The Electricity Supply Board (ESB) is celebrating 100 Years of Electricity Generation in Ringsend with the unaveiling of a monument by the Chief Executive of the ESB. Mr Padraig McManus unveiled a sculpture on Sandymount Strand on November 12th to mark to mark the occasion.

The sculpture consists of a single block of Wicklow granite onto which is mounted a cast-bronze plaque embossed with a panoramic view from the Strand Road location. It identifies landmarks of particular interest including the location of the Pigeon House, Poolbeg Power Station, The Bailey
Lighthouse and Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

The sculpture is wheelchair accessible and very tactile, which make it very suitable for people with visual impairment. It also gives a very good map of the outline of the coastline.

In his speech at the unveiling ceremony, Padraig McManus outlined the history of electricity generation on the Poolbeg peninsula, which dated back to 1903. The Pigeon House Station was built by the then Dublin Corporation Lighting Committee before being handed over to the newly-formed ESB in 1929.

Ringsend Power Station first generated electricity in 1955 to meet the growing needs of a rapidly-developing Ireland and after almost 30 years of service was closed in 1982. A new station, Synergen, which is operated on a joint partnership basis between ESB and Statoil, was commissioned in 2002 and is located on part of the old Ringsend station site.

Further down the peninsula, the Combined Cycle Plant in Poolbeg was completed in 1999. The familiar characteristic twin red and white chimneys of the original Poolbeg station which first generated electricity in 1971 have become synonymous with the city of Dublin and are well and truly part and parcel of the landscape of the city.

Since 1903 these stations have provided a vital energy source for the commercial, industrial and domestic life of the capital city and beyond and have played a vital part in our economic growth and success. Padraig McManus said ‘The ESB is proud of its record of achievement and association with the Poolbeg Peninsula. These power stations have stood as a testament to the vision and the technical, engineering, craft and organisational skills of ESB and its staff. The success of the stations has also been based on an appreciation and awareness of the environment in which we operate. We are acutely aware that we operate in an area of environmental importance and we are committed to being a good neighbour and meeting customer demand for electricity in a safe, efficient and environmentally responsible manner. Indeed, we consider this to be an essential and challenging aspect of the way we do our business, not just on the Poolbeg peninsula but throughout all ESB.”

The Chief Executive thanked the Poolbeg Partnership Group for their initiative in celebrating this particular anniversary. He also congratulated them on their decision to mark this occasion with a sculpture that should be of benefit and interest to people for many years to come.

He paid tribute to all those who, past and present, have dedicated themselves to the generation of electricity on the Poolbeg peninsula and the hope that this tradition will continue for many years into the future.

From left: Frances Corr, Catherine Cavendish, Cllr. Dermot Lacey, John Gormley TD, Cllr. Kevin Humphreys and Padraig McManus.