers (Midleton), Heineken Ireland, Barry's Tea
SuperValu and Centra are run from Cork, Jameson is distilled at Midleton, and Beamish and Murphy's are both Cork stouts. The English Market is the retail end of the same tradition.
Research, education & public service
University College Cork, MTU, Tyndall National Institute, the Central Statistics Office
Tyndall is Ireland's national institute for nanoelectronics and photonics. The CSO — the State's statistics agency — has its head office on Skehard Road in Cork, not in Dublin.
Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.