Exiles told of green green grass of home

The technocelts are gathering in a bland function room of the Westin Hotel, and the decibel level is rising. Most have already put in a long day's work then braved the horrendous Silicon Valley commute to reach this venue a mile or so off Highway 101, the ugly concrete artery which slices through the heart of technology country, past Bay Networks and Intel, Sun Microsystems and Silicon Graphics.

Adjoining the blue steel and tinted glass of the Santa Clara Convention Center, and surrounded by dozens of boxy, anonymous technology company office buildings, the Westin is always hosting some tech event - systems networking seminars or Internet entrepreneurship workshops. A group rushing to some other function stops to examine the sign by the door. "Opportunity Ireland. Job opportunities in Irish software," reads out one man, slightly incredulous. They lean to look inside, then hurry on.

Inside, a mostly male crowd is clustered in small, immobile knots near the complimentary bar. They're here to talk jobs, venture capital, start-ups, investments, and pick up some news from home. They're nearly all Irish and the room has a decisively Irish feel - Americans drink more mineral water, network more decisively by moving from group to group, and don't talk as obsessively about Gaelic football.

Americans also don't typically slag the presenters, nor do the presenters slag the other presenters. But within minutes good-natured quips are directed at Mr Larry Mone of Enterprise Ireland's San Jose office, who is trying to shout over the dull roar of conversation and herd people into seats. Mr Mone then introduces one colleague with the line: "I could tell you more about her - but she wouldn't like it."

Already the event has more the feel of a Dublin club function than a formal pitch to the Irish technology community and those interested in it - American investors, for example, and a few of the Silicon Valley media.

Enterprise Ireland has two goals with this event - first, it hopes to convince Irish technology graduates working in Silicon Valley to head home, either to join the Irish technology workforce or - through the financial support of the Government's new Millennium Fund - to start a technology firm in Ireland.

Second, Enterprise Ireland wants to present six Irish companies which have come to Silicon Valley looking for investment, employees, advice, sales staff, and partners. The companies are fairly small, with 12 to 40 employees. All six of them, though, have their own domain names in their Internet addresses. Dublin company Massana Ltd, for example, has massana.com. These are important credibility details for companies serious about pitching a venture in technology's heartland.

An Opportunity Ireland spokeswoman rattles off technology industry growth figures: 400 indigenous electronic companies; exports worth $9 billion (£5.9 billion), constituting 12 per cent of GDP; 40,000 employed in the electronics sector, with 1,000 jobs added annually; and revenue growth of 20-50 per cent.

She cuts to the chase: reportedly, there's $100 million in venture capital for technology investments floating around Ireland. Come back now and you have a good chance of promotion, a good chance to make decisions, greater flexibility in your job using a wider range of skills. There have, she says, even been IPOs (initial public offerings) - Silicon Valley's magic phrase. The presentation addresses the concerns of graduates who left because they'd educated themselves out of Irish jobs or felt Ireland was too restrictive, but now miss home or have young families they'd prefer to raise in Ireland.

The companies each make a seven-minute presentation, mostly illustrated with Powerpoint slides, although one opts for a low-tech overhead projector. The names mostly tell a listener nothing about what they do: Cylon Controls, Massana, Phoenix Peripherals, Corkopt, Toucan Technology, Vedia.

They make integrated circuits and laser diodes, computerised building controls and semiconductor technologies. Some seem to be doing well, with impressive partnerships and clients. None is offering anything "sexy" though they all pitch solid but quiet technologies. The presentations vary in quality, but are mostly capable. Still, one can imagine the big, aggressive Valley venture capital firms eating them alive.

Mr Mone makes a pitch for the Millennium Fund, begun last July, and people lean forward. "We're looking at pumping in some early stage capital," he says, seed capital up to £100,000, for 10 per cent equity. "We're looking for individuals or groups willing to return to Ireland and set up a high-tech project."

That whets the appetite. The presentations end and the crowd descends upon a buffet spread of Mexican food, served by Hispanic staff, watching the Irish with some amusement. Attendees are supposed to go to tables labelled with a little sign for the company they'd like to talk to. But no one has any intention of following such US-style organisational optimism. Everyone mingles and talks. The bar closes. A small crowd stays on. Mr Mone has moved from the Millennium Fund to a long discussion on south Armagh Gaelic football with the son of a former county player. It's Irish technology networking.

Karlin Lillington is at klillington@irish-times.ie