As I research the use of community radio in Ireland in the 1980s for a new book, I discovered the stories of a number of the smaller pirate radio stations including Midleton Community Radio (their story in our next post) and this station Moate Community Radio in County Westmeath.
The community in Moate approached RTE to bring their mobile radio station to the town but RTE were unable to accede to the request. As a result a FM transmitter was sourced and with studios located in the Carmelite College in the town, Moate Community Radio first came on the air after a couple of days testing on Saturday July 31st 1982 broadcasting on 104mhz FM. The station stayed on the air for just one week but it was well supported with advertising from the local business community.
The station came back on the air in 1983 once again for a week, but by 1984 the station was not only broadcasting on FM, now 101mhz, but also on medium wave 210m. By now Aidan Higgins was acting as the station manager.
The final outing for Moate Community Radio was in 1985 with the 210m transmitter once again on the air but the FM was now located on 103.5mhz. Their studios had moved from the College to a premises on the main street on the town.
