Donegal projects win at .IE Digital Town Awards 2023

Three Donegal projects have been recognised for their efforts and commitment to digital innovation across three categories at this year’s .IE Digital Town Awards.

.IE, the national registry for .ie domain names, announced the winning entries for the .IE Digital Town Awards 2023 at a Gala event held at the Hodson Bay Hotel, Athlone today.   

The awards were created by .IE in 2021, as part of a broader four-year €1 million investment in the .IE Digital Town Programme encouraging the uptake and use of internet and digital technologies for businesses, citizens and communities.

The awards recognise and reward digitally inspired projects run by towns and local community groups.  Each year the .IE Digital Town Awards offer a prize fund of €100,000 which is split across several categories.  

Dunlewey’s Virtual Heritage Trail was the overall winner in the Digital Tourism category, developed to showcase the history and heritage of the village and surrounding area. Storymaps, online exhibitions, online heritage trails and interactive maps were used to tell the digital story while the oral tradition of older people and local farmers was captured.

This ncluded names of places, lakes and fields which were recorded for future generations. Original records such as school registration books, were photographed and digital books created. Virtual tours of the local landscape were created.

In Carndonagh, social enterprise Spraoi agus Spórt, opened the Digital Creative Lab where young people use digital fabrication to bring their ideas and creativity to life.

Runner up in the Digital Education category and awarded a prize fund of €4,000, the digital creative lab shows young people what digital skills, design entrepreneurship and engineering can offer for their future. It has been rolled out across national and secondary schools in the county and there are high hopes for the contribution of STEM to future job opportunities.

Ardara’s Decreasing Isolation – Increasing Connectedness was commended in the Newcomer category.

After broadband was installed in the sheltered housing complex in 2022, all 29 apartments and the public areas were provided with a smart screen/speaker Amazon Echo. This has opened a world of opportunity to residents, particularly as it uses voice-activated technology which is easier for older residents than typing.

Residents use it for viewing funerals, weddings and church services online; to set reminders from the mundane to the important – from watering flowers to medication times; creating shopping lists; and making video calls or participating in an online singing circle.

In total, 22 town and community digital projects were recognised at this year’s .IE Digital Town Awards 2023 

This year’s category sponsors included Western Development Commission, Connected Hubs, and AIB Merchant Services with Vodafone as the overall presenting sponsor. 

National Director, .IE Digital Town Programme, Oonagh McCutcheon said the quality of entries in this year’s awards has been incredibly impressive. 

"Ireland’s towns and communities are identifying and solving connectivity challenges, driving digital innovation and developing creative digital solutions to enhance the lives of their fellow citizens.  This year 22 projects were recognised at the .IE Digital Town Awards Gala event, which add significantly to the lives of their local communities and improves our nation’s digital footprint."