Area: Ballyforan
Started: December 1953
Finished: July 1954
Poles used: 1106
Line used (km): 101
Premises connected: 37
The figures above were sourced from our REO News magazine, to learn more about what these figures mean, visit our interactive map. The map above shows the area boundary and is from a digitised version of the original map used during the scheme.
Results in Ballyforan were more than excellent according to The REO News from September 1954.
This digital scan from the REO News displays the following text:
"Ballyforan Rural Area, Co. Roscommon: The construction of Ballyforan was carried out under the well-known leadership of Mr. F. P. Cremins and his supervisor, Mr. C. Bradley, but the report is supplied by Mr. T. V. Fahy, who succeeded Mr. Cremins on the latter’s transfer to Waterford District. Mr. Bradley and Mr. Galvin, A.O., supplied the information to Mr. Fahy for the story of Ballyforan.
Considered as a job of building a network the results were more than excellent. Let us say at the outset that the area return improved from 5.38% to 6.03%. An initial difficulty was that a number of people listed as acceptances had not, in fact, signed application forms, and it needed a great deal of pleading before the majority of these finally agreed to take supply. The actual number of consumers lost is listed as 38, but of these only 12 were backsliders in the true sense, the remainder having become vacant in the interval or refused supply because of change of tenancy. The reverse picture is that 73 new acceptances were gained and the final position shows 394 consumers, a net gain of 35.
The job involved 3,635 units of work which was done at an average cost of 29/6d per unit, with the final position that the total cost was £1,000 less than the figure estimated.
It took a considerable effort to reach a total sales of £480 with heavy competition from local contractors. A disquieting feature of the sales is that the only appliances for farmyard use on our list are 1, grain grinder and 1, animal food cooker. In spite of Mr. Galvin’s best efforts water pumping is still carried out by the old bucket-and-windlass device. The picture may not be black at it seems, however, as apparently more work was done than the consumers reported. Throughout the farmyard, more than 60% of the consumers installed outside light. The general view is that the standard of living has gone up in about a year from what we might make up some of the undoubted ‘lost-way."