Connecting Meath to the national grid

Electricity in the county before ESB

Meath had electricity before the establishment of ESB in 1927. ESB’s annual reports record 3 local electricity suppliers in the county — that means 3 individuals or companies who had permits to commercially supply electricity to 3 or more homes and businesses in their local area. The reports do not record when each local supplier was first established, merely the number of consumers they supplied, as well as the year the supplier was acquired by ESB.

Click here to view Meath on our interactive map.

Meath’s 3 local electricity providers were as follows:

Kells Electric Light and Power Station was in operation before 1927. It supplied 45 homes and businesses in 1929, and was acquired by ESB in November 1929.
Navan Urban District Council was in operation before 1927. It supplied 230 homes and businesses in 1929, rising to 255 in 1930, when it was acquired by ESB.
Thomas Newman & Sons supplied electricity in Athboy before 1927. It supplied 2 homes and businesses and was acquired by ESB around 1929 & 1930

Shannon Scheme: connecting larger towns and villages to the national grid

The Shannon Scheme first began to generate electricity for the national grid in October 1929, and began to supply the larger cities, towns and villages of Ireland. From 1929, 12 towns and villages across Meath were directly supplied by the Shannon Scheme:

Athboy, 1930
Bettystown, 1938—1939
Clonee, 1937—1938
Drumconrath, 1943—1944
Dunboyne, 1937—1938
Kells, 1930
Laytown, 1938—1939
Mornington, 1938—1939
Navan, 1932
Oldcastle, 1930
Trim, 1930

For more information on the connection of these towns, for instance relating to the number of homes and businesses connected, see our connections map here.

Rural Electrification Scheme: connecting rural townlands and villages to the national grid

The Rural Electrification Scheme began in 1946, to bring electricity to Ireland’s rural areas, including smaller villages. During the roll-out of the scheme, Meath was divided into 34 rural areas. More details on each of these areas is available here.