Kilsallaghan, Co. Dublin

Map extract showing rural electrification areas in County Dublin, including Corduff, Kilsallaghan and Cloghran. Area: Kilsallaghan
Started: November 1946
Finished: January 1948
Poles used: 2132
Line used (km): 113
Premises connected: 357

The figures above were sourced from our REO News magazine. Click interactive map to find out more on what the figures mean. The map above shows the area boundary and is from a digitised version of the original map used during the scheme.

Kilsallaghan Rural Area has the privilege of being the area where the Rural Electrification Scheme started and where the first pole was erected as reported in The REO News from November 1948:

Article marking the second anniversary of the Rural Electrification Scheme, describing the erection of the first electricity pole at Kilsallaghan and the progress made since then.

This digital scan from the REO News displays the following text:

"TWO YEARS AGO TODAY

"Two years ago today a wooden pole was erected at Kilsallaghan, Co. Dublin, and the great rural electrification scheme for Ireland had begun" (IRISH PRESS 9.11.48).

I well remember the occasion. It was not the 9th as stated in the Irish Press but the 5th November 1946. The evening was cold as we got to Kilsallaghan. We were glad it was not raining but doubts were expressed as to whether the light was good enough for a photograph. We followed the directions we had been given to find the position of the first pole of the million which are required to complete the scheme. Our directions were clear: "pass the signpost pointing to Kilsallaghan, take the next turn to the right and look out for the van." Yes, there was the signpost, then the right turn and sure enough there was the van pulled up at a gateway. We went in over the wet grass and found Mr. Dan Burke with Supervisor Jim Dunne and his hoisting gang waiting for us. Mr. Jackson, D.E. came down along the line across the fields from the other direction. Mr. Burke asked would he give the word to start. Mr. Ennis took charge of the camera and the photo taken is now a treasured possession of Rural Head Office. There was no ceremony. The times were not suitable: rationing was being enforced.

Besides those mentioned, Mr. Roe and Mr. Dowling and the late Mr. O'Donoghue (go ndeanaid Dia trocaire ar a anam) were present. As the pole was raised in the gathering dusk of that November evening, those present realised that a start was being made on a scheme which was to bring new life to the hills and valleys of rural Ireland, and a new outlook and renewed hope to those who dwell there.

Since then, 34,000 poles have been erected, bringing supply across 1,600 miles of line to 6,000 consumers. It is only still a beginning to the great scheme, but it is a beginning, and those men throughout the country who have worked so hard and so enthusiastically to accomplish so much in the face of such difficulties, can look back on good work well done, and look forward to continuing the scheme at an increasing rate.

To again quote the Irish Press:

"It took considerable planning to get conductors, insulators, ironworks and transformers to keep the crews working and the current on the march. Difficulties there are still, but the Rural-electric men can afford to celebrate the Scheme's second birthday.""

And from The REO News December 1956:

Article reflecting on the early years of the Rural Electrification Scheme and describing milestones including the first pole, first consumer, first area office, first publicity leaflet and the importation of poles from Finland.

This digital scan from the REO News displays the following text:

"...our past for our pride

On the 5th November last, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of the erection of the first Rural Pole under our Scheme. On the opposite page we reproduce a snapshot taken by Mr. P. J. Ennis on that occasion. Amongst those present in the photograph are: Mr. W. F. Roe, Mr. P. J. Dowling and Mr. D. F. Burke. The late Mr. C. O'Donoghue (R.I.P.) is obscured behind the hoisting crew. Down in the pole-hole Mr. J. Dunne, Supervisor, Dublin No. 2 District, is ensuring that our first ‘tree’ is properly planted.

This occasion recalled to us many other famous ‘firsts’ of those early days. Area Offices would not always be readily available, so we had a mobile office constructed to our requirements by Messrs. Thompsons of Carlow. Our picture shows it arriving at our first area in Kilsallaghan, Co. Dublin.

Naturally, there was jubilation when we switched on our first consumer, and the spirit grocery known as Conways of Oldtown holds that unique distinction.

Electrification of rural areas was a very new and novel idea in our country at that time, and none of our rural dwellers knew how to go about setting up a local committee and registering their demands for electricity. To assist them in those early days, a twelve-page black and yellow booklet was prepared and on its cover Johnny Hotfoot made his first bow to his public.

With the war only recently ended, poles for our Scheme were a problem in those days. We know at least three members of our staff who still automatically look at each little grove of trees as they travel through the country, to see if there are a few larch or Scots pine which could be purchased to meet even the small early demands. But our country does not produce timber in the quantities envisaged, and we turned towards the Baltic to Finland. Our first consignment of poles from that country was not sufficiently large to charter a ship and was carried in the ordinary course of trading as deck cargo on the “Ashbel Hubbard”. In our photograph the very first overseas poles are seen rolling down onto the quayside.

Business with Finland expanded, and before long, large quantities of poles were being imported on chartered ships. On one occasion, no less than five vessels arrived in Dublin Port, but there was only berthage for four of them. When discussing the problem with Mr. P. Conroy, Mr. O’Donoghue described the rafts which he had seen during his visit to Finland, little knowing that on that very afternoon he was to meet the Grim Reaper while bathing at Clontarf. Mr. Conroy carried on with the project: the poles from vessel number 5 were lowered over the side, and shipwrights from our main polefield constructed a raft which was successfully towed round to a suitable point near the polefield, whence our overworked transport transferred them to the depot. Due credit to Mr. C. Flood who supervised the construction of the raft, and to Messrs. Etson, Shipping Agents, who arranged for the towing by a Port and Docks Board tug.

We are justifiably proud of these early endeavours, and if our pictorial record is somewhat dim, we hope our readers will be indulgent and remember that some of the photographs were taken under adverse conditions, but to those of us who lived through those days, we need but the faintest reminder to revive crystal clear memories."

Page featuring a collection of photographs and illustrations highlighting milestones in the Rural Electrification Scheme, including the first raft, first consumer, first leaflet, first electricity pole, first shipment and first area office. From The REO News, December 1956

Black-and-white photograph showing two people indoors beside a paraffin lamp, with one person operating an electrical switch mounted on a wall. White’s Spirit Grocery, 15 January 1947.

Black-and-white photograph showing workers raising a wooden electricity pole in an open field while several onlookers stand nearby. First pole at Kilsallaghan, 5 November 1946.