It was named after its owner, Mr Pigeon, and was originally used as a hotel. The foundation stone of Pigeon House Generating Station was laid by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, TC Harrington, on 10 February 1902, and it first produced electricity in July 1903, at a capacity of 3MW. The station was run by the Dublin Corporation Lighting Committee, until it was acquired by ESB in 1929. The station was redeveloped as the twentieth century progressed, until it eventually reached a generation capacity of 90MW.