Dublin's Poolbeg chimneys are getting a makeover with painting of the landmark stacks due to begin next month.
Preparatory work for the multi-million euro project is already under way and the paint job is expected to take until next year to complete.
A specialised team of contractors will apply the red and white paint to the iconic towers which stand more than 200m over Dublin city.
Painting of the upper part of the chimneys is due to take place weather permitting in August and September.
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Painting of the lower section is scheduled to take place in the spring next year and be completed by the summer 2025.
Major Contracts Manager with ESB Asset Management Robert Laird said the painting is part of ESB's efforts to preserve the towers for the city of Dublin.
"These chimneys are associated with an oil-fired generation station which has now been closed for more than 15 years.
"In the normal run of events they would have been demolished by now, but we know that they're a very notable feature on the Dublin skyline.
"Over the years we've maintained the chimneys, we've capped them and over the past few years we've carried out significant investigation works into the concrete.
"We now know that the concrete is in good condition and we're happy to paint them which will give them a new lease of life for the next few years," he said.
Read more:
100 Buildings: how the Poolbeg Chimneys became a Dublin icon
Iconic or eyesore? Debate over future of Poolbeg towers
The work is being carried out by Scottish contractors Zenith, who specialise in carrying out repair work at heights.
Zenith Site Manager Daniel Duffy said while he has worked on slightly higher structures, he has never painted a concrete structure of this scale.
"It's huge, the scale of it is ridiculous purely because of the height. We need to fill in approximately 7,000 holes per chimney, we then need to jet-wash the chimneys and we then need to apply approximately 90 tubs of red paint and 74 tubs of white paint along with a bit of primer.
"It's challenging, it's definitely challenging. It's not like an ordinary job. We're definitely specialised in what we do working at these heights and me, personally I love it.
"The views are just unbelievable. Some of the views you get here in the city of Dublin are just unbelievable," Mr Duffy said.
He also said that carrying out this work in the Irish weather can be "tricky" which is why the painting is happening in two phases and that wind and rain can delay the work.
The Poolbeg chimneys have not been in use for 15 years since the oil-fired power plant they were a part of was decommissioned.
However, Poolbeg is still a key site for the ESB with a working gas power plant and battery storage facility currently located there and there are plans to make it a future hub for renewable energy sources
ESB Executive Director, Generation and Trading, Jim Dollard said: "While they are no longer in use, the Poolbeg Chimneys remain a well-known landmark for so many people and one of the most recognisable structures in Dublin.
"The Poolbeg peninsula where the chimneys are located is now home to our Poolbeg Energy Hub.
"Alongside the existing gas-fired turbine on the site, innovative technologies are being deployed onsite to support our delivery of renewable energy including batteries and in future, green hydrogen and offshore wind, demonstrating ESB's commitment to a progressive transition to net zero carbon emissions by 2040."
For most people the Poolbeg chimneys are a symbol of Dublin and a beacon of home.
The refresh will enhance the city's skyline but it is also likely to reignite the debate about the long-term future of these ageing industrial structures.
Power has been produced from the Poolbeg peninsula for more than a century, beginning with a coal generation station at the Pidgeon House station in 1903.
The ESB took control of that station in 1929 before building a new station there in 1965 called Poolbeg, which took its name from the nearby lighthouse.
It was built on a 90-acre site mainly on land reclaimed from the sea which involved the dredging of an estimated 750,000 tonnes of sand from Dublin Bay.
In 1971 the first tower was completed as part of two oil-fired units The second tower followed in 1978 and the units were converted between 1982 and 1984 to enable them to run on both gas and oil.
The fact that the two chimneys were built at different times accounts for their slightly different shapes, which is not always obvious to onlookers until it is pointed out.
The chimneys have not been in use since around 2009, but as Dublin's tallest structures, many now regard them as an integral part of the capital's landscape and have called for them to be preserved.
There have also been calls to develop the stacks as a tourist site.
The ESB said that over the last number of years, a maintenance programme has been implemented, which has included chimney inspections, placing caps on the tops of both chimneys to minimise water ingress and detailed engineering assessments of the foundations of both chimneys.
However, the ESB said long term-plans for the landmark chimneys has yet to be decided.
"ESB will continue to work closely with Dublin City Council and other local stakeholders in relation to all future developments at Poolbeg, including the chimneys," it said.
