Irish Arts Review

OPW 175th Anniversary EditionAuthor(s): Sean BentonSource: Irish Arts Review (2002-), Vol. 23, 175th Anniversary of the Office of Public Works(2006), p. 2Published by: Irish Arts ReviewStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25503508 .

Accessed: 15/06/2014 13:56

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

.

Irish Arts Review is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Irish Arts Review(2002-).

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 91.229.229.212 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 13:56:44 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

INTRODUCTION ;|?|?

ill '%

OPW 175th

ANNIVERSARY EDITION

SEAN BENTON pays tribute to the generations of public servants who have

contributed significantly to the success of the OPW

This YEAR WE WILL BE CELEBRATING the 175th anniversary of the establishment

of the Office of Public Works. It was in 1831 that the Office of Public Works

came into being under, 'An Act for the Extension and Promotion of Public

Works in Ireland' thus absorbing the responsibilities of the Office of the

Surveyor General, the Barracks Board and the Navigation Board.

From the beginning, the remit of this Office was varied and wide. It extended,

for example, from tending to Irish fisheries, to managing local relief schemes

during times of distress, to erecting and maintaining the offices and other

buildings of State and to conserving heritage properties. During the famine

period in the 1840s the numbers employed on OPW schemes throughout the

country rose as high as 1,000,000.

Some of the infrastructural projects undertaken by OPW in the 19th and early 20th centuries have been forgotten yet were of huge importance to the country.

The development of our railway network, planning for the development of water

power and electricity at Clonlara on the River Shannon. The OPW also designed and constructed the first runways and airport buildings in the country in the

1930s. Various functions were added and subtracted over the years but always, the

Office responded to such public needs as the Government of the day decided.

In c^^^^^^^^^J^^^^^^ whol

??^oer and Sickn^^^^^^^^^^^^

IBM pay tribute ^^I??^lg?il llllil

accomplishments. It is also an opportg||?|pto recognise the ||?||lributions of all

current OPW staff that are continuir^p^piat fine traditionftjT^

ic service.

As Chairman I am mindful of pasjjjpevements but also p||f|||of what we are

currently achieving, through out^^pivours, in implement|||f|j? of Government

policy and decisions. Through J??if|p?lls, focus, determinai||?g|ind comrnjy^M^?^ to high quality service, the QJ^^^n look forward with a|??|?| q|^^^p??^^^ip|j|

yillllles of the future. |g|9|^Si|i|p^!i'' '"""^ confidence to meeting the cl

Sean Benton

?gfHggfsf Chairman of the Office of Public Works llllilillfi'

ttft?

This content downloaded from 91.229.229.212 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 13:56:44 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions