Following the Irish Free State Government’s decision that an Irish radio station should be State controlled, as the launch date approached the new station was subject to ridicule, speculation, Government inquiries and shocking revelations. From October 1925 until its first official broadcast on January 1st 1926, the ‘Dublin Broadcasting Station’ created a storm.
Prior to the launch of the state controlled 2RN, the Government of The
Irish Free State had considered granting a licence to the Irish Broadcasting
Company, the preferred option of J.J. Walsh, the Minister, as he felt a commercial
better would better suit his department. The company was to be run along commercial
lines without any Government subsidy. The IBC was made up of five partners, The
Cork Radio Company, 50 South Mall, Cork City; The International Trading Company
Limited, Lapps Quay, Cork City; Irish Developments Limited, 3 Molesworth
Street, Dublin 2; Dixon & Hempenstall, Suffolk Street, Dublin 2 and Phillip
Sayer Esq., 16 South Andrew Street, Dublin 2.
Each of the five companies would invest £30,000 to launch the station with the activities of the station being run by a board of seven directors. The initial licence would be granted for a period of five years. The station was to broadcast every day of the year except Sundays, Good Friday and Christmas Day although there was some debate in the newspapers as to whether the station should be allowed to broadcast on Sundays. The hours of transmissions were to be from 11a.m. to noon and from 5p.m. to 11p.m. There were to be no news bulletins except those sanctioned by the Government and none of those before seven in the evening. The Government would allow fifteen minutes of advertising per day but no foreign advertisements except if passed by the Government. The Government proposed a radio set licence fee of £1, fifteen schillings of which would be given to the IBC with a hotels licence fee set at £5, four of which would be given to the station. The Government withdrew support and approval for the station when they decided that it would be in the best interest of the nation to have a state-controlled broadcasting service.
But the Wireless Committee set up by the Dail to investigate the route
to air, itself would be mired in controversy and scandal when letters written
by one of its members Darrell Figgis TD were leaked and there were claims of
bribery and fraud just as the fledging Irish Free State was getting to its feet
after a War of Independence and a Civil War. One of the businessmen behind The
IBC was Andrew Belton and he leaked letters to the newspapers impugning the
integrity of committee member Darrell Figgis but Figgis suspected the
intentions of Belton and exposed him as a ‘crook’. Figgis demanded in the Dáil that
a public inquiry should be held which took place but it backfired on Figgis as
it emerged he had earlier taken financial contributions for his election
campaign from Belton.
In a Dáil debate after his resignation from the committee on January 25th
1924 Figgis declared,
‘I was
very greatly surprised at an early stage of the proceedings of the Committee when
a document was handed in by the gentleman named Andrew Belton, containing
very serious reflections upon me, and marked by a spirit of very acute
hostility. I was still more surprised when that document was handed in, not by Mr.
Belton, but by the Postmaster-General. I desire to say exactly how I stand in
that matter. The Committee has, after mature consideration, touched upon the
charges that Mr. Belton has made against me. I have repudiated those charges
hotly and with indignation. The Committee have not stated in their ad interim
Report what I consider is a material matter, and that is that within three
weeks of the formation of Irish Developments Ltd., I severed my connection with
it with equal indignation, with considerable firmness, and in interviews of
some storm. I have not had, since then, any connection with the company or with
persons connected with it, and, further, I have no desire to have connection
with the company or with the persons who are running it. My connection with it
ceased in October 1922. The company was formed on the 1st August, 1922, and my
actions in connection with the company were quite clear and quite public,
because immediately after it was formed, I myself caused an announcement to be
made in the Press of its formation and my connection with it, which will be
found in the Irish Press of August 2nd, 1922, in which I am named as Director.
I severed my connection with it and caused a public statement to be made in the
Press that I had severed my connection. Since then I had nothing to do with it,
and I have no desire to have anything to do with it. I think that will deal
with the matter of these charges that have been made by this gentleman, through
the agency of the Postmaster-General, against my honour.’
