Area: Bansha
Started: December 1947
Finished: November 1948
Poles used: 1613
Line used (km): 121
Premises connected: 423

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.

Survey and switch on

An initial survey was conducted in the Bansha rural area in Co Tipperary circa July 1947, which covered 36.8 sq miles. The estimated cost of implementing the scheme was recorded as £28,281.30. From a total of 518 houses, there were: 452 acceptances of the scheme; 36 refusals; 4 ‘doubtfuls’; and 26 recorded as vacant.

Bansha Rural Committee, 1948. Back row (L-R): [unknown]; Fr Walsh; Willie Matt Grogan; Charlie O’Neill; and Dan O’Connell. Second row from back (L-R): John Butler; Fr English; [unknown]; Tom Brosnan; and Ned Haney. Second row from front (L-R): Paddy Gallagher; Alfred Kissane; Dr Jim Russell; [unknown]; [unknown]; [unknown]; [unknown]; and [unknown]. Front row (L-R): [unknown]; [unknown]; Canon Hayes; [unknown]; and [unknown].

Bansha rural employees, 1948 (L-R): T Drennan; J Nolan; C Clune; M Whyte; J Dillon; T Costello, C O’Reilly; J Bergin; R Dowd; P Grace; J King (Alcan); B Lanigan; S Nolan; [unknown]; J Kelly; S Gibson; J Ware; and PG Collier.

Switch on by Parish Priest Very Rev Cannon JM Hayes at Bansha, 24 May 1948

The official switch on ceremony was held in Bansha on 24 May 1948, as described in The REO News from June 1948:

During the switch on ceremony, Cannon Hayes, Founder Member of Muintir na Tíre remarked:

No material interest can do as much to uplift the rural people and give them a status in accordance with the important position they hold in the nation. Rural people who supply the fundamental necessities for the whole nation should at least have an equal right to the amenities of the nation. It is more than an amenity, it is a revolution which will sweep away the inferiority complexes.

Benefits

The immediate impact of electricity was apparent, drastically improving domestic, commercial and industrial life in the area. One industry in particular flourished as a direct result of the rural electrification scheme, namely a new local jam factory:

REO News, November 1948

Find audio recording of the switch on ceremony including Cannon Hayes’ speech on RTÉ Archives

RTÉ Archives | Collections | The Electrification Of Bansha : Switch On (rte.ie)

RTÉ Archives | Collections | The Electrification Of Bansha : Reverend Father John Hayes (rte.ie)