Many ESB staff have achieved success at senior GAA level. Did you know that five players from the 1971 winning All-Ireland Offaly football team worked in ESB?
But that’s another story that we will come back to. Much earlier, in 1957, two ESB staff were on the winning side of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship when Louth beat Cork in Croke Park, on 22nd September.
Up front was Jimmy McDonnell, a senior ESB fitter at the time, and 21 year old, goalkeeper Sean Og Flood who was working as an organiser on the Rural Electrification Scheme.
Another ESB man on the pitch that day but playing for Cork, was Sean Moore from ESB station at Marina.
Earlier in September and before the final, Sean was featured on the cover of our monthly staff magazine REO News demonstrating washing machines. The photograph on the cover shows Sean on the left, working on an outdoor demonstration in Lislin, Co Cavan with his colleague Pat O’Shea. The photo is also featured in the recently published book on rural electrification “Then There Was Light” .
Read more about the electrification of Lislin rural area here.
Sean Flood on left at the outdoor exhibition in Lislin, Co Cavan 22nd August, 1957
Sean Flood demonstrates appliances and water heater in Lislin, Co Cavan August 1957
Following his role as rural electrification organiser, Sean moved into our Retail business and was transferred to ESB Cavan in 1960 when he also switched county and played GAA with Cavan seniors between 1961 and 1964, winning an Ulster Championship with them.
On the shop floor he was equally strong, brave and agile, once selling a total of 63 multi wash machines in a two week period in 1972!
Photos above from our Reo News magazine and below from Prospect, our marketing magazine.
From Prospect magazine 1972
Sean with customer from Prospect 1973
From Prospect, October 1974