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Aug/Sept 2010 www.esb.ie/em
ESB NETWORKS LTD
Appreciation
Gerry Campbell
It was with deep regret that we learned of the sudden passing of our dear friend and colleague Gerry Campbell who died on Thursday 25th February 2010 at his home in Shurock, Moate, Co Westmeath. In his early fifties, Gerry had been in good health up to the time of his sudden passing and this heartbreaking news was met with deep shock not just in ESB Networks Athlone but across the Midlands and beyond where he gained widespread respect as an ESB staff member.
Gerry started his five year apprenticeship with ESB in 1972 and it was during his ‘block release’ in Cork that he gave his first pint of blood. Last year he received a gold drop from the Irish Blood Transfusion Service for having donated 50 pints of blood.
Upon finishing his Apprenticeship in 1979 Gerry worked in Contracts Section for six months and he was involved in the wiring of the Gulf and Western Plant in Moydrum and then joined Networks where he worked on HV Stations, Athlone. Between then and his appointment as Supervisor in 2004 Gerry worked on many projects including Glebe Station, Richmond and Mullingar 110kV Station among others. In addition to his ESB duties, Gerry was the Credit Union Agent for the Athlone staff and surrounding area. Gerry's management style commanded the respect of staff, management and peers. He was universally liked and a pleasure to work with.
Gerry made a significant contribution to the elderly and people with disabilities. He was very much involved with the annual ‘Carmelite Lourdes Pilgrimage’ where he travelled each September to Lourdes with People with Disabilities. Gerry had a long association with St. John's Order of Malta in Moate where he was one of the founding members. It is generally acknowledged that the success of the Order of Malta in Moate served to inspire those around him.
Gerry was a member of Moate Golf Club and ESB Athlone Golf Society. He always said that he loved the game of golf because of the exercise, the outing and the walk. While he claimed not to take the golf itself too seriously he often featured in the prizes!
There was a huge attendance at Gerry's funeral. Apart from his family and friends, mourners included ESB management and colleagues from across Ireland who gathered to pay a fitting and final tribute to the man. Gerry Campbell was a caring, loving and decent human being who was held in the highest esteem and affection among all who knew or met him.
He will be sadly missed and we extend our deepest sympathy to his wife Monica, daughter Maria, sons, Damien and Darren, his mother Bridget, his brothers and sisters a all his extended family.
Ar Dheis Dé go raibh a anam dilis.
Appreciation
William (Willie) McGowan
With great sadness we heard of the death of Willie McGowan of Donegal Town on June 16th.
Just in November last, Willie had celebrated his 100th birthday at home with his beloved wife Rita and family. On that occasion Willie was thrilled to receive a visit from the Chief Executive, Padraig McManus, who made a special presentation to him to mark the event. Willie was thrilled to receive so many visits from ESB friends and spoke lovingly about it afterwards on many occasions. While he hadn't been in the best of health for a while and spent much of the last year in and out of the local hospital, he enjoyed good health for most of his 100 years. While he wasn't very mobile in the few months prior to his passing, he was in great spirits up to a short period before his birthday. Willie gave a number of interviews to EM about his early days in the electricity business when both himself and his brother (who predeceased Willie in the last couple of years) had owned and ran their own electricity company in Donegal town. They later sold the company to ESB and Willie took up emplyment in the Networks part of the business. He would regale us with stories of using his house as a base for weary Networks staff returning at night following storms and snow in the harsh Donegal winters. In fact Willie and Rita's home was a sort of ‘unofficial ESB depot’ taking calls and feeding the weary workers. Willie came from a railway background and was a great fan of trains but his great love was motorbikes. For many years Willie took part in events and races and despite a few knocks here and there he survived it well. He was a talented writer (writing in newspapers and magazines) on cars, trains and bikes and also a talented artist. His home is adorned with many of his paintings. Willie and Rita were a devoted couple and Rita nursed and cared for him right up to the end. His passing will leave a large gap in her life. We extend our deepest sympathy to Rita and the family. A long life lived joyfully. May he rest in peace.
North West Retired Staff Association take to the sea
AFTER THREE unsuccessful attempts over the last two years, 11 members of the North West Retired Staff Association finally set foot on Innishmurray Island. This amazing adventure took place on a very calm day, ideal for sea travel.
The party set off from Mullaghmore and the journey to the island took just over an hour. The island is situated about five miles off the North Sligo coast and was inhabited until 1948, when the remaining 50 inhabitants moved to the mainland where some of them still live.
The island is a recognised breeding ground for various seabirds and in wintertime it is a sanctuary for over 2,000 barnacle geese. St Molaise founded a monastery on the island in the sixth century, the remains of which are maintained by OPW. Unfortunately the ‘McDonalds’ was closed for business but our packed lunches were just as tasty.
The group spent five hours on the island, visiting the various ruins of interest, watching the many birds, admiring the scenery of Sligo Bay and Donegal Bay and enjoying the absolute peace and quiet of the island. We had a very enjoyable trip back to Mullaghmore and for many of us, who lived in view of the island all of our lives, the journey was a dream come true. On arrival in the harbour, we adjourned to Harrison's Restaurant and so finished another successful adventure by the group.
Waterford district retired staff outing
WATERFORD DISTRICT Staff recently went on their third annual trip with 75 members travelling to Tralee. The trip was organised by the retired staff committee and was a great success owing to the great organising skills of Eamonn Falven and William Kelly. Base camp was at the Brandon Hotel in Tralee, with hotel accommodation arranged by Sean Power, who unfortunately could not travel on this occasion. The group had an excellent coach driver, Michael Nolan of Ardcaven Coaches, who was very informative on local history on the tour. The previous two trips were to Killarney and Galway and the next outing is the BBQ at Jack Mead’s, in Waterford. To wind up the year the group are then planning the annual Christmas Party!
North West retired staff association trip to Dundee
RECENTLY a group of 52 members of the North West retired staff headed by luxury coach, via Belfast and Stranraer to Dundee. The group was based in the Hilton Hotel for the week. Our guide, Anne, was our host for four days and took us on the Royal trail to Glamis and Balmoral, up to the Highlands, Pitlochery, Aberdeen and Edinburgh. We also inspected the preparations for the ‘Open’ at St. Andrews and the real golfers visited the famous 18th green, with a visit to sample some ‘Scottish’ in Edradour Distillery. The final day was a rest day for the lads and a shopping day in Dundee and Perth for the ladies. As usual, we were entertained nightly by our own group of entertainers. This was our fourth trip across the water and our most successful to date. Roll on 2011 and our next ‘away’ fixture.
Telecoms duo raise funds for Cancer charities
On the night a race was sponsored in memory of the two late colleagues and other work colleagues sponsored 14 horses in the race. The race itself was the most exciting on the night as four horses flashed across the line at the same time. The resulting photo declared horse number seven was the winner and this was sponsored by the Voice Services team. All members donated their winnings back into the pot so thanks must go to John Wallace, Calire McElligott and Diarmuid O Neill
The group would like to thank Dundalk Races who were excellent on the night and helped with ideas for fund raising.
Bill Ebrill making the presentation to the two charities.
An event was held at the Dundalk Races to help raise funds.
