In 1992, I took the path followed by many young Irish people at that time and emigrated to the United States. In my case, I left Dublin for Berkeley, California, to get a Ph. D. in sociology and, within a year or two, I found myself beginning to study the Irish software industry from 6,000 miles away in Silicon Valley. Over the next ten years or so, I followed the social ties within the industry – at first through the transnational ties that connected Silicon Valley and Ireland, then within a software development team in a Silicon Valley company in Dublin, and on through interviews in corporate and state offices, as well as with software developers themselves.

Ultimately, this project took me far from where I had expected to travel in the course of my sociological journey. I had begun my research as an investigation into the underdevelopment of the Irish economy and the accompanying mass unemployment and emigration of the 1980s. My initial research, however, revealed a more complex picture with glimmers of industrial revival – an impression confirmed by my early visits to Irish software firms. To my surprise, I found myself walking through the cubicles of youthful software developers as I met the managers that I was interviewing, and I discovered a world of vibrant social spaces and commercial entities that turned my project on its head.