Lewis Rhatigan was born in Lanesboro, Co. Longford in 1918 and sadly passed away on April 16th, 1998.
He graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Engineering from University College, Dublin and joined the newly established Bord na Mona in 1946. During his formative years in there, Lewis worked under the direction of the late Dr. C. S. (Todd) Andrews. Very soon it became apparent that Lewis passionately shared Dr. Andrews vision for the development of the nation's peat bogs as fuel sources for the generation of electricity. He held a number of key management positions within Bord na Mona during his earlier career and was closely and actively associated with the ensuing bog development programmes which led to the commissioning of the ESB's milled peat power stations and the expansion of briquetting capacity. He travelled extensively throughout the "peat world", in particular to the former Soviet Union, Germany and Finland and forged close technological links with these countries.
In 1973, Lewis was appointed Managing Director of Bord na Mona, a position he held until his retirement in 1983. These years were characterised by an unwavering belief in Bord na Mona's ability to further develop the nation's peatlands as a valuable and strategic component of national energy policy during and after the 1973/ 74 oil crisis. He initiated Bord na Mona's Third Development Programme which brought into production an additional 40,000 acres of bogland thereby helping to sustain the ESB's peat-fired output during those difficult years. A fourth briquette factory was also commissioned under his direction in Co. Tipperary in 1982 and a vigorous and innovative land use programme for cutaway bogs was fostered and encouraged.
Lewis Rhatigan contributed enormously to the development of Bord na Mona and the industry which it represents. History will most certainly rank him alongside his illustrious predecessors.
On a personal level, those who knew Lewis well, will have experienced his great respect for people. He had the rare quality of openness. He listened. Whomever he met, he engaged with interest, patience and with a disarming honesty, never hurtful, never sharp, never cruel. A probing question, perhaps. He had a way of making one feel welcome and appreciated. He had a wonderful habit of recognising the good in one and paying a compliment.
Then there was his spirit of inquiry - the extensive spread of his interests, the penetrating depth of his understanding, the reach of his vision. He read widely and thought through what he read and shared generously the result.
He also took special interest and delight in the visual arts. He had a spontaneous and intense affinity with the beautiful and enjoyed giving his patronage and encouragement to the artists of his time.
But most of all, it was especially for the warmth of his friendship, his commitment, his loyalty that we remember Lewis. Lewis is survived by his wife Ethna, his partner for more than fifty years in so many of his interests. May his spirit continue to live in us. F.X.B.