Going up - coming down

ESB POWER GENERATION

A crowd of around 3,000 people turned out on Sunday, October 14th to witness the demolition of the Bellacorick Cooling Tower and some of the onlookers shed a quiet tear as the tower was felled by explosion.

Standing at 88 metres high, the cooling tower on the Erris peninsula was Mayo's tallest structure. The concrete tower took just 6.75 seconds to fall to earth following the blast.

The station ceased production in 2005 and a large section of former station workers were present to witness the 11am explosion, with some people travelling home from the UK for the event.

Contractors Robinson and Birdsell had primed the A-frame legs at the base of the tower with explosives, as well as a ring charges on the circumference of the tower about a third of the way up."

During the demolition, the N59 Crossmolina to Bellmullet road was closed to through traffic, as were local side roads. Members of the Garda Siochana, aided by ESB and contractor staff, operated an exclusion zone around the site, which ensured the demolition was carried out safely.

Mid West Radio, the local radio station, had their outside broadcast vehicle at the scene and it carried the explosion as a live report, while also conducting interviews with local people and former ESB.

The remaining Bellacorick station building is scheduled for demolition some time over the next 18 months.