107-year-old Roscommon man celebrated for his work on iconic power station
Michael Coyne pictured receiving his copy of Powering the West from PJ and Bernie Lynn. Michael's nephew Neil McGarry is also pictured at the back.
107-year-old Michael Coyne from Fairymount, Castlerea was recently presented with a copy of ‘Powering the West, A History of Bord na Móna and ESB in North Mayo’.
Michael worked on the construction of the famous Bellacorick power station during the 1950s and was employed by the John Waldron construction company.
While working on the project he stayed in digs with a local family in Bellacorick.
Michael was presented with a copy of ‘Powering the West’ by PJ Lynn, who was a member of the Crossmolina-based committee behind the publication of the history.
Michael was delighted to see his name recorded in the book as one of the many workers employed in the construction.
The Bellacorick power station was a joint partnership between Bord na Móna and the ESB and a large number of workers were employed in the construction phase.
The construction of the power station was one of the biggest infrastructural projects in the West of Ireland at that time. The power station closed in 2005 and the cooling tower was demolished in a controlled explosion in 2007.
