Erin go Bragh! Utah companies lead the charge as Western firms find success in Ireland

Technicians assemble catheters in a cleanroom at Merit Medical’s medical device manufacturing facility in Galway, Ireland. The company is one of many Utah firms finding success in the country. (Courtesy Merit Medical) 

Even as IDA Ireland, the foreign direct investment arm of the Irish government, releases new data touting the success of Western U.S. companies in its country, Utah firms have seemingly known the secret of the shamrock for a long time. 

A March release from IDA Ireland — IDA stands for Industrial Development Agency — said that more than 270 companies headquartered in the Western U.S. are partnering with the agency to grow their European footprint. These partnerships — which include leading innovation brands like Apple, Workday, Anthropic and Proofpoint — contribute to the 1,000-plus operations and 218,000 jobs provided by U.S. businesses in Ireland.

But recognizable Utah corporations — many from the biosciences sector — have had a longtime presence on the Emerald Isle.

Merit Medical Systems, for example, went to Ireland as early as 1993 when it established a manufacturing facility in Galway. As one of the first Utah-based companies to go green, Merit has steadily grown to a workforce now topping 1,000 at the company’s major Irish manufacturing and research center. The facility in Galway’s Parkmore Business Park has grown significantly, acting as Merit’s European hub for cardiology and peripheral vascular access device manufacturing.

High on the list of advantages for U.S. companies establishing a presence in Ireland is a competitive and predictable tax system. The country’s headline-grabbing 12.5 percent corporate tax rate has remained steady for years, while other European countries see fluctuations that come and go with the political climate based on which party wins national elections. In intellectual property-heavy industries like life sciences and medicine, Ireland’s corporate-friendly licensing structure is also a major plus.

But tax advantage isn’t the only edge firms garner with Irish operations.

Perhaps top of the list is access to the European Union (EU) market from the island. A U.S. life sciences company can manufacture or base operations in Ireland and sell seamlessly across 27 countries without additional tariffs or regulatory duplication. Products approved under EU frameworks can be distributed widely once they are authorized by bodies like the European Medicines Agency. This dramatically reduces time-to-market compared to entering each country individually.

Ireland is also home to an established life sciences ecosystem, hosting major operations from companies like Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and Medtronic. This gives firms establishing new Irish operations immediate access to a mature supplier network for things like raw materials, packaging and engineering services. Ireland also has a deep experienced talent pool already trained in regulated manufacturing and an understanding of FDA and Good Manufacturing Practice standards.

And don’t forget, if you’re going to Europe, an English-speaking workforce is always a plus. The country’s universities and technical institutes produce anglophone graduates in biotech, chemistry and engineering.

Dating back to the earliest movement of Utah corporations to Ireland, firms have found that the Irish government wants them there. Through agencies like IDA Ireland, companies are offered grants, tax credits and site-selection assistance. Streamlined permitting and regulatory guidance also reduce time to build and open facilities.

Just around the corner may be another big step in making it advantageous for U.S. companies to open Irish facilities. With the major demand for electricity inherent in many modern technology operations, Ireland has found the need to revamp its laws to allow, among other things, companies to generate their own power and sell it to neighboring operations. Irish Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment Darragh O’Brien has secured government approval to commence drafting of the Private Wires Bill, which contains such provisions.

There’s one more positive coming for Ireland as it seeks to maintain a positive and stable environment to attract foreign investment. The country will assume the presidency of the European Union Council in July.

IDA Ireland’s 2025 study reflects increased investment by Western U.S. companies in AI, life sciences and semiconductors — priority industries for both U.S. and Irish economic growth. The numbers also are a testament to U.S. corporate confidence in the Irish business environment and workforce as platforms for powering global growth.

Overall, 45 percent of all first-time investments in Ireland in 2025 originated from U.S. companies. Since 2023, three West Coast companies have invested in Ireland every month, on average. Seventy-eight percent of research and development projects approved by the Irish government for tax incentive aid in 2025 came from U.S. companies, up from 69 percent in 2024 and 73 percent of total jobs created in 2025 were from U.S. companies.

“The scale of investment reflects how much U.S. companies trust Irish talent to drive high-complexity work and our pro-business regulatory environment,” said Ivan Houlihan, head of Western U.S. at IDA Ireland. “West Coast leaders are moving their most advanced R&D and AI safety work to Ireland, and our 40-year presence in Silicon Valley means we can be right alongside them as they scale and evolve.”

With Utah’s world-class strength in medical device manufacturing, health and medical technology and enterprise software development, it is likely that Beehive State firms will continue to look to Ireland for expansion.

As Fred P. Lampropoulos, chairman of Merit Medical, said in a statement about the company’s move to the Emerald Isle, “Our Irish operations continue to grow and prosper and significantly contribute to our company’s overall success.”