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INTERACTIVE: Sparks fly as ESB marks 70th anniversary of rural electrification

November 5th marks 70 years since the raising of the first pole of the Rural Electrification Sche...
Newstalk
Newstalk

11.25 5 Nov 2016


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INTERACTIVE: Sparks fly as ESB...

INTERACTIVE: Sparks fly as ESB marks 70th anniversary of rural electrification

Newstalk
Newstalk

11.25 5 Nov 2016


Share this article


November 5th marks 70 years since the raising of the first pole of the Rural Electrification Scheme.

The scheme has been described as the greatest social revolution in Ireland since the land reforms of the 1880s and 1890s.

To celebrate the anniversary, the ESB last year embarked on a new digitisation project to make available content from each of the 792 rural areas.

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Material relating to all counties is now digitised and available here.

While an exhibition on rural electrification in the Carlow County Museum remains open until the end of 2016.

It features original appliances and farm machinery from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s - including the electric milking and butter machines, as well as the original rural map from 1946 which lay the blueprint for the work across the nation.

Items on display in the Carlow County Museum | Image: ESBĀ 

ESB Chief Executive Pat O'Doherty says: "We have great pride in the history of our company, which has made a huge contribution to the industrial, commercial and social development of the country.

"Electricity is not an end in itself. It is a key enabler and the Rural Electrification scheme was a driver of social and economic transformation in 20th Century Ireland.

"It is important that we record all aspects of that development so that we can capture and safeguard this era of our shared history for future generations."

The ESB has also posted electricity adverts from the 1960s, including these gems:


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