Amazon's Project Kuiper selects Ireland for early roll-out in direct challenge to Starlink

National Space Centre in East Cork to be one of the first ground stations in the world to connect to satellite network in space

Taoiseach Micheál Martin at the National Space Centre in Midleton, Co Cork, with Alison Dunn, left, country manager of Amazon Ireland, and Holly Sullivan, vice-president of worldwide economic development at Amazon. Picture: Gerard McCarthy 

Amazon said Ireland would be one of the first countries in the world where it would roll out its satellite internet service, competing directly with Elon Musk's Starlink.

The retail and tech giant is deploying thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit, connected to create a mesh network in space. The satellites will connect with several ground stations dotted around the globe, with the National Space Centre (NSC) in East Cork being one of the first.