The demand for electricity continued to rise as the rural electrification project progressed and as more electricity was needed the suitability of the river Lee for a hydro scheme was investigated. The ideal river for a dam is a fast-flowing one with a steep fall like those in Scandinavia or Switzerland. Those types of rivers do not exist in Ireland. For the Lee hydroelectric scheme, a suitable location for a dam was considered. A narrow valley or gorge in a river was sought to build a dam. The right rock structure for foundations is vital. At Inniscarra the old red sandstone cutting supplied that perfectly. A few miles upstream a narrow cutting at Carrigadrohid was another suitable site.

The third requirement is a head of water to power the station. That is determined by the gradient of the river. The river Lee potentially has sufficient gradient but only by backing up the river into large reservoirs. The 45 ft (14 m) fall at Carrigadrohid and the 100 ft (30 m) fall at Inniscarra give an adequate head of water. Minimum disruption of the local community was also deemed important. As much of the Lee valley is steep-sided and confined, it was considered that the loss of land and human habitation would be minimal. Otherwise the cost of disruption would have proved too much. The Lee more or less qualified on all four counts and the decision was made that the river Lee should become Ireland’s fourth major hydroelectric scheme.

To be continued…

Adapted from Kieran McCarthy & Seamus O’Donoghue, forthcoming, Generations, Memories of the Lee Hydroelectric Scheme, County Cork, Lilliput Press, Dublin, An ESB funded publication.

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