Research from .IE, which manages the country's .ie domain, has found that almost half of Irish people have noticed an improvement in community spirit during Covid-19 lockdowns.
It's also found that more than two in five people have started a new digital or online hobby during the pandemic.
The research has been launched as part of the inaugural dot ie Digital Town Awards.
The inaugural .IE Digital Town Awards are part of a €1 million investment by .IE to enable a nation of 'digital towns' across Ireland and the awards have a total prize fund of €100,000 across 14 categories.
The closing date for applications is 5pm on Friday, April 23.
Oonagh McCutcheon, the Corporate Communications Manager at .IE, says the Awards have been developed to recognise the achievements of local towns that have used digital technologies to keep communities connected over the past twelve months.
She's been speaking to our reporter Diarmuid Pepper about the recent .IE research and about the inaugural .IE Digital Awards:
