Rathlin Islanders are getting their own electricity supply from wind-powered generators.
Rathlin is the last of the large inhabited islands off the coast of the island of Ireland to get electricity. Turbines will harness wind energy converting it into electricity, providing 90 kW of power. If the wind does happen to drop, then the system links into a backup generator.
This addition to the Rathlin infrastructure will be a huge benefit for island inhabitants. Teresa McFaul and her family will no longer have to rely on generators to use the washing machine or heat water.
Politicians John Hume and Ian Paisley were on Rathlin Island off the coast of Antrim to see the new turbines named Conn, Fiachra and Aodh, after the Children of Lir who had been banished in folklore to live as swans on these waters for three hundred years.
John Hume and Dr Ian Paisley have been at the forefront of the campaign to bring electricity to the island. Speaking at the official launch of the new service, Dr Ian Paisley says
Now that we have heat and light, I trust that some industry can be brought like small shipbuilding, some fish processing, something like small craft industry. If we can get that, we can keep people on the island.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 16 October 1992. The reporter is Róisín Duffy.
