Generations: Memories of the Lee Hydroelectric Scheme, County Cork About the Authors
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rr\TFD ATTHMC L rL il>IjI\A l I U l > u Memories of the Lee Hydroelectric Scheme, County Cork Kieran McCarthy and Seamus O’Donoghue Kieran McCarthy is a Corkman born and bred and holds a Masters of Philosophy in Geography from University College Cork. He has lectured widely on the history of Cork and worked in numerous institutions, universities and schools. He contributes a local history column to the Cork Independent, and is author of over 400 articles and six books. Seamus O’Donoghue was brought up around Coachford in the heart of the Lee valley. After qualifying as a National Teacher he spent most of his working life in his native parish and was principal of Clontead National School from 1965 to 1988. He is a keen local historian and founder member of Coachford Historical Society. The Lilliput Press Arbour Hill, Dublin www.lilliputpress.ie Front: T h e staff at Inniscarra dam (above, August 1956) as it nears completion (below, October 1956) Back: Rolling out the cable, as rural customers are connected to die supply system Jacket design: Anu Design Memories of the Lee Hydroelectric Scheme, County Cork GENERATIONS Memories of the Lee Hydroelectric Scheme, County Cork Kieran McCarthy and Seamus O’Donoghue THE LILLIPUT PRESS • DUBLIN Dedicated to the people who worked on and who continue to be part o f the Lee hydroelectric scheme First published 2008 by THE LILLIPUT PRESS LTD 62—63 Sitric Road, Arbour Hill, Dublin 7, Ireland www.lilliputpress.ie Copyright © ESB 2008 All rights reserved. No part o f this publication may be reproduced any form or by any means without the prior permission o f the publishi A CIP record for this title is available from The British Library. ISBN 978 1 84351 139 7 Set in 11.5 point Bembo Design by Anu Design, Tara Printed and bound in Bizkaia, Spain Contents Foreword xi 1. Introduction — Cherished Geographies i 2. Electricity Cometh 19 3. Planning the Lee Hydroelectric Scheme 27 4. Acquisition of Land 35 5. The Work Schedule 47 6. Working on the Lee Scheme 63 7. Immersed Histories and Lost Antiquities 77 8. Effects of the Lee Hydroelectric Scheme 99 9. Staff Memories 123 0. Beyond the First Fifty Years 135 Appendices 147 Acknowledgments This book would not have been possible without the help of many people. We wish to record our thanks to the following people in ESB for their support and assistance: Padraig McManus, Chief Executive; Aidan O ’Regan, Deputy Chief Executive; Luke Shinnors, Executive Director, Human Resources; Pat O ’Doherty, Executive Director, Power Generation; Pat Naughton, ESB Hydro Manager; Liam Buckley, Plant Manager, ESB Lee Stations; all current and retired staff of ESB Lee Stations; Jack O ’Keeffe who is now retired and held the position of Chief Civil Engineer, ESB; Chris McElhinney, General Manager, Shared Services; Malcolm Alexander, Manager, Financial Control & Accounting Services, Shared Services; Niamh Fitzgerald, Finance Manager, Shared Services; James O ’Loughlin, Facilities & Project Manager, Shared Services; and Colm Brophy and Joe Murray, Procurement, Shared Services. We would particularly like to thank Brendan Delany, ESB Archive & Heritage Manager; PatYeates, ESB Archives; and Gerry Hampson, ESB Archives. ESB Archives and its staff play a vital role in recording the history of the company and in so doing provide an invaluable service to the community. We would like to thank Antony Farrell of the Lilliput Press and Djinn von Noorden who was the editor of the book and did an excellent job revising earlier drafts of the text and making many useful suggestions, and Karen Carty from Anu Design for her meticulous work on the design and layout of the book. We would also like to thank Anthony Greene, Martin McCarthy and Noel O ’Flynn. Finally, our thanks go to Aidan Barry, Manager, SWRFB; Patrick Buck, Assistant Manager, SWRFB; all the staff of the Reference Dept., Cork City & County Libraries; and to our many friends who gave us such great assistance with material and photographs. We would also like to thank our respective families for their support, the McCarthy family and the O ’Donoghue family, Donal, Lil, Padraic, Aingeal and Aine. At the time of going to print we were not able to identify all the people who featured in the photographs. We would be pleased if readers with additional information could forward this material to ESB Archives. Any errors or ommissions in the text are not intentional and we will be happy to have corrections made in any future edition of this work. Generations: Memories of the Lee Hydroelectric Scheme, County Cork About the Authors Kieran McCarthy Kieran McCarthy is a born and bred Corkman. Kieran graduated from University College Cork in 1999 with a Joint Honours Bachelor of Arts Degree in Geography and Archaeology. He subsequently completed a Masters of Philosophy in Geography in