Woodpeckers have been blamed for more than 10 power cuts in the Clare town of Sixmilebridge in just over a year, with some of the outages lasting more than 24 hours, a TD has established.
Fine Gael’s Joe Cooney said the source of 11 power cuts in just 14 months was not faulty transformers, high winds or a creaky network but woodpeckers drumming on electricity poles to warn other birds to steer clear.
The TD was prompted to contact ESB Networks after people in the area highlighted repeated outages, which he said had caused “significant inconvenience” for householders in the townland of Clogga, just east of Sixmilebridge.
He cited eight interruptions in 2025, including two multi‑day losses of supply in January and November. Three more outages followed last month.
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In its response, ESB Networks said its staff were “very conscious of the continuity issues” experienced locally and said a major upgrade of the network was now under way.
The company said the unusual problem stemmed from woodpeckers boring into wooden poles, which had weakened them to the point that they had to be replaced with composite ones, which, it is hoped, would prove to be less attractive to the birds.
ESB Networks said the work would require further planned outages that would have to be staggered to “minimise the disruption to the customer”.
It said customers would receive notice of any interruptions.
It is not the first time woodpeckers have been identified as the source of electricity blackouts and damaged poles in Ireland.
Rising numbers of the birds here over the last two decades have presented a significant challenge to the ESB, with great spotted woodpeckers seen damaging wooden poles across Leinster, Kerry and Mayo repeatedly.
A woodpecker’s relentless “drumming” – used as a territorial signal and a warning to other birds to keep clear – can quickly cause holes in poles, which leaves the wood vulnerable to rot.
When many of the electricity poles in Ireland were erected, engineers would not have had to factor in the attention of woodpeckers, which were only sighted in Ireland for the first time just over 20 years ago.
Woodpeckers made their way to Ireland because of food shortages in their natural habitat in Scandinavia and have clearly taken a shine to Irish trees, with many now mating here.
