A retired local authority fire officer, a former organic farmer and a retired army man have come together to launch possibly the country's most novel online publishing venture. Tom Stack, Rosemary O'Mahony and Pat Hurson joined former Director of Air Traffic Control in Ireland Peter Linehan to launch the Sunset online magazine, as part of the £15 million Ennis Information Age Town project.
The group have issued their third edition just months after completing a course in web design at an Ennis secondary school, St Flannan's College. In a role reversal, their tutor was 17-year-old student Michael Cullinan.
All had completed the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) course and, spurred on by local teacher Fr Brendan Quinlivan, were anxious to learn more.
The oldest member of the group, retired army officer Pat Hurson, says that the first time he came into contact with a PC was after his 81st birthday upon the delivery of the Information Age Town PC to his home in 1998. "Never before had I used a computer; it has been a challenge. None of us had any experience, but I have found the whole experience really rewarding," he says.
After completing their web-design course, the four got inspiration to establish their own online magazine following the visit to Ennis earlier this year by a Boston-based group of senior citizens called the Silver Stringers, who publish a monthly online publication called the Melrose Mirror.
According to retired fire officer, Tom Stack: "We chose the title Sunset because, to be honest, we are in the later period of our lives. There was a lot of debate about it, but Sunset represented the consensus.
"I have enjoyed this experience immensely over the past two years."
The content of the online publication designed and developed by the Sunset Group includes features on sport, money matters and poems and recollections by the Sunset Group themselves.
"Acquiring a new skill at 75 is quite an achievement for me and for my colleagues," says Linehan. "We are very anxious that other people contribute. It can be anything from bee-keeping to astronomy. Computer technology holds a lot of fear for older people, though I don't think that really applies to us in Ennis on the Information Age Town project."
According to EIAT chief executive Michael Byrne, "This website is proof that the information superhighway is a two-way street. The Sunset Group have clearly demonstrated that people can find their own voice on the Internet and need not be dependent on ideas and information communicated from outside."
http://sunset.ennis.ie