Ireland has a largely hidden history of electromechanical coin-operated game manufacturing and distribution. Three Chicago gaming companies set up bases in Ireland between 1959 and 1965, highlighting Ireland's potential as a centre for international business investment.
Analysis: Irish factories began producing coin-operated games for international export in the late 1950s and early 1960s Ireland has a largely hidden history of electromechanical coin-operated game manufacturing and distribution. Electromechanical amusements are built from electrical and mechanical components, without any digital computer circuitry. They are the analog forerunner to arcade video games based on digital technologies such as Space Invaders that emerged from the 1970s onwards.
The factory employed 50 workers when it opened, and its output was split half and half between Gottlieb and Williams products, with an initial run of 50 units per week. This was estimated to triple over the first year of the factory’s life, and it was intended that the workforce would increase by this amount also. An image of the factory’s quality testing line from the factory opening shows a row of newly built Williams Satellite pinball games undergoing a final test before shipping.
Both were very different types of businesses, but shared an important milestone in Shannon’s development as a hub for international investment and exporting. An Irish Press article from March 1959 projected that both companies between them would use £40,000 worth of air freight in and out of Shannon in the following 12 months. Business attracts business and Sony Japan established their transistor radio factory in Shannon in December of that year.
The third American company to set up in Ireland were the Bally Manufacturing Company who opened a factory at Ballymount Road, Walkinstown, Dublin in 1965. The name 'Bally' may suggest a connection to Ireland, but derives from the word 'ballyhoo', meaning an exaltation of delight. Bally's Walkinstown factory specialised in one-armed bandit slot machines and focused primarily on exports to the UK and Australia.
Ireland Electromechanical Coin-Operated Games Manufacturing Distribution Chicago Gaming Companies
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