Sir, I thoroughly agree with Gerard Carty's letter (December 16th) regarding the demolition of the power station at Portarlington. A decision to build was first made in 1936 but final construction was delayed until 1946 and the station was commissioned in 1950. It provided major employment in the area until the closing down in 1988.
An excellent history of the station and the development of Clonsast Bog, which was the main source of turf and one of the first bogs in Ireland to be commercially exploited by the Turf Development Board (later to become Bord na Mona) was written in 1993 by Richard Mullins, a past engineer in the ESB.
A meeting was held with officers of the ESB and the contractors in June this year and the question of the future of the buildings was posed by many people interested in retaining the basic generating house. It is a fine example of industrial architecture and an important part of our modern heritage. Regrettably no positive future for the complex was forthcoming from that meeting, which closed with the ESB agreeing to look at the possibilities for retaining the structure.
Since then no discussions have been held with the same interested people and the news that demolition is the only answer is most upsetting. The structure that exists could be adapted for a variety of uses, including small industrial units and possibly as a site for a museum and interpretative centre on the history of turf production and electricity generating in the Midlands.
Too often we are not proud of the industrial side of our heritage, and this gives the ESB the chance to protect an important landmark and help to get both investment and visitors to Portarlington, a town badly scarred by unemployment over the last number of years. Yours etc.,
Treascon Lodge, Portarlington, Co Offaly.