By Daniel Keegan 

Known on social media as ‘The Dublin Sparky’, Eoghan Ó Conghaile is a Dublin-based electrician who has merged two of his biggest passions to propel his career.  

With the use of modern technologies, he creates content that consists of sparky tips, product reviews, and video themes, such as “A Day in the Life of an Electrician,” all of which are intended to educate apprentices while showcasing his passion for content creation. 

In just three months, he has amassed an audience of over 10,000 followers across various social media platforms, with some of his videos gaining over 100,000 views.

A key aspect of Ó Conghaile’s filming process is the use of Meta Ray-Bans. These glasses appear to be ordinary Ray-Ban glasses; however, they are equipped with tiny built-in cameras that record footage at eye level. This allows him to capture what it’s like to be an electrician. 

Ó Conghaile explains how his inspiration to purchase the glasses came while travelling. He was in Australia when he heard of someone recording themselves playing golf with the glasses and posting their videos on social media. The idea of using the technology in his working environment came to him immediately – this was the moment ‘The Dublin Sparky’ was created. 

“I bought them in Australia, and at the time that I came back to Ireland, I don’t think you could buy them. So, I think I was the first person in construction to have them”, Ó Conghaile said. 

After he came home and resumed his job, he started recording his activities while ‘on the job’. He describes how simple the technology is to use and how quickly he can create and edit his videos. 

“The footage goes straight into your phone, and then you put it into a video editor, chop it up, and send it out. I’m so quick at it. I can get through a video in half an hour leisurely”, he said.

He has received largely positive feedback since posting on social media, especially amongst younger apprentices and fellow electricians. He laughs that his phone is becoming bombarded with electrical queries from apprentices and others involved in the trade. 

“I get electrical questions all the time, and it’s getting to the stage where I have to turn my phone on ‘do not disturb’ when I’m going to bed,” he said. 

“The apprentices I work with love the videos. They watch what I am doing and learn something because the content tries to be educational,”, he added. 

Sitting back and sipping his tea, Ó Conghaile reflects on the ten years since he decided to pursue a career in electrical work. This journey has been filled with challenges, but it has also included experiences that he believes have been crucial to his success. 

He says that getting a college degree or other traditional career options didn’t align with his interests and ambitions, so he decided to pursue a trade instead. 

“I finished school and did an okay Leaving Cert. I then went to Maynooth for three weeks and knew straight away that college wasn’t for me,”Ó Conghaile said. 

“I was doing computer science, and the first lecture was linear algebra. At that point, I knew I was going to be gone,” he added. 

He chuckles about his life right after leaving college, working at a nearby supermarket, and unexpectedly receiving an apprenticeship offer through his uncle, who was working on a site. He adds that he had no intention of entering a trade.  

“I never wanted to be an electrician. Never thought about it,” he said. 

Fast forward to now: his career is thriving, and his social media following is only going one way. However, initially, not everything went to plan. Due to filming constraints on his previous employers’ work sites, ‘The Dublin Sparky’ channels were temporarily halted.

After being told that filming was not an option, he took a gamble by moving companies, as he was not willing to let his passion for showcasing his trade creatively be stripped away. 

“My last company was like, ‘you cannot and never will do that [record] on any of our sites again’, he said.  

“This led me to put up a post on TikTok looking for work, and because I built up a bit of a following, less than half an hour later, I had about 15 job offers.” 

“So, I moved companies and now my new boss lets me do whatever I want. He’s getting free promotion, so he’s happy and pushes it, “he added. 

It has proved to be a gamble that has paid off. Shortly after he began posting again, he received sponsorship offers from well-established electrical companies. 

“CEF Tallaght were the first to reach out to me. Snickers Workwear also got in touch with me, so stay tuned for that,” he said. 

Ó Conghaile’s passion for filmmaking pre-dates his ‘Dublin Sparky’ days, as he reveals that he has been making travel videos for several years. 

“What a lot of people don’t know about me is that I’ve been making content for about five years. Every time my girlfriend and I go away, I make a travel video. There’s a whole bank of videos that no one knows about,” he said. 

Additionally, he admitted that ‘The Dublin Sparky’ page is currently just a side hustle, but he hopes something greater could emerge from it and potentially become his primary job. 

For now, though, he is delighted to continue creating content while working on his trade – scratching his itch for practical trades work and creative digital work. 

“For me, this is the jackpot. This is the gold at the end of the rainbow,”, he said. 

“I get to film what I’m doing at work, which I love anyway, and then get to blend it with making videos, which I love.” 

“I’m getting paid to do it, but I would do it anyway,” he added.