Kilkenny parish makes digital advancements as rural Ireland looks to follow suit

People living in the Piltown and Fiddown areas of South Kilkenny received a major boost in recent months, with news of substantial upgrades to their broadband supply from LEADER through the 'Smart Villages' initiative and the Tomar Trust.

750 homes and businesses in the locality now have, or will soon have, access to at least 150MB speeds and a future-proofed high-speed broadband service they can afford. 

The development is expected to offer hundreds of families the opportunity to work and study from home, to conference call and stream.

It's also hoped the measures will increase enterprise and business opportunities in the communities, not just with other parts of Co. Kilkenny but with the surrounding counties of Waterford and Tipperary. 

Locals from the two parishes were quite literally at the heart of the upgrades, getting down into the trenches and building their own 'Fibre-to-the-Premises' (FTTP) broadband network through the voluntary 'Broadband 4 Our Community' (B4OC) group.

Kilkenny LEADER Partnership now wants community-focused individuals and groups who are interested in building "better, more inclusive communities," to register for an information and training workshop in Thomastown on Thursday, August 10.

The free ‘Our Town’ event at Thomastown Community Centre begins at 2.30pm and will focus on the future of rural towns in Kilkenny, scoping out areas such as Mobility, Connectivity, Inclusion and the Circular Economy. There will be a number of guest speakers present including former Mountjoy Prison Governor, John Lonergan.

Pre-registration for Thursday’s workshop is essential as places are limited and registration is now open via the LEADER website or on www.eventbrite.ie