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Irish Picks: September 2000

Welcome to Irish Picks for September! If you know of a site we should cover, don't be shy.
Just contact our Editor, Sheila McDonald, and one of our reviewers will check it out.

Tired of computers and things virtual? Enter the realm of good, old-fashioned wood at Eric Connor Sculptural Chairs, where the artist presents an elegant range of hand-made rockers, dining chairs and other fare in ash, elm and oak. Connor says his creations, sculpted one at a time, are designed to last "at least as long as the tree it was made from took to grow," or between 75 and 120 years. Aspiring sculptors can check out the training courses offered by O'Connor at his workshop in County Wicklow.
The ultimate in convenience would be to pay no bills at all, but the second best thing is now available online at Billpay.ie, Ireland's first online bill payments tool. Set up your debtors by entering account name and number details, then opt for Laser, credit card or electronic funds transfer as a payment mechanism. When your accounts are established, you can choose full or partial payment options for any account. Best (or worst) of all, your bills talk back: a special feature alerts you by email or SMS when new bills arrive.
Castlebar in County Mayo is one of Ireland's chosen few when it comes to information technology, with part of its information infrastructure sponsored by the telco Eircom. And thanks to a lot of elbow grease, the town now has a cracking site, boasting information on parenting classes, a dedicated "roots" geneaology message board, and rather fab photos of the town, past and present. We loved the "Sohipithurts" teenzine: it's not fancy, but it boasts reviews, news and interviews by teens themselves, and like the rest of the site emits a genuine spirit of community involvement in this Web venture.
If you're out and about, don't make a move without the new entertainment zine Where's the Craic . Based in Kilkenny, the site offers great weekly listings for gigs, plays and exhibitions, and it's not just the big boys that get a look-in here. The site has decided to devote resources to the independent music scene, and indie bands everywhere are invited to submit their tunes for consideration. A great idea, but iffy execution - links to information about each selected band trailed aimlessly into the ether when we stopped by.
Shop queues, jumbles of clothing and the madding crowd may inspire a passion for shopping in some folks, but WeShop is betting that this is one task that plenty of Irish people are willing to delegate. Browse the hand-picked selection of clothing, ceramics, dolls - even food - that these professional shoppers have selected, and WeShop will deliver the goods anywhere in the world. Shoppers outside the State get the best deal, actually, since VAT at 21% is reclaimable.

Sites Featured in Irish Picks:

Eric Connor Sculptural Chairs - good wood, great chairs.
Billpay.ie - if you've got to pay bills, you might as well do it online.
Castlebar, County Mayo - if it's in Castlebar, it's on the Web.
Where's the Craic - - new entertainment zine, new artists welcome.

WeShop - they shop so you don't have to.

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