Looking back on 85 years at Ardnacrusha

WHEN it was completed at a cost of over £5 million in 1929, the ESB’s first power station at Ardnacrusha paved the way for the social, economic and industrial development of Ireland.

 

Two men who were witness to the official opening of the country’s largest river hydroelectic scheme on July 22, 1929, former Taoiseach Liam Cosgrove and Bridgetown man Brud Skehan, three years his senior, renewed acquaintances last week at a ceremony to mark the 85th anniversary of the Shannon Scheme.

The mammoth project, from proposal to completion, took just four years and was constructed by Siemens of Germany. Four thousand Irish and 1,000 Germans worked alongside each other to complete the development on time and within budget.

Leader of the Free State, WT Cosgrove performed the official opening and was accompanied by his sons, Liam (nine) and Michael (seven). When Liam Cosgrove returned last Thursday to Ardnacrusha, he recalled that on that historic day in 1929, his biggest concern was keeping his shoes clean.

“I came by car. It was holiday time in July. The weather was bad but it was a great occasion. My memories are it was a very wet day and I had a new pair of shoes and I didn’t want to get them muddy, so we walked on planks and we escaped the mud,” he said.

“The other thing was there was some query when the switch was turned on whether the water would flow. Of course, that meant nothing to me as a young fella but it came on immediately.”
Mr Cosgrove also emphasised that the project was undertaken by the country’s first government with limited resources.

“It was initiated at a time where there was no outside money by the then [Cumann na nGaedheal] government with immense courage, foresight, imagination and enterprise. There was no money from Marshall Aid and, of course, no money from the European Union. They had to operate solely from Irish investment. It was a gigantic undertaking,” he acknowledged.

In fact, the project cost £5.2m, an additional £600,000 was paid in compensation to landowners and, put in context, that amount would have represented around a fifth of the Government’s budget or over €9 billion.

The former taoiseach was accompanied at Thursday’s ceremony by his daughter, Mary and nieces, Louise and Marita and received a standing ovation following his non-scripted speech.

Mr Skehan remembers their meeting all those years ago. “I was only 14. I travelled here on an auld bike from Bridgetown. I was playing with young Liam and shook his hand. He was bashful about it.

“I remember standing on the platform where he [WT Cosgrave] was when he pressed the button. It was a very quiet opening for such a powerful thing. There was a very, very small crowd. There was a bit of hostility at the time towards the Cumann na nGaedheal government and only the real blues turned up. I suppose I was one of them. I won’t change now,” Mr Skehan disclosed.

Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte emphasised the enormity of the Shannon Scheme, which involved the construction and rollout of an electricity network system across the length and breadth of Ireland in 1927. He also emphasised the importance of the vast body of work that has been undertaken over recent years in strengthening the network.

“The fact that Ireland has now one of the leading electricity systems worldwide in terms of safety and reliability is no accident. It is part of careful and strategic planning over the past decade or so to ensure development and maintenance of the networks in the national interest,” he added.
Minister Rabbitte went on to reaffirm the Government’s intention to retain the gas and electricity networks in State ownership, as national strategic infrastructure, to ensure it is developed and maintained in the national interest.

“It is the Government’s wish to have policy certainty in relation to the strategic and economic importance of developing energy infrastructure. In that regard, I would like to affirm the imperative need for development and renewal of our electricity networks in order to meet both economic and social policy goals.”

Taoiseach Enda Kenny said in these uncertain times it is right that people honour the courage, bravery and, above all, heart and imagination of the men and women who built the Irish State and developed its economy.

”Ardnacrusha links our past and future. And because it does, I’m privileged to be here today in the company of former Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave. Liam, your father, WT Cosgrave, a patriot, made the brave decision to harness the power of the River Shannon to produce electricity for the Irish people. What a legacy they have left us with, one that makes us justifiably proud, both as a nation and as a people.

”For me, Ardnacrusha remains a powerful symbol of the bold thinking of these men and women, of their passion for their country, their determination not just to effect radical change in Ireland but to be that radical change.”