Exhibiting at The CCD
The Convention Centre Dublin sits on Spencer Dock in the Docklands. It opened in 2010, designed by Kevin Roche, and it is primarily a conference venue, with an auditorium of 1,995 seats, but exhibitions run alongside many of its events: on the ground-floor Forum and in the Liffey halls on the first floor.
The city-centre location is the draw. The Luas Red Line stops at Spencer Dock and Mayor Square, Connolly, Pearse Street and Tara Street DART stations are around ten minutes' walk away, and Dublin Airport is about fifteen minutes by the Port Tunnel.
The Forum — 2,721 sqm
Ground floor, 7m ceiling, floor rated at 12.5kN/m².
The Liffey — 1,650 sqm
First floor, divisible into Liffey A (746 sqm) and Liffey B (897 sqm).
Truck lift to 25 tonnes
Takes trailers up to 13.6m long, 2.5m wide and 4m high.
Van lift to 6 tonnes
For vans up to 2.36m wide, 7.345m deep and 3.055m high.
Exhibition spaces
Around 4,500 square metres of exhibition and banqueting space, split across levels. Floor loading differs between them, so heavy exhibits need the right floor.
Designing around the lifts
Everything that goes into The CCD arrives through a loading bay with a 4.3 metre height restriction and moves between levels by vehicle lift. The truck lift takes trailers up to 13.6 metres long and 25,000kg; the van lift takes vehicles up to 6,000kg. A stand for The CCD has to be designed around those dimensions as much as around the floor plan.
The Forum has a 7 metre ceiling and a floor rated at 12.5kN/m². Level 2 is rated at 6kN/m², so an exhibit that is fine in the Forum may not be upstairs. The venue's rules also require a method statement and risk assessment for every stand, and flame-retardant certificates for drapes, submitted before the event.
Planning a CCD build from the UK
Most of the planning for The CCD is about getting the stand in, rather than putting it up.
Design to the lifts
Components must fit the vehicle lifts and the 4.3m loading bay.
Check your floor
The Forum is rated at 12.5kN/m²; Level 2 at 6kN/m².
Documents in early
Method statements, risk assessments and drape certificates are required before the event.
Plan backwards from the sailing
Freight crosses the Irish Sea, so the schedule starts from the ferry booking, not the build-up day.
Why exhibitors choose us for The CCD
We design and manufacture in our own workshop in Redditch and install across the UK, Ireland and Europe. For a CCD build that means the crew that builds your NEC stand builds your Dublin one — no handover to a local contractor you have never met.
We are ESSA members. A full build covers design, manufacture, transport, installation, on-site management and dismantle, along with the documentation your organiser asks for. Because we build to travel, the same stand can work across a UK and Irish show calendar, and we can store it between shows. See our other Irish exhibition venues.
FAQ
Around 4,500 square metres of exhibition and banqueting space. The Forum on the ground floor is 2,721 square metres, and the Liffey on the first floor is 1,650 square metres, divisible into two halls.
Through a loading bay with a 4.3 metre height restriction and two vehicle lifts: a truck lift for trailers up to 13.6 metres long and 25,000kg, and a van lift for vehicles up to 6,000kg.
12.5kN/m² in the Forum at ground level and 6kN/m² on Level 2, according to the venue's rules and regulations. Check the level before specifying heavy exhibits.
The venue requires a method statement and risk assessment for all stands, and flame-retardant certificates for drapes. Your organiser's exhibitor manual sets the deadlines and the stand height.
Yes. We design and manufacture in Redditch, ship to Dublin and install with our own crew, and we handle the paperwork a cross-border build needs.
Need an impressive, exhibition stand? Let's talk!
Expert craftsmanship underpins every exhibition stand we build — combining precision construction, premium materials, and many years of hands-on experience to deliver stands that look exceptional and perform flawlessly on site.