The lives of the 17,000 residents of Ennis, Co Clare, took a sharp turn towards the future last night as the community succeeded in its bid to become a pioneer of the information age.
Representatives of the town whooped for joy when they learned it was to be transformed by Telecom Eireann into a showcase, and a guinea pig, for the future.
Ennis beat off stiff competition for the £15 million investment from Kilkenny, Killarney and Castlebar. The judges said they chose the town in the end because they were convinced it could "deliver".
"We go on from here, accepting the challenge with boundless enthusiasm, plenty of ideas and in a spirit of adventure," said Mr T.J. Waters, the president of Ennis Chamber of Commerce. "There's no stopping us now."
In the days ahead, Telecom Eireann engineers will move into Ennis in large numbers, assessing the task of wiring the town to the highest level.
Around 80 per cent of local homes and businesses will be furnished with multi-media computers, and high-speed access to the Internet, at a fraction of their usual costs.
Schoolchildren from the age of five will be introduced to and trained in the use of computers. Public services, from libraries to the Garda, will go online.
Telecom Eireann will also introduce smart cards (debit cards) for shoppers and traders.
The project, and the publicity it will generate as it continues, is sure to attract private enterprise. Last night Ennis's project team said it had already lined up almost 200 jobs in two overseas companies, on condition that it won the contest.
While the inhabitants of Ennis have much to gain, they will also learn that their lives, especially with regard to anything they do with new technology, will come under intense scrutiny.
Market research analysts will track exactly how they use their phones, computers, answering machines and debit cards, while academics from Dublin City University will probe the social aspects of technological change.