Exhibiting at the RDS
The RDS on Merrion Road in Ballsbridge is the centre of gravity for Dublin exhibiting: 43 acres in Dublin 4, with the Main Hall, the Simmonscourt complex and a set of smaller halls and meeting rooms on the one site. It is around twelve minutes from the city centre by road and a short walk from both Lansdowne Road and Sandymount DART stations.
For a British exhibitor, the RDS is the Irish venue most likely to sit on a show calendar alongside the NEC or ExCeL. The design work is the same. What changes is the sea crossing in the schedule, and a city-centre site where vehicle windows during build-up are tighter than at an out-of-town hall.
Main Hall — 3,503 sqm
70m by 48.9m, with a maximum height of 13.7m and a minimum of 8m.
Simmonscourt — over 10,000 sqm
Five interconnected halls, 8A to 8E, that can run as one space.
Hall 8A — 1,990 sqm
91.5m long, with heights from 6m to 9m.
50kN/m² floor loading
Stated for both the Main Hall and Hall 8A, so heavy exhibits are rarely the limit.
The halls
The RDS is several venues on one site, and the height available changes considerably from hall to hall. Confirm your hall before design work starts.
Height decides the design
The Main Hall offers up to 13.7 metres at its highest point and 8 metres at its lowest. In Simmonscourt Hall 8A the figures are 9 metres and 6 metres. A double-deck stand or a tall rigged sign that works in one hall may not fit in the other, so a stand drawn for one RDS hall cannot simply be assumed to work in the next.
The stand height your organiser allows is set in the exhibitor manual, not by the ceiling, and it is often lower than the physical limit. We work to the manual first and the hall figures second, and check both before a drawing is signed off.
Planning an RDS build from the UK
Dublin Port is around 7km from the RDS, so the crossing, not the road, is the part of the schedule that needs planning.
Confirm the hall early
Main Hall and Simmonscourt have different heights, so the hall allocation shapes the design.
Plan backwards from the sailing
Freight crosses the Irish Sea, so the schedule starts from the ferry booking, not the build-up day.
Work to the exhibitor manual
Stand height, RAMS and structural sign-off are set by your organiser, not the venue.
Design it to travel
A modular build can serve your UK and Irish shows without being rebuilt.
Why exhibitors choose us for the RDS
We design and manufacture in our own workshop in Redditch and install across the UK, Ireland and Europe. For an RDS 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
The RDS site covers 43 acres in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4. The largest single space is the Simmonscourt complex, five interconnected halls with over 10,000 square metres between them. The Main Hall is 3,503 square metres.
The Main Hall, at a maximum of 13.7 metres and a minimum of 8 metres. Simmonscourt Hall 8A runs from 6 to 9 metres. Your organiser's stand height limit is usually the tighter constraint, so check the exhibitor manual.
Lansdowne Road and Sandymount DART stations are both a short walk away, Aircoach stops on Merrion Road in front of the main entrance, and the venue is around twelve minutes from the city centre by road. Parking on Merrion Road and Anglesea Road is fee-paying.
Yes. We build in our Redditch workshop and ship to Dublin — the RDS is around 7km from Dublin Port. We handle the freight and the paperwork a cross-border build needs, and work to your organiser's exhibitor manual.
Yes, if it is designed for it. A modular build that breaks down for transport can move between the NEC, ExCeL and the RDS. Check the heights of each hall at the design stage.
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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.