ESB Chairman Ellvena Graham OBE has this morning opened an exemplar all-electric building as the new home for ESB’s archive. Located on St Margaret’s Road in Finglas, Dublin the A+ building showcases the documents, oral histories, film materials, physical artefacts development not only of the company but of the country as a whole.

The establishment of this Archive Centre underlines ESB’s longstanding commitment to preserving the rich stories since its foundation in 1927. The material collected is made available for public research and is expected to attract a growing number of queries from both amateur and professional sources from Ireland and overseas.

The new energy efficient building was designed by an in-house cross-functional ESB team and provides the highest levels of energy efficiency, including an array of roof mounted solar panels. Electricity, through use of heat pumps, is the primary source of energy for heating and cooling systems.

ESB Chairman Ellvena Graham OBE says that the new building represents a commitment to not only safeguard the company’s heritage but spur ESB’s ambitions in the coming decades: “It is my great pleasure to officially open this facility which preserves and makes accessible the historical records of ESB since its foundation. ESB’s history is inextricably linked with the development of modern Ireland. It is a story that contains lessons and insights that remain relevant to the world we live in today and the decisions that are facing us. It is also a story which is not just of interest to ESB, but to everyone with an interest in the story of economic and social progress.”

The promotion of ESB’s history and heritage has been further enhanced in recent years by the digitisation of key elements of the history of ESB, such as the Shannon Scheme, Rural Electrification, the development of ESB power stations, the ongoing management and development of ESB Networks, and use of advertising and media to promote ESB’s activities and customer service. All such content is now available on www.esbarchives.ie

ESB’s collection now comprises over 11,000 archival boxes of documentation, 500 small artefacts, over 15,000 photographs, 1,500 glass negatives, 46,000 digital images, 6000 VHS/DVDs, 500 cine-reels and over 2,000 oral interviews.  It is not only the volume but the quality of the material that makes this a collection of both national and international interest.

Pictured above: ESB Chairman Ellvena Graham and ESB Chief Executive Pat O’Doherty