Piltown in Kilkenny has been announced as the overall winner at the second annual .IE Digital Town Awards 2022, after picking up first place award in the Digital Business category and prize of €10,000.
The result was announced at a virtual awards ceremony attended by Minister Damien English, Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
The .IE Digital Town Awards were established in 2021 by .IE, the managers of Ireland’s trusted online .ie address.
The awards recognise local town and community projects and the people that are using digital innovation, technologies, and digital-first thinking for the betterment of towns, citizens, and services in the community.
Piltown’s ‘Taking Charge of our Digital Future’ entry was shortlisted in two categories.
One for Digital Business and the other for Digital Changemaker.
The entry acknowledges hard work in building, promoting, and managing the village’s high-speed network.
The judging panel commended Piltown for the manner in which the local community had fully embraced the project with landowners granting access to land and volunteers working to lay more than 6km of cables, training as fibre optic technicians and providing crucial expertise pro bono.
Chair of the judging panel, Joan Mulvihill, said: “The community of Piltown showed extraordinary resolve and determination in putting their town on the digital map.
"The support from businesses and landowners in granting access to land, those who prepared the ground and laid the cables, every aspect of this entry is commendable.
"In recognising Piltown with this award we are confident that this is just the start for them with great things to come.
"This is truly a lighthouse digital town.”
