Rural electrification of Blackwater, Co Wexford in 1955

By ESB Archives / May 12, 2015 / Leave a comment

Area: Blackwater
Started: April 1955
Finished: September 1955
Poles used: 1523
Line used (km): 129
Premises connected: 210

Blackwater-Map-waterford

The figures above were sourced from our REO News magazine. Click here 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.

Click here to view the original ESB survey of the area. This document shows that the Blackwater rural area was 33sq miles in size, with an initial acceptance rate of 55%.

PJ Dowling at switch on at Blackwater Co. Wexford 1955
Very Rev. Canon J. Sinnott speaking at the switch on ceremony in Blackwater
Blackwater Switch on
VIP guests at switch on
Promotion poster for demonstration at Blackwater

Pop Up Showroom

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Electrical appliances and machinery on display in the make shift showroom

Electrical appliances and machinery on display in the make shift showroom

Demonstration poster

For-Web-Rural-poster

The switch on ceremony was held in the Village Square in Blackwater on 15 June 1955, and was covered extensively in the July 1955 edition of REO News:

Blackwater-3-R.E.OBlackwater-1-R.E.O Blackwater-2-R.E.O