Second world war cross border power interconnector

Charles Babbage

On another forum, in the context of the press coverage today about the NI power supply after Brexit



In WWII churchill told Stormont " thanks for the arms and ships for the war effort, but have you thought about your energy supply in case the one power station getting a direct hit".. He said somewhat similar to De Valera ... "thanks for the workers in our factories, the food supplies, the linen for the parachutes, the weather forecases, the return of our airmen, the arrest of german spies ,but can you also give a hand with the power supply" As a result an idle interconnector was built but left unconnected near forkhill.


I have never heard of such an interconnector, and I am from those parts.

Was there such a project in the Second World War? The electricity grid was pretty rudimentary then in any case.

pedroeibar1

I’ve heard tales about a substation that was built on the wrong side of the border during the rural electrification scheme – called ‘The Folly’ but no date or place was mentioned. Would love to be able to verify it.

The quotes you cite do not seem believable – there was internment (Curragh Camp K Lines) of downed RAF aircrew and no ‘returns’ although some did legitimately escape.

I doubt that the ESB was in a position to export electricity c1940 – there were problems with existing supply, with turf – both its cost and continuity of supply, and also with coal imports (due to WW2 shipping problems). It is not easy to switch fuels, so different furnace/boiler systems are needed, and as a result there were in the ESB both ‘turf’ men and ‘coal’ men proposing / propounding their pet theories.

Charles Babbage

pedroeibar1 wrote: »

I’ve heard tales about a substation that was built on the wrong side of the border during the rural electrification scheme – called ‘The Folly’ but no date or place was mentioned. Would love to be able to verify it.

There was provision in rural electification for houses very close to the border to receive power from the other side if lines were nearer. There might be a few hundred houses like this today. So this sounds suspect as well.

I doubt that the ESB was in a position to export electricity c1940 – there were problems with existing supply, with turf – both its cost and continuity of supply, and also with coal imports (due to WW2 shipping problems). It is not easy to switch fuels, so different furnace/boiler systems are needed, and as a result there were in the ESB both ‘turf’ men and ‘coal’ men proposing / propounding their pet theories.

Presumably British coal would have somehow become available if this were true.