In the same debate the responsible Minister also spoke on the subject,
‘I wish to say,
at the outset, that I have the fullest possible confidence in the remaining
members of this Committee to do justice, in the first place to the nation, and
in the second place to myself, in this all-important subject. The Dáil will appreciate
that since the outset of the sittings of the Committee, numerous unfair and
unscrupulous attacks have been made on my honour, and the motives which led me
and my advisers in my department to come to certain conclusions in regard to
broadcasting. Because of the peculiar position I occupy, my hands were tied,
and they are still tied, and it is very good of you, Sir, and the Committee, to
give me just one brief moment to touch on a point or two which may form the
subject of misconception, not so much here at home, where matters are better
understood and where one can fairly believe in the justice of his fellow man,
but in places beyond. The main principle which I contended for in the long and
serious discussions leading up to this White Paper was the establishment of an
Irish Broadcasting Station, with no connection whatever with anything outside
the country. I should like to make it clear, because of these attacks of the
last week or two, that in this respect, at any rate, my judgement has been
vindicated. There are other matters which will form the subject of discussion when
we come to deal with this subject, and that is the evidence submitted by me in
relation to private versus State control. If the evidence of this Committee
were made public, as I must say I would have very much favoured, it would
remove any misconception on this point. My reasons for State control have been
fully explained to the Committee, and it is, perhaps, a bit unfortunate
that these reasons are not before the Dáil. They are very fully set out and
they speak for themselves.
In regard to the controversy between Mr. Belton and Deputy Figgis, my
name has been mentioned by Deputy Figgis here, and I think in justice to
everybody, in justice to a man who is not here, as well as to one who is here,
the matter ought not to be gone into without having all the evidence. I am sure
that everybody desires a fair show for all the people concerned in this matter.
The question of my right to issue licences prior to the erection of a
Broadcasting Station has also been brought into play, and my view-point was
fully dealt with before the Committee. I think when the public examine those
reasons, they will find that there was some justice in the case which I advanced.
This is merely a personal explanation, and I only want to say that this subject
of broadcasting which has occupied the attention of the Committee for nineteen
sittings, and which will continue to occupy its attention for many others, is a
subject which occupied my attention and that of the heads of my Department for
a period of six months, and has formed a bone of contention in other countries.
It is a subject upon which one cannot lightly formulate a judgment. It is necessary
to have all the evidence for and against and to weigh that evidence very
carefully. All I have to say is, that it would be unreasonable for anybody to
come to a conclusion without that evidence, and I believe that for that reason
sooner or later the Dáil will find itself compelled—it may do it without either
force or compulsion— to publish the entire evidence bearing on broadcasting.’[1]
Broadcasting
should be a State service purely—the installation and the working of it to be
solely in the hands of the Postal Ministry. (Final Report of the Special Committee to consider the Wireless
Broadcasting)
The final report was delivered to the Dáil on March 28th 1924.
Darrell Figgis was at the heart of the Irish broadcasting debate in the
1920’s but he became a tragic figure in Irish history. Born in Rathmines,
During the 1916 Rising, Figgis was in
"Never a time went by without a bit of fun. Such an occasion was the degrading of Darrell Figgis...You should see him strolling down O'Connell Street in smartly cut clothes, with his red hair gleaming like newly polished boots, and a fine, red, square-cut beard that was his special pride. Now Figgis started making some very detrimental remarks about the IRA. We did not consider him a menace, he was too much the lightweight but he annoyed us with his waspish stings...Some of us held him tipped back on his swivel chair while one man produced a glittering razor. Figgis squealed like a pig ...I think he would have been happier had we just cut his throat.
Even Collins’s fiancée Longford born Kitty O’Shea took delight in the
attack
"Poor
Darrell Figgis lost his nice red beard. When I read about it, I could imagine
you laughing and enjoying it very much. But it was a mean thing for Harry's cronies
to do He was lucky it was only his beard."
