Appreciation - Maurice Fives

The news of Maurice Fives’s death on Wednesday December 23rd was received with great sadness by all who knew him. Maurice will be greatly missed by his wife Brenda, his family and friends and his many colleagues from ESB.

Anyone who ever came in contact with Maurice would be taken by his great zest for life. He was very exceptional in many ways including his engineering capability and his sporting achievements.

Maurice retired from ESB in July 1988 as the Assistant Chief Civil Engineer. He was from Tourin in West Waterford – in fact to followers of hurling he was known as ‘One of the five Fives of Tourin’.

Maurice qualified from University College Cork as an engineering graduate. During his career he played a very significant role in developing the civil engineering design capability of ESB in thermal and hydro power plant, both in Ireland and on the international stage. Over the years, Maurice’s expertise as an engineer shone through and one strategic role was as Project Manager on the Turlough Hill pump storage scheme in Co. Wicklow.

Maurice also worked as a Management Consultant on the international stage in the 1970s, one of the major projects he undertook was the €2.5 million contract involving water supply, irrigation and power generation in the African republic of Lesotho. In 1984 as part of ESB risk management, the then Chief Executive Paddy Maurice Fives Appreciation Moriarity appointed Maurice to oversee a comprehensive review of all ESB dams applying up-to-date standards. As a result of his work Maurice became an internationally recognised dam safety expert.

When Maurice came to Dublin in 1946 he began playing for Crokes Hurling Club and there his sporting career began. From playing for the Dublin team that won the Leinster Junior Championship in 1947, to playing for Waterford from 1949 to 1955 and the Railway Cup for Munster in 1953, Maurice’s sporting reputation grew. He became known as an all-rounder due to his successful amateur golfing status in Dublin, in addition to his squash and tennis playing skills. Even on retirement Maurice started a new career as a designer of golf courses and had a number of highly regarded courses at home and abroad to his name.

In these few words we try to capture a glimpse of a man who had an amazing life. We have lost a true friend and our thoughts and prayers are with Brenda and his family. We will all greatly miss you Maurice.