Eir Silver Surfer award goes to wartime wireless worker Doreen Thaw
Doreen Thew, a 92-year-old nursing home resident from Maynooth, Co Kildare, is this year’s overall winner of the 2017 Open Eir Silver Surfer Awards.
She was presented with her award at a ceremony yesterday by TV stars Baz Ashmawy and his mother Nancy.
The ceremony was officially opened by Minister of State for Mental Health and Older People Helen McEntee.
Originally from London, Doreen was a wireless operator during World War II before working as an accounts clerk.
In 2013, she moved to Ireland to be near son, Peter, her five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren following the death of her husband two years earlier.
She lives in the TLC Nursing Home in Maynooth which had to install a wifi booster for her on arrival as there was no way Doreen was going to be separated from her beloved iPad.
Doreen received a record number of nominations from staff and residents in the nursing home as well as family and friends across Britain and Ireland.
She keeps in touch with her family using Skype and Snapchat while also shopping online and googling pictures of birds to identify the feathered visitors outside her bedroom window.
Describing Doreen as inspiring, Eamon Timmins, CEO of Age Action, said: “The majority of older people in Ireland have never been online.
"We hope Doreen and all of our silver surfers encourage anyone with a computer sitting unused in the kitchen, or a tablet still in its wrapping paper, to get online and open up new worlds of information and entertainment.”
Carolan Lennon, MD of Open Eir, said: “What a worthy winner Doreen is. She’s a great example to all to all of us and certainly shows that age is not an issue when it comes to using technology.”
Other award winners include Betty Smith from Newcestown near Bandon, Co Cork, who went from learning to send emails in an Age Action class to winning the Hobbies on the Net award.
The skills she learned there were essential to starting her own business making poitín marmalade — sourcing ingredients and negotiating with suppliers online.
Her award-winning marmalade is now in 35 stores across the south of Ireland.
The Golden IT Award went to retired Wexford garda John Hayes who has embraced everything the internet has to offer, Skyping his siblings in America, using Facebook to keep in touch with relatives and playing bridge online.
The New to IT Award went to Brendan Crean, from Kilbarrack, Dublin, who has not let cerebral palsy stand in his way, while Frank Brady from Malahide was the winner of the IT Tutor of the Year Award.
