The Poolbeg power station is situated adjacent to the now-decommissioned Pigeon House generating station, where electricity was first generated in 1903.

The name “Pigeon House” comes from a caretaker’s lodge built there in 1760. The lodge was intended to provide rest and storage facilities for workers as they built the Great South Wall. The first caretaker, John Pidgeon, was appointed in 1761. Pidgeon opened an eatery to provide refreshments for the workers and the growing number of travelers arriving into Dublin Bay. “Pigeon’s House” as it was known became one of the most popular restaurants in Dublin. 

In 1897, the complex was sold to the Dublin Corporation and developed into a sewage processing facility, as well as the city’s first major electrical power generating station.  It was used for power generation until it was decommissioned in 1976, and the Poolbeg plant is still known locally as the Pigeon House. The modern Poolbeg station was named after the Poolbeg lighthouse which formed the outer end of the Great South Wall.