Visitors to parks in south Dublin will be able to enjoy the company of a virtual guide thanks to an innovative new project by South Dublin County Council.
The council has recently produced the first in a series of iWalks for public parks in south Dublin. These audio and video podcasts, produced in conjunction with the Parks Department, will be available for download to MP3 players or iPods.
They will offer a walking commentary as users follow a specified route through the parks. The first in the series has been made for Corkagh Park in Clondalkin and will be available on the council’s website www.southdublin.ie in the coming fortnight.
“Users can put the podcast on and follow a specific walking route through Corkagh Park and it tells them about the park, its origins, the features, points of interest and so on,” explains Sabrina Fogarty, development officer, Connect Project.
“Corkagh Park is a huge park and it has features like baseball pitches and rose gardens and the like.
“It’s not about the technology but what the technology can do for people,” she says.
Fogarty added that plans are afoot to create iWalk podcasts for other parks in south county Dublin.
By Niall Byrne
