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ENERGY INTERNATIONAL
Aug/Sept 2011 www.esb.ie/em
Appreciation
Patrick (Pat) O’Brien
Pat O’Brien passed away on Monday May 16th after a long illness that he bore with great fortitude and patience. Although this is a time of great sadness for his wife Frankie, his children Patrick and Joanne, his friends and former work colleagues, we can be heartened by the memory of his full and remarkable life.
A Corkman, Pat developed his love of hurling at the famous North Mon school and throughout his life he had a love of all sports. At a young age, he followed Cork Hibs and later became a life-long devotee of Man United.
Pat qualified as an Engineer from UCC in 1957 and signed up with Newcastle-upon-tyne engineering firm, Reyrolle, the UK’s principle manufacturer of electrical switchgear. He joined the ESB in 1959 and thus began his odyssey through the world of power stations starting with Arigna, Ferbane and Ardnacrusha. In 1970, he was promoted to the role of Station Manager, first at Shannonbridge and then at Ardnacrusha in 1972.
The next phase of Pat’s work life was the most creative and satisfying. He became part of the Southern Region team of Station Managers assembled under Dermot O’shea. Apart from managing Tarbert and Great Island Oil-fired stations, this team was to be entrusted with managing the great changes associated with the introduction of gas and coal into the Power Generation energy mix in the late 1970s. Pat was at the forefront of these developments.
First, on appointment to Marina in 1977, he oversaw its conversion to gas-firing, the first such in the ESB. Then came the major challenge of bringing on stream the huge Moneypoint coal-burning station in 1982. Pat completed that task successfully. It was to be ESB’s last ‘green field’ Power Station for three decades.
Pat took a position in Southern Region HQ from 1986 until his retirement nine years later. In this role, he was frequently involved in centralised industrial relations and he loved the cut and thrust of these negotiations.
As a friend and colleague, Pat was a cheerful and gregarious presence in any company. His sterling performances on Shannonbridge soccer team in the Inter-station league earned him the nickname ‘Twinkle Toes’. His other great sporting endeavour was golf. In 1966, in the Birr GC Captain’s Prize, a group of his colleagues backed him to win in a local pool. The local ‘sweep’ had foolishly set him at odds of 16 to 1. His colleagues dined out on this, literally and metaphorically, for some time.
At his Requiem Mass, attended by a large number of his former colleagues and friends, Pat’s son Patrick paid a moving tribute, recalling his great energy, his love of sport, his commitment to ESB, his many acts of kindness and his great love of family. He evoked the memories of shared sporting events between father and son, down the years, and poignantly described their final outing in the Ireland v England Rugby International in Twickenham in March 2010.
Deepest sympathies are expressed to his wife Frankie, his son Patrick and his daughter Joanne.
Retired Operations staff visit Turlough Hill
Sustainability with a smile!
ESBI
STAFF OF INDEPENDENT Generation recently gathered to review progress on their Sustainability initiative which was launched earlier this year by Mick O’Mahony, Manager, Independent Generation, in conjunction with their Sustainability Committee.
The objective of the event was to raise awareness and progress sustainability within the team, whilst introducing an element of team building, competition and, most importantly, keeping it enjoyable. This was clearly reflected on the day, with a range of high quality presentations which were both informative and amusing.
At the time of launching the initiative, all staff were randomly placed into groups of five to six people and each group was assigned both a work and a home sustainability project. The recent meeting of staff marked the mid-way point of the initiative, with each group reporting on their findings/progress to-date and outlining what they hope to achieve by the end date of the project later in the year. The projects will then be judged based on a variety of criteria, including awareness raised, energy/carbon savings, etc. And a number of prizes awarded to the winning teams based on the overall results.
In addition to the staff presentations, there were a number of guest speakers, including Duncan Clarke and Fergus Keane of Environment and Sustainability Services who gave a comprehensive overview of what was going on throughout the organisation in relation to sustainability. Additionally, Dermot McArdle, Commercial Manager at ESB ecars gave a very interesting presentation on the subject of electric vehicles and brought along a newly delivered Nissan Leaf for people to view.
The event was strongly supported by the Corporate Sustainability team with both Tony Carroll and Liam Ring in attendance, and also included a display of some of the ESB Electric Ireland Store’s products, courtesy of Mary Milne, the On-line Store Manager.
The session was closed out by Pat O’Doherty, Executive Director, ESB Energy International, reiterated the importance of sustainability and its significance within the organisation’s strategy. Pat praised the work undertaken by the staff of Independent Generation, and in particular thanked the Sustainability Committee Which comprises Tom Mooney, Caroline Gallagher, James O’Shea, Simon Kneale and John McManus.
Overall, feedback was very positive, and thanks to Tom Mooney and Geraldine McDonald for organising the event.
CZECH HYDRO DELEGATION VISITS ARDNACRUSHA
New arrival at Rousch
