A Survey of Irish Radio Stations July 2022

In a survey of Irish radio stations available analogue (FM, MW, LW, & SW), online and in apps including RadioGarden, radio.ie, Live Radio Ireland

 

The Rise & Sudden Fall of London Irish Community Radio in 1988

 

The late Jimmy Smith made his name in Irish radio and made his pirate radio station TTTR (Tallaght, Templeogue, Ternure Radio) the number one country and Irish music station having helped the careers of many of the rising stars of Irish country music. In 1988, Jimmy, with the impending arrival of new legislation that would silence his beloved station, making way for a new legal independent commercial landscape, he decided to spread his wings but had those wings firmly clipped by the authorities.

 

With a staff of seven and broadcasting twenty four hours a day on 89.6mhz FM, Jimmy set up London Irish Community Radio, a pirate station dedicated to one of the largest ethnic groups in the UK's capital. The station was located on Hope Lane in Acton and followed the same successful formula as TTTR back in Dublin.

 

There had been an explosion of pirate radio stations in London from 1988. According to the Dazed website

‘Needless to say, it (pirate radio) wasn’t going anywhere, and between 1988 and 89, pirate radio stations rapidly started to appear to serve a youth hungry for new sounds that weren’t being catered to by mainstream radio. By 1989, there were over 60 pirate radio stations operating in London alone.’

According to the fanzine ‘Anoraks UK’ from July 1^st – 5^th there were ‘40 pirate radio stations, 11 in stereo’ operating in London. There was numerous ethnic based stations including London Greek Community Radio, London Asian Community Radio and London Turkish Community Radio.

From The House of Commons Hansard page on written MP answers

Just weeks after going on air at noon March 10th 1988, their powerful 500w transmitter blanking out smaller low powered pirates that broadcast on the 89-90mhz FM frequency. This included the ‘obliteration’ according to Anoraks UK’s London correspondent of long running pirate station ‘London Rock’ also on 89.5. Prior to the arrival of LICR, the Irish in the capital could tune on a Sunday lunchtime on the Brent based pirate station JBC on 104.3mhz. By mid April, LICR’s overnight programming of recorded shows was being relayed on another London pirate station ICE FM on 90.5mhz.

Whether it was his reputation preceding him or a suspicion of any Irish content on the radio as the troubles continued in Northern Ireland, in the first week in May the station was raided by the DTI and the police, closed after just five weeks of broadcasting. Jimmy managed to get the station back on the air within a fortnight on low power but he was quickly raided once again putting an end to LICR. In August backers were fined £400 plus £295 costs.

Alan Whelan and ex-pat and a councillor with the Social Liberal democrats said,

"I am against pirating but his radio station proved there is a need to be met".

Local Ealing North MP Harry Greenway made representations to the Home Secretary but to no avail as there would be no legal community license given to a station serving the large Irish diaspora at that time. For any Irish living in London today, to keep in touch with all things Irish tune in to https://www.irishradio.org/

Sources.

Hansard, the House of Commons Archive

Anoraks UK

The British Newspaper Archives

The Irish Post, London

The DX Archive

Radiowaves.fm

Dazed

AMFM.org