ESB Books: The Erne Hydroelectric Scheme

Dessie Doyle and Brian Drummond, The Erne Hydroelectric Scheme (The Lilliput Press, 2013). This book is not yet available for download.   Synopsis This is the story of the men, women and families who built the Erne hydroelectric scheme. The Erne development (1946-55) was second in size only to the famous Shannon scheme (1925– 29),… Continue Reading


ESB Books: The Shannon Scheme

Andy Bielenberg (ed.), The Shannon Scheme and the Electrification of the Irish Free State: An Inspirational Milestone (The Lilliput Press, 2002). ISBN: 1-845351-007-3 (cased) ISBN: 1-845351-008-1 (paper) Click here to download a PDF copy of the book. File exceeds 10MB so may take a few seconds to download. Synopsis The Shannon Scheme, a massive hydro-electric… Continue Reading


ESB Books: Paddy Mo

Owen McCrohan, Paddy Mo: The Life of Patrick Moriarty, 1926-1997 (The Lilliput Press, 2008). ISBN: 978-1-84351-077-2 Click here to download a PDF copy of the book. File exceeds 10MB so may take a few seconds to download. Synopsis This biography charts the life of Paddy Moriarty, the Kerry-born Chief Executive of ESB, a man who… Continue Reading


ESB Books: Generations

Kieran McCarthy and Seamus O’Donoghue, Generations: Memories of the Lee Hydroelectric Scheme, County Cork (The Lilliput Press, 2008). ISBN: 978-1-84351-139-7 Click here to download a PDF copy of the book. File exceeds 10MB so may take a few seconds to download.   Synopsis ESB’s Lee hydroelectric scheme is one of Ireland’s great engineering triumphs. Celebrating… Continue Reading


ESB Books: The Quiet Revolution

Michael Shiel, The Quiet Revolution: The Electrification of Rural Ireland (The O’Brien Press, 2003). ISBN: 0-86278-841-2 (hardback) ISBN: 0-86278-840-4 (paperback) Click here to download a PDF copy of the book. File exceeds 10MB so may take a few seconds to download. Synopsis ‘…the greatest social and economic revolution in rural Ireland since the Land War.’… Continue Reading


High Tension

Synopsis High Tension lends an entirely different dimension to the history of the great hydro-electric Shannon Scheme of 1925 to 1929. Hitherto the story has been told from an engineering viewpoint. Now historian Michael McCarthy brings new perspectives to bear on the Irish Free States most audacious construction project at Ardnacrusha. How did the German… Continue Reading


ESB Books – Available to download

Electricity supply in Ireland: The history of ESB Maurice Manning and Moore McDowell, Electricity Supply in Ireland: The History of the ESB (Gill & MacMillan, 1984). ISBN: 7171-1026-5 Click here to download a PDF copy of the book. File exceeds 10MB so may take a few seconds to download. Synopsis This book was commissioned by… Continue Reading