Dorothy wins silver surfer award after successful online property deals
Dorothy Harrington, 76, originally from Co Down but now living in Dublin with her husband, Paddy, first went online eight years ago to book a holiday in Canada.
“Paddy was celebrating his 70th birthday and I wanted to surprise him so I arranged a trip on the internet to Toronto where he was born but had not been there since he was five years old,” she said.
Paddy, who nominated Dorothy for the Google Silver Surfer Award with Age Action, described his wife as “mistress of the computer”.
Last year the couple, who have two children and four grandchildren, downsized from a large house and garden in Kilkenny to an apartment in Dublin.
“Not only did she sell the house, but we also saved a lot of money on estate agency fees,” he said.
Dorothy said she once had a job in an electric shop but never worked in the department specialising in computers and mobile phones because they terrified her.
“My colleagues would be laughing if they could see me now.”
The Family Tutor award went to teenager, Áine Fleming, from Kildare town, who spends her evenings teaching her granny, Kitty Whelan, how to use her laptop.
The 80-year-old, who loves horse racing and all kinds of sports, is delighted to be able to look up the racing cards in advance of the races, look at them in real time and review them on the RTÉ player.
Thanks to Áine, 13, Ms Whelan, a widow since 1987 who has eight children and 15 grandchildren, happily spends about two hours on the computer every day.
“She is a very good pupil but she asks an awful lot of questions,” said Áine, who started teaching her granny shortly before last Christmas.
Winner of the Golden IT award is 90-year-old Larry Wilmott, a resident at Our Lady’s Manor Nursing Home in Dublin, who is active on Facebook, Twitter and Skype.
In August, he hosted his 90th birthday party and the 120 guests invited had to respond by email.
Mr Wilmott said older people should not be afraid to use technology. “The internet is not intimidating at all. I found it easy to use when I started four years ago.”
The Hobbies on the Net award to Penny Pennefather, 62, Greystones, Co Wicklow, who computerised her local bridge scoring system. The Most Dedicated IT learner award went to Bernie Wansboro, 53, from Swords, Co Dublin, who bought a laptop and taught herself how to go online.
The Social Networker Award went to Angela Gallagher, 63, from Ardagh, Co Limerick, who blogs at A Silver Voice from Ireland.
Winner of the IT volunteer of the Year Award was James Richardson, 63, from Beaumont in Dublin, who has helped more than 1,500 older people improve their skills.
Communications Minister Pat Rabbitte said the winners, who had not let their age hold them back from being part of Ireland’s digital society, were setting a wonderful example for people of all ages.
The awards scheme has been running for three years and nominations this year, at 180, were up 50% on the previous year.
