Tributes have been paid to Dr Eddie O’Connor, one of the creators of the wind energy industry in Ireland, who died at the age of 76. 

Energy company SuperNode, which Dr O’Connor founded in 2018, announced he died after a brief illness. 

SuperNode CEO John Fitzgerald said Dr O’Connor was “one of Ireland’s greatest entrepreneurs, leading the development of the global wind industry”. 

“But calling Eddie an entrepreneur does not quite suffice,” he added.  

“He was a swashbuckling pioneer and an irrepressible visionary, who inspired others to believe that change could happen and gave them confidence that they could make it happen." 

Dr O’Connor founded Irish energy companies such as Airtricity, Mainstream Renewable Power and SuperNode. 

He also served as Bord na Móna chief executive from 1987 to 1996. 

As chief executive, Dr O’Connor built Ireland’s first commercial wind farm in 1992 in Bellacorick. 

After founding Airtricity in 1996, he built Ireland’s first offshore wind farm. 

Tributes to Dr O'Connor

Tánaiste Micheál Martin said he was “very sad to learn of the passing of Eddie O’Connor”. 

“A man of enormous energy, impact and vision,” he said on X. “Eddie broke new frontiers, especially in renewables with Airtricity, SuperNode and his supergrid vision.” 

Environment Minister Eamon Ryan said Dr O’Connor was “a visionary and pioneer of the renewable energy industry here and across the wider world”. 

“His legacy will include all the work he did promoting a European supergrid and on the supernode,” he said on X. 

'Revolutionised how we produced energy'

Wind Energy Ireland CEO Noel Cunniffe expressed his condolences to Dr O’Connor’s wife Hildegard and family, including children Lesley and Robert. 

“Eddie O’Connor revolutionised how we produce and use energy in this country,” he said. 

“Ireland’s wind energy industry was built on the foundations he and others laid in the 1990s and their vision of a cleaner, more prosperous, energy future for all of us.” 

Dr O’Connor’s book Supergrid – Super Solution: The Key to Solving the Energy Crisis and Decarbonising Europe was published in March 2023 and coauthored by Irish Times Environment and Science Editor Kevin O’Sullivan. 

Main image: Eddie O'Connor, 11/1/2002 Photo: Gareth Chaney/ RollingNews.ie