The ESB has created an interactive map showing when each town, village and parish in the country became connected to Ireland’s electricity network.

ESB was established in 1927, at the time only 45,000 homes in Ireland had electricity – usually from a local authority or private electricity supplier.

Ireland’s network was constructed in 1929, making it the first fully integrated national electricity service in the world.

By 1978, the Shannon Scheme (1929) and the Rural Electrification Scheme (1946) had connected over one million Irish homes and businesses to the ESB network.

To celebrate its 90th anniversary, ESB archivists have researched the company’s annual reports and over 1,500 stories from both schemes to create a window into our past. This rich and fascinating source of information brings to life Ireland’s electrification experience and will no doubt be interest to anyone with an interest in local and national history.

ESB Networks Managing Director, Marguerite Sayers, said ESB’s archivists have meticulously researched the company’s annual reports, completing over 1,500 stories from both the Shannon and the Rural Electrification Schemes.

“This is a valuable interactive and educational tool which charts the course of ESB’s rollout of electricity from its foundation in the midst of the Shannon Scheme construction 90 years ago, until 1977 when the last communities under the rural electrification scheme were connected.”

You can check out the ESB’s interactive map – chronicling how ESB connected Ireland to the national grid – here.

ESB are looking to hear from people who have further photos, facts or stories of electricity in their locality. For further information visit esbarchives.ie.