A website developed by the County Meath based web design and development firm, CrystalSoft Consulting Ltd., has won a 2003 Esat BT Golden Spider Internet Awards. Gary Carr, Managing Director of CrystalSoft has been webmaster, adviser, mentor and friend to An Fear Rua - The GAA Unplugged! for the past number of years. We've long been admirers and advocates of the quality of his work but it's nice to see it being recognised nationally as well.

CrystalSoft Consulting, based in Ratoath, designed and developed www.disability.ie a web site for Disability Ireland, whose aim is to provide easy access to a comprehensive on-line information service for people with disabilities. The site won the Golden Spider Award for 'The Best Community or Special Interest Web Site'. Sponsored by FÁS, this award goes to a site mounted by, or aimed at, a community or special interest group. The facilities provided by the site should improve the well being, quality or life or interaction among the community or group members and allow them easy access to related services and information.

The Golden Spider Awards honour and reward excellence in the Irish internet industry. Now in their seventh year, the Awards are the biggest and most prestigious internet awards event. Competition to win a Golden Spider Award is extremely tough, with the number of entries increasing every year, and finalists and winners of the Awards are regarded as the leaders in Ireland's internet sector.


Robert Morgan of disAbility.ie with Gary Garr at the Golden Spider Awards ceremony

Gary Carr says: "We create the tools to enable our customers to manage and update their website content but in real terms it is mostly up to them to make best use of these tools. This award is proof that when this approach is taken, it works very well as has been the case with disability.ie. The people behind the site, Robert Morgan and Mark Clancy, made best use of our technology and have created a fantastic resource of information for the disabled community."

"We're delighted to have been part of this award-winning team. I see it as a very tangible recognition of what we are achieving as a premier internet consultancy. It shows that a small, cost-effective business like ours, based in county Meath, can beat the best from anywhere else."

CrystalSoft have developed other outstanding websites: cassidytravel.com for John Cassidy Travel, and amconline.ie for AMC Coaches, which includes an interactive system providing coach tickets to end-users online.

Other well-known winners of Golden Spider Awards this year included AIB, An Post, DHL, Toyota and Ballygowan.

Check out these sites:
CrystalSoft Consulting
disAbility.ie
John Cassidy Travel
AMC Coaches