Last week i spent some time at F.ounders event in Dublin. It was a who’s who of the Global tech scene - the digerati as some would say.

Thanks to the the founder of F.ounders, Paddy Cosgrave for the invite. I was undecided up to the last minute, due to other commitments, but I’m glad i made the event for Thursday evening/Friday (had to leave Sat morning for Family commitments).

Paddy has nailed a format that is unique. I’ve attended and even spoken at other events around the world from Le Web to Web2.0 Summit, but this gathering was exceptional.

From the “Pub Crawl” on Thursday night, to the dinners, to the panels - everything was about people chatting, networking or learning, creating a pretty impressive energy. Our Govt. friends did their part - Frank Ryan from EI gave an exceptional speech, the IDA Ireland folks networked and entertained and Bord Faite made sure our visitors were well taken care off on their visit - without the usual 1 hour speeches on local political bullshit, or the “fill out 10 forms to access someone” nonesense. The blend of activities at the iGap Breakfast with “Jeff & Dave” and the Dublin Web Summit

I had the chance to catch up old friends, and to make new ones. I also had the chance to meet other Irish folks in a social context (its usually during the day in some stuffy office) - Shay Garvey at Delta, Paddy Holohan at Newbay, Martin Kelly at IBM, to name a few.

The feedback from my International friends was encouraging. They all want to setup an operation in Ireland, they all want to come back to future events, and they all want to help the Irish startup scene.

Finally, congratulation to Paddy and team. Paddy is the rising star in Ireland (PaddyPower.com should lay on a bet for him to be in Govt before 2015) and his atitude of “why not” is infectious. To run events like F.ounders and Dublin Web Summit are financially risky, and I hope they get the support from sponsors and others in the months & years ahead - as they are doing a better job that other quangos that our country support with no impact.

F.ounders 2011 is a “must attend” event in the Global Tech events calendar.