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GENERATION & WHOLESALE MARKETS
December 2011/January 2012 www.esb.ie/em
Celebrating 20 years at Corby
Presentation to Tullamore Oncology Unit - €5k raised for Oncology Unit
STAFF FROM West Offaly and Lough Ree presented the Tullamore Oncology Unit with a cheque for €5,000. The funding was the result of sponsorship raised by staff and spouses who participated in the Sligo Walk, with ESB generously matching the funding raised by the walk’s participants.
The valuable work of the oncology unit was brought to the attention of West Offaly personnel recently as a result of the care received there by one of their work colleagues, PJ Rourke. We extend our best wishes to PJ and to all people who receive care from the unit.
The participants in the walk would like to thank those who sponsored their efforts and to the ESB for providing matching funding.
ROMEOS on tour
The Retired Old Men Eating Out (ROMEOS), led by Gerry O’Neill, began their Winter/Spring programme of outings with a visit to the Ardnacrusha Hydro Electric Scheme on Thursday October 4th. The visit to Ardnacrusha was organised by Jim Stanley, retired Poolbeg ESB employee, who worked for some time at the Scheme.
On arrival in Limerick by train the party of 24 retired to a nearby hotel for lunch. As arranged, by Gerry, they were collected by bus for the trip to Ardnacrusha and on route were given a tour of the more interesting parts of the city.
The 30 minute journey had us arriving at the power statio at 2.30pm here they were met by Station Manager Catherine Halpin who entralled them with her knowledge and presentation of the Hydro Electric Scheme.
Lough Ree Power’s Ronan Muldoon on Celebrity Bainisteoir
Lough Ree Power staff member Ronan Muldoon recently featured in the Celebrity Bainisteoir series on RTE television.
Ronan plays football with his local GAA club, Cashel, in County Longford, and they made it to the final match of the series after beating Cork club Ballinora in the preliminary stage and then going on to beat Naomh Bríd from Donegal in the semi final. Both of the wins were achieved at their home ground, Páirc Naomh Chiaráin, where a large crowd of supporters were treated to two very entertaining games of football.
The final game of the series was played out in a packed Parnell Park on a very cold Friday evening on October 28th against Moy Davitt’s football team from Mayo. Both teams put on a great display of football but in the end Ronan’s club, Cashel, were defeated by a single point, scored in injury time.
The Celebrity Bainisteoir who brought Cashel to the final was Rozanna (Roz) Purcell, one of Ireland’s top models. She proved to be a very popular selection with both the team and its supporters. She made herself completely available to partake in the many fundraising events organised by the club’s officials and posed for many of the photo calls made of her by fans, young and old alike.
Ronan Muldoon joined the LRP electrical maintenance team in March 2011, coming back to his native county after being with ESB Networks in South Lotts Road. While in Dublin, Ronan earned a Degree in Electrical Design. Since taking up his position in LRP, Ronan has fitted in very well with all his colleagues and adapted to his new role in a Power Generating Station with ease.
Ronan and his club would like to thank Lough Ree Power for their sponsorship in the competition.
Letters from Japan
We catch up with ESB’s Dara Connolly who is on secondment with Osaka Gas in Japan.
DARA CONNOLLY is working on secondment to Osaka Gas, in Japan, for one year. During this time he will contribute regular updates to the EM. His blog on aspects of life in Japan is at: awordfromjapan.wordpress.com
Fruit trees and red leaves
As autumn arrives, Japanese nature puts on a spectacular show of colour. Overnight, the leaves of the maple and gingko trees change, briefly transforming the green forested hillsides to a flaming kaleidoscope of reds and yellows. In early to mid-November, people will visit the hills to experience this natural wonder. At the same time, a different flash of colour can be found in the fruit orchards, where bright orange persimmons and mandarin oranges are now ripe and ready for harvest.
A visitor from home
An ESB colleague, Carbon Capture and Storage Project Manager Sinéad Treanor, came to Japan this month to attend the world CCS conference in Kyoto. We were very happy to welcome her to Osaka and show her around the city. Her welcome was assured as she came bearing rare and precious gifts: Barry’s tea bags, cheese and chocolate from Ireland! It was our first time to meet another Irish person in more than seven months, and it was a great opportunity to hear all the news from Ireland and from ESB.
She joined us for a visit to the Imperial Palace in Kyoto. This complex of grand buildings in traditional style was home to the Emperor and his household from the 12th century until 1868, when the capital moved to Tokyo. The palace in Kyoto is still maintained in perfect condition, and only rarely open to the public.
While in Osaka, Sinéad took the opportunity to meet her counter part in Osaka Gas for a fruitful discussion about Carbon Capture and Storage in Japan and Europe.
Following two successful pilot projects, a full-scale CCS demonstration project is now being constructed in Hokkaido in the north of Japan, at a cost of around €400 million. It is planned that this facility, once complete, will sequester 100,000 tonnes of carbondioxide per year in offshore sand stone beds.
Cultural Exchange
My hosts asked me to give a lunchtime presentation about Ireland and its culture. Ireland is not well-known in Japan, and I threw myself enthusiastically into the task of letting people know more about our little country on the ot her side of the world.
My hour-long presentation ranged from the Vikings to the Irish in America, from The Book of Kells to Enya. I showed short videos of Riverdance and the 2012 senior hurling final and even sang! About 40 people attended, and it was very well received.
In return, Yuko and I were invited to experience the Japanese Tea Ceremony. The Osaka Gas Tea Ceremony Club meets every Saturday to learn and practise the ‘way of tea’. It is a fascinating ritual, in which every movement, every gesture and action, is prescribed and has symbolic significance.
Dara by Gas Light
I was interviewed for the October edition of the Osaka Gas company newspaper, Gas Light. The questions focused on my experience of living and working in Japan and, in particular, on my perspective, as a foreigner, on the work culture here and how it differs from Ireland.
Ireland is the first country to implement an IBM integrated ecar system
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