Dublin, Friday April 22^nd 2016 - ESB Archives today launched a new website, www.esbarchives.ie, celebrating the rich history and heritage of ESB.

ESB was the first Irish semi-state commercial body and will be celebrating its 90^th anniversary in 2017. In 1991, ESB Archives was formally established to collect, preserve and make accessible the history of ESB. The collection includes administrative records, maps, photographs, film and artefacts.

ESB was established to be the first fully integrated (generation, transmission, distribution, marketing and sale) national electricity service in the world and has played a significant role in the construction of the national infrastructure. Our company has a proud record as a service organisation delivering a vital service to every home, business and community in Ireland. From the late 1980’s, it has expanded its operations to provide related consultancy and operational electricity services overseas.

This website provides a virtual archives experience outlining some of the key developments over those years. Some of the milestones and innovations associated with the wide ranging portfolio of its activities are showcased through the medium of digitised content from paper and audio visual collections preserved in ESB Archives, along with infographics to help create an aid to more fully understand that story.

Highlights include:

• The Story of the Shannon Scheme

   

• The Story of Rural Electrification

   

• The Story of ESB Advertising and Marketing

   

• A visual portfolio of ESB’s generating stations between 1927 and 1997

   

• Annual reports from 1927

The Shannon Scheme, which was sometimes referred to as “The Eighth Wonder of the World”, details the story of arguably the most ambitious engineering project in the history of the Irish state, which laid the platform for industrial development in Ireland.

As 2016 marks the 70^th anniversary of the beginning of the Rural Electrification scheme, ESB Archives has created an interactive map detailing when electricity was connected to each of the 792 rural areas. An outline of how the Scheme was managed at both national and local level is provided, which incorporates the involvement of the voluntary organisations. It also provides information on the role of advertising and marketing initiatives used to promote the Scheme which is now recognised as being responsible for bringing about the most important social transformation in 20^th Century Ireland. It is planned to enhance the content of what happened in each of the 792 local areas in the coming year.

Contact Information

ESB Archives, based in Parnell Avenue, Harold’s Cross, Dublin 12 are open by appointment to anyone with an interest in the history of ESB.