Sean and John win July award

Two businessmen have been named as the latest Cork Persons of the Month for helping to turn a Cork town into Ireland’s digital workplace capital.

Founding board members of the Ludgate Hub, Sean O’Driscoll and John Field have been named July Cork Persons of the Month with organisers saying that the Ludgate Hub has transformed Skibbereen into Ireland’s digital workspace capital.

John Field offered up the building to house the Ludgate Hub, and Sean O’Driscoll used his extensive network to create a powerful board, all of whom work on a pro-bono basis.

Sean O’Driscoll said: “This project works because we have the full support and involvement of the local community. Now high-speed connectivity is consigning geography to history.

“This is the model for rural Ireland’s future.”

Awards organiser Manus O’Callaghan said: “Digitisation of rural Ireland is akin to the electrification of Ireland in the past and John Field and Sean O’Driscoll want to make Skibbereen a hotspot for technology start-ups and multinationals to locate and prosper at a global level.

“It is great to see two local successful businessmen working hard, on a voluntary basis, for their home place of West Cork.”

John Field and Sean O’Driscoll’s names will now go forward for possible selection as Cork Persons of the Year.