New DCU websites taking cyberspace by storm - website exclusive

Two new websites which began in DCU have been successfully launched and are creating quite a stir in cyberspace.

logainm.ie aims to end confusion over Irish language placenames, while swiftcommute.ie attempts to make carpooling among Irish commuters easier.

logainm.ie, a website developed by DCU’s School of Irish Fiontar, has received over 300,000 hits since September. An initiative supported by the Placenames Branch of the Department of Community,
Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, the site comprises of a database of Irish placenames in both Irish and English. Translations of over 60,000 streets, townlands and parishes are available at the click of a mouse.

The website is designed as a resource for historians, journalists, genealogists and anybody who requires accurate information on town and village placenames. Users can use the search box to look for a particular place or use the interactive map to browse through the list county by county.

The website is an extension of Fiontar’s focal.ie, an online dictionary which won best Irish language website at this year’s Irish Web Awards.

The College View spoke to project director and DCU lecturer Dr Caolfhionn Nic Pháidín about the idea behind the website.

“Our aim was to give both ordinary people and the wider media access to an existing bank of research that was available to the Placenames Branch” she says.

“The idea started as a result of the intense interest we received about focal.ie, which gets about half a million hits every month. Feedback we were getting indicated that a similar site for placenames would be a big
improvement.”

The website has several innovative features, including an explanation of the meaning of many of the common elements in Irish placenames and a clever audio feature in which a voiceover recites the words with their proper pronunciation.

Although in its infancy, the team behind logainm.ie are already planning further developments for the site. Ideas being worked on at the moment include a weekly feature whereby members of the public can submit information on placenames. This feature as well as other enhancements should be completed within two years, says Dr Nic Pháidín.

“We hope to create mapping tools and extend audio features to all counties – at the moment only three are covered.”

swiftcommute.ie is another website with DCU links that is attracting plenty of attention. The site, which started off as a college project by former DCU Computer Science students John Brady and Paul O’Donovan, aims to combat spiralling fuel costs and environmental damage. The first website of its kind in Ireland, its aim is to match up commuters based on where they live and enable efficient “carpooling”.

Although the site has only been running for just over 12 months, it already boasts 300 members, with more growth expected in the coming months. Paul O’Donovan, co-founder of swiftcommute.ie, explains the thinking behind the site.

“The idea was formed several years ago when John and I had to think of an idea of a final year project. At the time my brother was commuting to Eastpoint, and found arranging car pools with his colleagues via staff e-mails or word of mouth tiresome.”

“Our idea was to establish a central site where similarly-minded people could get ‘matched up’ with commuters on similar routes, saving on petrol costs and helping the environment simultaneously.”

Upon registering to the website, users are asked to enter details of their route and where they would be willing to pick up fellow commuters. The system then “matches up” commuters and puts them into contact so that carpooling can be arranged.

O’Donovan feels that the last week’s Budget increase on petrol and the new employee parking levy will greatly add to the popularity of swiftcommute.ie.

“Our site has already seen huge increases of hits in the last two months, partly due to increased media coverage. We expect interest in the site to increase further as winter begins and the budget increases kick in.”

swiftcommute.ie is a nationwide service and is free.