The Lough Ree power station in Lanesboro stopped producing electricity after more than 60 years today.
The decision that the station would be closing was announced by the ESB just over a year ago after it failed to get planning permission to convert both it and the Shannonbridge station in Offaly to burn biomass instead of peat.
The governments plan for decarbonisation would have meant the closure of all peat burning stations in the country eventually but the "sooner than expected" closure of Lough Ree in Lanesboro was met with some shock and dismay in the local community who are concerned about how the area will survive the loss of employment into the future.
The Let's Talk show was in St Mary's Hall in Lanesboro this afternoon to mark the poignant occasion with a special show recalling the early days of Bord na Mona and ESB in the Shannonside village, and how a whole community had been created around the two semi-state companies there.
