The Love Drogheda Gift Card project and DRAWDA Urban Art Trail, a partnership project between the Droichead Arts Centre, Louth County Council and Love Drogheda BIDs has been recognised for its efforts and commitment to digital innovation at this year’s .IE Digital Town Awards at a Gala event held at the Hodson Bay Hotel, Athlone.
DRAWDA-Urban Art Trail was the winner of the Digital Rising Star Award, winning a €5,000 prize fund. A collaborative project using local, nation and international artists to bring to life stories form our mythological past and activate lesser-visited areas of the town, this is not the first time that the DRAWDA project has received recognition. Earlier this year, Nina Valkhoffs “Etain” mural as part of the project was voted Irelands best mural by global art community, Street Art Cities.
Trevor Connolly, CEO Love Drogheda BIDs, attributes the success of the project to the partnership approach undertaken; ‘We are delighted to win the Digital Rising Star Award at the .IE Digital Town Awards. This has been a wonderful project delivered over 18 months in partnership with Love Drogheda BID (Business Improvement District), Droichead Arts Centre and Louth County Council. The project links with our ancient past and has helped bring colour and vibrancy to all areas of our town.”
The DRAWDA-Urban Art Trail is a perfect example of the benefits of collaboration, positive and purposeful networking. The aim of the project was to invigorate some hidden spots and laneways that are pedestrian arteries into the town whilst also promoting the unique stories from Irish Mythology that have a home in Drogheda and the surrounding area. Our hope is that this project helps to create a positive narrative for Drogheda, encourages more tourists to the town and increases the sense of pride in residents and business owners.
The murals and art installations are promoted through the use of QR codes, audio trails, digital maps and brochures as well as on social media and websites of partner organisations. To ensure longevity of the project and provide a behind-the-scenes view, videos recordings of the ‘making of the murals’ were published on YouTube.
The Love Drogheda Gift Card was also recognised in the Rising Star category, for its use of Digital Media in promoting the Gift Card program. Over 220 Drogheda businesses are currently signed up the program.
In total, 22 town and community digital projects were recognised at this year’s.IE Digital Town Awards 2023 – winners and runners-up across the seven main categories, three special category winners and one overall prize winner. The.IE Digital Sustainability award was a new category introduced this year with Hollymount in Mayo announced as the winner with its Eco-Powered Cabinets which store life-saving equipment.
Sponsors included Western Development Commission, Connected Hubs, and AIB Merchant Services with Vodafone as the overall presenting sponsor.
‘The quality of entries in this year’s .IE Digital Town 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,” said Oonagh McCutcheon, National Director, .IE Digital Town Programme. “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.’
Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Neale Richmond congratulated all the winners of this year’s .IE Digital Town Awards.
"The 22 groups honoured at this year’s awards are great examples of how by embracing digitalisation, even small groups can make a big difference to their local communities, friends and neighbours,” said Minister Richmond. “Congratulations again to all the winners, and thank you to every group that entered this year’s awards.
