Big thanks to all the users of the site over the years who keep us going. Hope the site is still as useful today as it once was. Its not till you see it in print that you really realise that it has been going on for 7 years.

Here’s to 7 more, if your all interested that is.

Here’s a transcript of the article in text format (incase any of it isnt legible via the screenshot

SWORDS-BASED online music magazine is celebrating after picking up its second major award nomination in a matter of months.

For the last seven years, Goldenplec.com has been publicising the great and good of the Irish music scene, drawing in admirers from far and wide.
And after making the shortlist for the Irish Web Awards late last year, they were also nominated for the Irish Blog Awards, no mean feat for what’s ultimately a hobby for its creators.
Run by Swords men Aidan Cuffe, Kevin Meagher and Colm Hewson, along with Craig McDonnell, the site covers a wide range of musical topics, focusing not only on the major acts and concerts, but also profiling upand-coming bands, particularly local artists, with a Dublin-slant.

‘It’s been running since 2003 and it’s gotten bigger and smaller in bursts,’ Aidan told the Fingal Independent.
‘We had a really active forum, but everybody that was contributing to it was going through college and graduated, so we closed that part down. We’ve switched over to a full-on blogstyle site.

‘Generally, most of the bigger gigs are in Dublin, but if we get news of a gig anywhere, it all goes up. As much as possible, we support local bands.
‘They generally come to us, telling us they’re launching a new EP or have a gig coming up. We facilitate them by giving away tickets.’

A web-based programmer, Aidan and his team first gained recognition back in college, with a nomination for the National Student Media Awards and have since gone from strength to strength. Indeed, it may not be too long before they’re competing with likes of Hot Press on the shelf.
‘It varies from month to month, but it’s ticking along nicely at the moment,’ Aidan continued. ‘Last month, we had 84,000 unique visits from individual IP addresses and 255,000 page loads, meaning each visitor looked at roughly six to seven pages each.

‘The logical next step would be to go into print. The aim is get the site as popular as possible on the net. If situations change, we could move into gig organising and a magazine.
‘ We were nominated for the Irish Web Awards in December and then we made the final five of the Irish Blog Awards, which was two in quick succession. But it’s a passion at the moment, rather than a vocation.’