McLaughlin, Thomas Anthony (1896–1971), engineer and originator of the Shannon scheme, was born 14 June 1896 in Dublin Road, Drogheda, Co. Louth, son of Peter McLaughlin, excise officer, and Sarah McLaughlin (née McCabe). Having graduated from UCD (B.Sc., 1916; M.Sc., 1918), he worked as a researcher in UCD's school of experimental physics before transferring to engineering, graduatning from UCG with a BE (1922) and a Ph.D. (1923) for his thesis, ‘Calaphoresis of air bubbles in various liquids and deleterious effect of fibres on insulating powers of oil’. While at UCG he studied under Prof. F. S. Rishworth (qv), professor of civil engineering, who is said to have influenced his later plans to develop the Shannon hydro-electric scheme.
In autumn 1922 he was offered a position with the German firm Siemens-Schuckert, and was ‘given carte blanche by the Germans to do as he wanted’ (Manning & McDowell, 20). Having examined the manufacture, transmission, and distribution of electricity, he undertook an extensive study of the electricity network in Pomerania, which he felt would provide a good model for similar work in the Irish Free State. Aware of the importance of electricity to Irish economic success, and holding the view that water, rather than turf, was the best means of manufacturing such electricity, he devised a hydro-electric scheme based on the River Shannon, in preference to the Liffey, which he felt was too small to supply the entire nation. With the assistance of Patrick McGilligan (qv), the plan was approved by the oireachtas in June 1925, and the contract given to Siemens. McGilligan had to fight hard to persuade the government to adopt the proposals in the face of the vehement opposition of the Department of Finance, a decision that marked the greatest reverse for the doctrine of financial control in the first decade of the Irish Free State.
When the Electricity Supply Board was established in August 1927 to administer Irish electricity, McLaughlin was appointed to its board and made managing director. However, over the next few years relations between him and his former ally McGilligan deteriorated, resulting in his resignation from the ESB in May 1931. The dispute arose from the very different approaches of the two men to the Shannon scheme. Enthusiastic and willing to complete the scheme as fast as possible, McLaughlin was prepared to exceed his budget. However, as minister for industry and commerce, McGilligan was responsible to the dáil for the use of its funds, and neither he nor his department were satisfied with the level of accountability within the ESB. After the formation of the first Fianna Fáil government in 1932, the new minister for industry and commerce, Seán Lemass (qv), reappointed McLaughlin to the board of the ESB, a move seen as a deliberate attempt to embarrass McGilligan. While his relations with fellow board members were often tense, he remained an influential figure and played an important role in drawing up plans for rural electrification during the 1940s.
After retirement from the ESB in 1958 he served as a director of Irish Shell and chairman of the board of Aspro-Nicholas (Ireland). Outside of engineering he was involved with a number of associations: he was a member of the Knights of St Columbanus lay religious organisation; in 1943 he was elected a member of the St Stephen's Green Club and served on its committee and house committee; and with Arthur Cox (qv) he founded the National University Graduates' Association. His other interests included angling and ornithology. He lived at 2 Simmonscourt Castle, Donnybrook, Dublin, with his wife Olwen and three sons. He died 15 February 1971 during a holiday in Benidorm, Spain, leaving an estate of £6,606.