Offaly power stations appear in nostalgic ESB archive films

The construction and operation of West Offaly Power feature in a number of videos in the new ESB Film Archives.

To celebrate the 90th anniversary of the establishment of ESB’s Public Relations Department, ESB has launched previously unseen film footage commissioned by the organisation dating back to the 1920s.

West Offaly Power is featured in a number of the nostalgic clips, including 'Power for Progress' and Forty light years from Parteen,' both of which can be seen here.

The film archive offers a unique insight into the social, cultural and economic development of Ireland at this time and up to the 1980s. The archive was launched yesterday at the 65th annual PRII conference in Dublin.

ESB first dipped its toes into the film world when they entered an agreement in April 1928 with the First National Pathé Film Company to record the construction of Ireland’s first hydroelectric station on the River Shannon at Ardnacrusha in Co Clare. The film was subsequently shown in cinemas, school and colleges nationwide to educate the country on the importance of the development.

From the 1950s to 1980s, ESB employed the services of acclaimed Austrian filmmaker George Fleischmann who incidentally crash landed in Ireland while on a surveillance mission during World War II. Interned at the Curragh Camp, he produced 15 films for ESB.

The first of his documentaries – ‘Power for Progress’ – details the infrastructural work carried out by ESB up to 1955 including the development of hydro, peat and coal stations. Domestic and social scenes from the 1950s are also captured including the focus on promoting the all-electric house.

Outlining the importance of this archive to recording Ireland’s history, Pat O’Doherty, Chief Executive of ESB, said: “The films, preserved in ESB Archives, illustrate ESB’s contribution in the evolution of a new and changing Ireland with many having cultural, educational, historical and social significance. The early documentaries were broadcast in cinemas or local screenings at a time before television arrived, opening Irish society to a brighter future through the electrification of the entire country.  We are delighted to release the films online for everyone to enjoy from all corners of the world.”

ESB employees were a regular feature in many of the documentaries, in particular, the 1972 documentary on Turlough Hill, Co Wicklow, ‘Peak Power’, dedicated entirely to the workers. It features interviews with the employees who contributed to the largest pumped storage civil engineering project of its time.

One of the most recent films in the archive is ‘Tomorrow’s House Today’ which depicts the planning and construction of six houses in Kilcock, Co Kildare, each fitted with various different electrical and insulation systems. The results were monitored and analysed by ESB to ensure that the most efficient building and insulation techniques will be used in the future.

Offaly also features in a dramatised film about a fictional young local farmer fascinated by the new peat electricity generation station in Portarlington.

The film features exterior and interior footage of the station on the Laois Offaly border including the cooling tower, turbine halls and control panel. Local farmers are featured loading wagons with peat by hand ready for transportation to the station. You can view that clip here.

You can see more from the entire archive at www.esbarchives.ie/film/