AND THEN THE ESB MAN SAID ‘LET THEIR BE LIGHT’
THERE is a whole generation growing up in Ireland who could not imagine life without the internet or Bluetooth – much less the simple act of pressing a switch and turning on a light.
That very action was something that was greeted with unbridled joy by people living in rural Ireland as recently as 70-years ago, as the roll-out of the ESB’s Rural Electrification Scheme lit up villages and homestead across the nation.
A fascinating collection of tales, many told by people from Cork, has shed new light on the time that Ireland left the ‘dark ages’ behind and as the benefits of the largest ever undertaking by the fledgling nation began to take effect.
Co-edited by authors PJ Cunningham and Dr Joe Carney ‘ Then There Was Light’, recalls the suspicions and worries expressed by ESB workers and the general public at the time. Indeed, some older people were convinced they would be burnt in their beds and resisted the move to electricity.
It also reveals how the scheme helped reshape the lives of people living in communities across the country.
Mr Cunningham said that one of the things that struck both him and Dr Carney after so many decades had elapsed was how vivid people’s memories of the time were.
“You send that some people could still smell the new electricity poles and quite possibly the roses from that time too,” grinned Mr Cunningham.
“It was as if everyone knew this was a very special experience in their lives and in Ireland’s history – it was something they would never forget,” he added.
Although she has lived in Co Meath for the past 40-years, Farran native Eileen Ludlow recalled how a sunken world came to exist below the banks of the River Lee as electricity finally arrived in the valley and the surrounding countryside.
“It’s as if the world she grew up in has disappeared like Atlantis, but in her minds is perfectly preserved under water after being flooded during the creation of the Lee Scheme,” said Mr Cunningham.
Christy Ring from Fermoy recalled working for the ESB and finding out the need for a ‘Plan B’ while on the job.
John Caffrey’s father was a chauffeur for the ESB and recalled shiny Dodge and Chrysler cars, used to bring company bosses from site to site, parked outside the family home..
Dr Carney said it was important that these stories were preserved.
“There is no doubt that the Rural Electrification Scheme was a seminal time in Ireland. It was a real pleasure to document the events and occurrences that otherwise might have been lost for future generations,” he said.
A accompanying radio documentary containing stories from the book and other interviews, which was aired on November 5 – exactly 70-years to the day after the first of the schemes electricity poles went up- is available to listen to on the RTE Player.