30 July 1997
By Tom Gillespie
In four weeks time five independent adjudicators will be in Castlebar on a visit which could change the face of the town. They will be assessing if Castlebar can become the country's first Information Age Town in a £15 million package drafted by Telecom Eireann.
Four locations in all, the others are Ennis, Killarney and Kilkenny, have been shortlisted for the technological coup of the century. If selected Telecom will instal a phone, personal computer and voice-mail facility in every home in Castlebar town and all businesses will get ISDN data line and public services will be available electronically.
But there is still one step further to go before the final announcement is made in the middle of September.
The judges consisting of Mr. Alfie Keane, Chief executive of Telecom Eireann, Sean Scanlon, Professor of Electronic Engineering UCD, Mr. Dan Flinter, Chief Executive Forbairt; Mr. Dan O'Hare, president of the Dublin City University and Mr. Gerry O'Sullivan, Head of Corporate Relations, Telecom Eireann, will visit each of the four towns, commencing with Castlebar on Monday August 25. The impression they come away with will certainly determine the outcome of the competition.
Now Castlebar Chamber of Commerce, who acted as the umbrella organisation to co-ordinate the local submission is inviting suggestions as to how best the adjudicators can be impressed on their visit.
Mr. Richard Wynne the chairman of the Castlebar Information Age Town (CIAT) steering committee said this was a fantastic achievement to have beaten off 47 other towns, some with far more resources than ourselves.
"It is a credit to the community involvement in our submission. In every case Telecom were amazed at the level of co-operation between local organisations and statutory authorities.
"But we have not reached our goal yet. It is of vital importance that the entire community will answer our call and rally behind us when we need them on August 25.
"We are the first of the four towns which will be visited. Some might say that would be a disadvantage. However, I believe in this case, that we have an opportunity to set the standard."
He explained that the visit will comprise of a practical demonstration by his committee that they can achieve the aims as set out in their submission. They will also visit a few local locations, yet to be determined, and then they will depart for Kilkenny in the afternoon. The remaining towns, Killarney and Ennis will be visited on September 8 and 9 respectively.
Mr. Wynne added: "There were many reasons why our submission shone through. But to put it in a nutshell it was the level of commitment and awareness in Castlebar along with the town's own track record of success in business and community development over the last two decades which clinched it for Castlebar."
Mr. Frank Greene, president of Castlebar Chamber of Commerce said the success of the application was based on the growth of Castlebar over the past twenty years.
Over the period 1991 to 1996 the population rocketed by 11% from 8,800 to 9,885 and was steadily rising. During this time too the Castlebar campus of the Galway RTC was also established in the town.
He added: "The success of the Information Age Town application could not have been achieved but for our successes in the past.
"What we have is a vibrant town and this is reflected in the quality and depth of our submission to Telecom Eireann.
"The Chamber of Commerce acted as the catalyst in forging this partnership between the community, the urban council, the business sector and all those who came together to draft the submission."
He felt the work of the Tidy Towns sub-committee had also played a major role in enhancing the town's fortunes.
He said they were inviting submissions on how best they could impress the adjudicators on August 25.