the Department of Geography, U CC. Kieran has lectured wide ly on Cork’s past in association with numerous institutions, in particular University College Cork, Cork County Council, the Cork Education and Support Centre, the Vocational Educational Committee and with various community associations within Cork City, and further afield in Cork’s twinned cities, such as San Francisco. In particular, Kieran has a keen interest in disseminating knowledge about the importance of local studies in Cork’s primary and post-primary schools. Since 2003, he has annually coordinated the Discover Cork: Schools’ History Project (www.schoolshistoryproject.com). He has been involved in the compilation of several television reports for RTE on various aspects of Cork’s history. Kieran is known for his local history column in the Cork Independent, a weekly Cork newspaper in which he has been writing a series on the history and geography of Cork City and County since October 1999. In addition to publishing over 400 articles on Cork’s development through that medium, he is the author of six books: Pathways Through Time, Historical Walking Trails of Cork City (2001), Cork: A Pictorial Journey (co-edited 2001), Discover Cork (2003), A Dream Unfolding, Portrait o f St Patrick’s Hospital (2004), Voices of Cork: The Knitting Map Speaks (2005) and In the Steps o f St Finbarre, Voices and Memories o f the Lee Valley (2006). Kieran is currently working as a freelance historical consultant and can be contacted at [email protected] or + 353 876553389 (www.corkheritage.ie). Seam us O ’D o n o g h u e Seamus O ’Donoghue is a native of Coachford in the heart of the Lee valley. As a young man he qualified as a National Teacher and spent most of his working life teaching in his native parish. He was principal of Clontead NS from 1965 to 1988. Since his retirement he has had the opportunity to pursue his keen inter est in local history. He is a founder member of Coachford Historical Society and co-editor of the Society’s journal, The Coachford Record. He is the author of two books, The Flooding o f the Lee Valley, The Lee Hydro Electric Scheme and O ’Sullivan Burke, Fenian (co-authored with Mary C. Lynch). About the Authors Foreword In 2007 ESB celebrated eighty years of unbroken service to the nation. During that time, ESB has adapted very successfully to meet many difficult and varying new challenges. The provision of an electricity service is a dynamic process, and in late 2007 we witnessed a spectacular example o f this process with the opening up of an all-Ireland market, facilitating competition between electricity providers both north and south of the border. Many people in the industry would claim that such a dramatic development in the electricity business in this country has not been witnessed since the construction of Ardnacrusha hydro station between 1925 and 1929. It may seem obvious, but the only certainty we face is that there are more changes and challenges to be met in the future. It is entirely appropriate that a milestone in an organization such as ESB should be marked and evaluated, and the fiftieth anniversary of the Lee scheme is definitely worth celebrating. The Lee stations have provided great service not just to ESB but also to the wider community, supplying eighty million units of cost-effective and eco-friendly electricity, year on year, since the commissioning o f both Inniscarra and Carrigadrohid power stations in 1957. In celebrating this fiftieth anniversary, we are honouring successive generations of the people and their families who were involved in both the construction and operation of the Lee hydroelectric stations. This book provides an invaluable insight into how the Lee scheme came into being, tracing all major developments over the last fifty years. Local historians Kieran McCarthy and Seamus O ’Donoghue have comprehensively researched their subject and drawn together details of the multi-faceted aspects of the scheme. The book provides the reader with an appreciation of the social, cultural and commercial impact of the scheme, particularly for ESB and the Cork region. It also contributes to capturing the social history of many aspects of our country over the last five decades. I commend the authors for their scholarly work along with all who have assisted in the production o f this book. I also want to take the opportunity to thank all staff who worked on the scheme, past and present, for their commitment and dedication. You have not only served ESB well but in that process you have performed a service for the nation. Padraig McManus Chief Executive ESB Foreword Final stages o f construction of Inniscarra dam, late igs6. I Introduction - Cherished Geographies ‘Passenger measure your time for time is the measure o f your being’ So goes the inscription on the iconic clock machinery of St Anne’s Church, Shandon, Cork, an analogy which can be connected to the fiftieth anniversary of the hydroelectric scheme.