During the attack Millie Figgis attempted to stop the attack and was thrown
to the floor. It left her in a fragile state. The couple separated in 1923 and
on November 24th 1924 she ordered a taxi from her home on Fitzwilliam
Street and went up to the foothills of the Dublin Mountains. Once the cab driver
had moved away, she pulled out a Wembley revolver given to her by Michael Collins
for her protection in the aftermath of the attack on her home and killed
herself.
By now Figgis was secretly courting an eighteen years old Irish dancer
Rita North from Thomas Street. In early October 1925, Rita revealed she was
pregnant. The couple crossed the Irish Sea to
Once the Government
committee had recommended that the State run a broadcasting station rather than
the initially preferred commercial option, the Minister for Posts and
Telegraphs, J. J. Walsh, set about the practical work of setting up a radio
station. The Marconi company was contracted to build and provide the
transmitter. To secure the safety of this powerful medium, it was announced in
June that the transmitter would be located in the grounds of McKee Barracks (formerly
known as Malborough Barracks) near the Phoenix Park. Studios were being built on
the upper floors of a former warehouse on Little Denmark Street off Henry
Street in the centre of the city, linked to the transmitter by a telephone land
line.
On September 17th, advertisements appeared in the newspapers seeking staff for the new venture.
From November 11th – 14th, the Wireless Exhibition was held at the Round Room in the Mansion House on Dawson Street. It opened at 11am and stayed open to visitors until 10.30pm. There had been Wireless exhibitions in the years previous but with a Dublin station about to come on air, this one was important. The newspapers especially the Evening Herald extensively covered the exhibition. On November 11th there was a 4 page spread in Evening Herald titled ‘Broadcasting in Ireland’. It reported that there would be broadcasts from the Exhibition, but rather than full radio transmissions, this was conducted via a ‘Marconiphone’ loudspeaker system which aimed primarily at the people on Dawson Street queuing to gain access but it was reportedly heard six miles away[3].
The exhibition was opened
by J.J. Walsh who was the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs formerly known as the
Postmaster General, a term inherited from the former British occupiers. The
exhibition consisted of thirty stands, mostly radio set manufacturers selling
their equipment to an expectant public. Walsh said at the opening
that in the,
‘formidable
list of recent scientific inventions and was likely to become one the most
potent and most widespread of all. He hoped that at the next exhibition there
would be exhibits from Irish manufacturers of wireless apparatus.’ He added
that he hoped ‘within the next month they were opening their own wireless
station in the free state and embarking on what was as yet only the partially
explored field of wireless in this country’.
He urged Irish citizens the exercise common sense to make the new station a success and not subject it to destructive criticism. National prestige he said was at stake.
‘hallo
hallo hallo, aye aye aye, hallo hallo hallo’ were the first words spoken by
Seamus O’hAodha. This was followed by
‘Se
seo staisiun 2RN Baile Atha Cliath ag triail’ (This is 2RN Dublin Testing)
Seamus Hughes as he was
known in English had already survived scrutiny of a Dail Committee as to his
credentials to be appointed to the position of station announcer. With accusations
of ‘jobbery’ levelled against Walsh, he defended the appointment of Hughes
which was begrudgingly accepted by some but not all. [4] The Mansion House was
packed as the test transmissions coincided with the final hours of the
exhibition, boosting the publicity for the manufacturers and set sellers. There
was a sense of wonderment, pride and curiosity in those who heard those first
words.
The following Saturday
night there were further tests transmissions and Minister Walsh became the
first Government Minister and politician to appear on the station. The British
‘Daily Mail’ newspaper reported that the station tests being picked up in
Britain. They said that a Kent listener initially believed he had picked up a
new frequency for Hamburg Radio but then following a musical item came,
‘This
is 2RN, the Dublin broadcasting station. That was good wasn’t it? But we have
more treats in store for you, only remember, no licenses, no programme. Further
treats followed, an appeal to pay for licenses being sandwiched between each
item. The announcer alone is worth the money, for there is none of the almost
Civil service restraint which marks his opposite numbers of the BBC.’
