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ESB on Lower Fitzwilliam Street - Cathal O'Neill
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In March of 1964 the Electricity Supply Board invited architects to submit designs in competition for an extension of the Head Office buildings on Lower Fitzwilliam Street, Dublin, connecting with the Board's adjoining premises. The competition was open to all architects in Britain and Ireland. The assessors were, Tom Inglis (Chairman), Raymond McGrath and Sir Hugh Maxwell Casson.

The object of the competition was two-fold; an efficient office building, economically and effectively incorporating accommodation requirements and the preservation of the character of the splendid vista of Fitzwilliam Street, Upper & Lower, looking from Merrion Square towards the Dublin mountains. The proposal to demolish the houses caused considerable controversy throughout the country which continued during the period of the competition and the construction of the building and even today has not altogether subsided. Before proceeding with the competition the assessors had sought the advice of Sir John Summerson, a highly regarded authority on Georgian Architecture at the time. He reported that there was only one alternative - to rebuild to an entirely new design which, he said, was the only reasonable course. He supported the idea of the competition which he believed was an admirable way of encouraging the study of the problem.

At the time of the competition I was a young architect, recently returned with Deirdre and our two children from Chicago where I had spent five years studying and working with Mies van der Rohe. I was home to take up an appointment as a studio lecturer in UCD and I also started a one-man practice. I tackled the ESB competition with enthusiasm. I did not expect to win but believed that a contemporary solution would be acceptable and I wanted to see if I could make a large building on my own rather than working as a member of an experienced team, as I had done for the past number of years in Chicago.