Labour of love sees restoration of old Kells waterworks

Kells's old Victorian Waterworks, which was built in 1897 and which has been restored by a group of local enthusiasts, will be officially opened this coming Saturday. Kells Town Council cathaoirleach, Cllr Brian Curran, will perform the opening at 3pm. It took local volunteers six years to complete the restoration of the facility, which is located beside the amenity centre in Kells Business Park. The restoration cost €250,000 but all the work was carried out voluntarily. The waterworks was built and installed in 1897 to supply water to Kells and was closed in 1982. Since its restoration, it is the only hydro-powered pumping station in Meath and the only known working station in the country. Ronnie McGrane, chairman of Kells Waterworks Restoration Group, said the waterworks will be open on Saturdays between 10 and 2pm, on bank holidays and during heritage weeks and festivals. He said it would open when required by appointment for school groups and outings. The waterworks was built in 1897 and the supply of water was taken from Loyd Bridge via a channel to piston pumps which were powered by two water turbines. According to Mr McGrane, the use of the water turbines was discontinued in the 1950s when electricity was used for the first time and the electrical system was also upgraded in the 1960s. However, the facility has been lying idle since 1982 when the new waterworks, which takes its supply from Lough Bawn in Oldcastle, came on-stream. Ronnie McGrane explained that the television personality, Fred Dibnah, was the inspiration for the project. "He presented a television programme showing how machinery was run long ago and we were watching it one night when my wife, Attracta, asked what had happened to the old waterworks. Her father had worked there," he said. "We investigated it, talked about it and knew it would be a big commitment but a group of us got together and applied to the council to renovate it," he said. While the original group consisted of around 35 people, it was a core group of five, Ronnie McGrane, Willie Carr, Ken Martin, PJ McCaffrey and Charlie Rogers, who kept the project going over the past seven years. They carried out the work themselves and received financial help from Meath County Council, the Heritage Council and Kells Town Council, as well as local contributions. "Local businesses donated materials to us and we spent every Tuesday and Saturday for the past seven years working on the project," Mr McGrane revealed. Visitors to the waterworks can now see, hear and feel the old hydro turbines working and will also be given a demonstration of the more modern technology which was used at the facility in the 1950s and '60s.