The
appeal to purchase a licence to ‘listen-in’ can be seen as the first
advertisement on 2RN and a sense of desperation that the success of the station
depended on the financial resources the Government would provide depending on
the number of licenses purchased. A license cost was set at an expensive £1 per
year.
The following Monday,
Walsh officially announced the Civil service appointments to run the station.
Seamus Clandillon who for many years had been an Inspector at the National
Health Insurance Commission was appointed as a station director. His knowledge
of Irish traditional and folk music was a bonus with his abilities widely
respected throughout Ireland. He was also a traditional Irish speaker and this
was important in the hope that the new station would help in the revival of the
Irish native language. Seamus O’hAodha was appointed as the official station
announcer. At the time he was the secretary of Cumman NaGaedhael, the Irish
language promoters. He was fluent in Irish and French and was respected as a
music composer and singer. Vincent O’Brien was appointed the musical director
and during tests broadcasts O’Brien and Clandillon performed together and solos
to entertain the listeners.
When tests began, they were not met with universal approval. Letter writers to newspaper complained that the new transmissions were blotting out their enjoyment of broadcasts from England especially the Daventry transmitter. They suggested that the 2RN frequency be moved. One writer in the Irish Independent who signed themselves ‘polyglot’ wrote,
‘I,
for one, shall not renew my licence if the Dublin wavelength crowds out the
English and foreign stations as it did during recent tests’[5]
Another letter writer
offered a solution,
‘I would suggest a
"silent night" once a week in order to give valve users an
opportunity to receive other stations. If the Dublin station can relay the English
concerts now and then we cannot grumble.’
Another letter writer who signed themselves ‘cats
whisker’,
‘I regret that I cannot
join in the grand chorus of praise of our new broadcasting station. On Saturday
night the reception was, no doubt, clear but the matter broadcasted was of the
most trumpery description even for a test performance. Selections from
‘Muritania’ no matter by whom played, fill me with homicidal thoughts and to
the ultra-refined lady vocalist pronouncing the word ‘vale’ as if it meant the
flesh of the calf made me weep aloud’
In an editorial in the Irish Independent, as the
pace of tests intensified, it commented,
‘The Dublin Broadcasting Station
will be formally opened within a few weeks, and we believe, and hope, that its
influence will be the seeds of a welcome revolution in the social life of
Ireland, more especially of rural Ireland. The new science, although still in
its infancy has immense possibilities as a powerful factor for entertainment
and instruction.’
‘If the young people in the rural parts have too often drifted into the ways of intemperance, have taken their politics too seriously and too narrowly, or have succumbed to the temptations of the dance hall, it was sometimes because they saw no other attractions, no other relaxation for the hours they called their own. Fortunately, the evil of intemperance Is being steadily wiped out; the Bishops and the priests have done much to check the craze for the foreign dances; and the obsession of politics is slowly giving way to saner thoughts on economic questions. A widespread favour for wireless and be it noted that no technical knowledge is necessary for anybody installing a receiver will, we are convinced, go a long way towards completing our social regeneration, and towards making life in the country districts so much brighter that the eyes of youth will not be dazzled by the lights that call them to the great cities or to the emigrant ship.’
The sensational story of the first day’s broadcast from 2RN to come shortly.
[1] Historical
Dáil Eireann Debates
[2] A Century of Irish Radio 1900 - 2000
[3]
Evening Herald November 11th 1923
[4]
Historical Dail debates
[5]
November 27th 1925
SOURCES
Wireless World Magazine
Practical Wireless Magazine
The Irish Newspaper Achives
The British Newspaper Archives
The Welsh Newspaper Archives
The Dail Historical Debates
American Radio History Website
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