‘The Modern Swash Buckling Pirate Phenomenon’

On any given Sunday on the Dublin airwaves in 2020, the listener is treated to a melange of radio stations delivering a wide variety of speech and music entertainment. However, the Dublin airwaves are a uniquely Irish solution to an Irish problem. Radio in Ireland is the most consumed form of media with over 80% of the Irish adult population listening to the medium, whether it’s in the home, exercising or stuck in the car in a rush hour traffic jam. Because of its unique ability to connect with its audience, the listenership figures have stayed constant for the past quarter of a century and as a result, advertisers have flocked to the national, independent commercial and local radio stations across Ireland.

The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland issues licences for the independent sector, advertising different genres to accommodate all tastes. This radio industry we have today, was born in the 1970’s and 80’s when the state broadcaster RTE, had its monopoly position challenged by a plethora of pirate radio stations, stealing frequencies, listeners, and advertisers from RTE. In 1988 new stringent legislation plugged loopholes in the law and allowed for the orderly opening of legal licensed alternatives both nationally and locally. The BAI, and its predecessors the IRTC and BCI have struggled to blend listener requirements with commercial demands. Since deregulation in 1988, the market has solidified with some major media moguls commanding ownership of vast swathes of the airwaves.

In the eighties the success of the pirates was driven by market forces as a youthful market demanded to hear the music that they wanted, a direct alternative to RTE, who’s darkened halls attempted to accommodate everyone  on a national level when listeners actually wanted a local voice and perspective. RTE had failed the younger listener and even with their attempt to placate that constituency with the launch of the ‘pirate light’ RTE Radio 2, the uplifting super pirates like Radio Nova, Sunshine & ERI dominated their markets. In the quest for the local listener, once again RTE lost out to community stations like BLB and Kilkenny Community Radio and local stations like Mid-West and West National Radio 3 rapidly eroded any credibility RTE had with its listener.

Licensing has regulated the airwaves is the Government response, but even a cursory glance along the waveband on a Sunday tells a different tale. When the pirates were at the height of their success, every genre of music was catered for by individual stations, pop on Nova, rock on Phantom, C&W on TTTR, religion on ICBS or album tracks on Capitol. Today’s youth population listens to their music, dance, garage, trance, and rap but these music trends do not sell advertising and therefore find every little light on the current station playlists. That demographic is younger, usually under eighteen and therefore unimportant to current stations and their advertisers. Once again in step the pirates and as enforcement retreats like the tide, the pirates are empowered to start up their transmitters once again and fill up the Dublin FM frequencies. Not only has a need been created for these stations but technology has made it easier to get on air. Gone are the days of medium wave transmitters, home built, strewn over an attic floor with an aerial strung between the attic and a tree or telegraph post. FM transmitters are cheap and highly effective. They do not cause the interference that their Medium wave forbearers did, and computerisation has removed the need for bulky turntables and mixing desks. Because of their appeal to an under eighteen audience, these stations utilise social media avenues far better than their legal counterparts.

In Dublin on FM on a Sunday there are a number of national and quasi national stations like RTE, Radio na Gaeltachta, Newstalk and Spirit Radio, there are community stations including Dublin City FM, Near FM and Phoenix Radio and there are five legal local franchises 98FM, Radio Nova, Sunshine 106, Spin 1038 and FM 104 all competing for the listeners ear and you would say to yourself that surely that is a comprehensive choice but yet despite five Dublin licensed stations, on Sunday April 19^th 2020 there were thirteen pirates radio stations on FM, one on Medium Wave, Energy 1395 and four on short wave broadcasting to the world. The majority of these pirate stations were broadcasting some form of dance music but other genres were being catered for that licensed stations seemed to have covered but yet pirate station were on the airwaves covering similar including The 90s Network and Easy FM.

Some legal stations are now voice tracked removing that personal touch with the listeners. This is simply a cost saving exercise for the media conglomerates that own them. This would be obvious if they used in studio cameras like watching RTE’s Today programme with the now retired Sean O’Rourke. A camera could show the DJ actually choosing and enjoying the music he is playing. The pirate DJ is not hampered by the playlist or the format. The reasonable pirate example of this is Phever FM.

The inertia caused by the lack of enforcement has given pirate radio a new lease of life with a number of them including Club, Pure and Pirate FM carrying a significant amount of advertising, not just relying on advertising club nights to generate revenue. Despite the coronavirus lockdown, the closure of venues and therefore the closure of those station revenue streams, the FM band is alive with pirate radio. These stations are catering for audiences ignored by mainstream stations who have once seen themselves as cutting edge, but the commercial reality has diluted their position. None of these pirates broadcast salacious, threatening or terrorist content and are simply on-air to entertain their constituency, they give airtime to new and struggling dance and rap artists and without causing interference they do little harm. They are however illegal and subject to a minimum of €10,000 fine either for broadcasting, advertising or providing transmission land and if Comreg continue to not implement the law and the BAI fail miserably to cater for the people who are actually listening to the radio, not the listeners that stations wishes to portray to advertisers, then pirate radio will continue to blossom. Is it too early to claim ‘long live the pirates’?

Radio Survives and Thrives in a Pandemic

One of the earliest forms of mass entertainment was the invention of the cinema which is traced back to the late 1800's with the advances of Edison and the Lumiere brothers. Cinema has evolved over the decades in cinemas and studios, through the decades. The list includes, the silent era, the use of sound, cinemascope, 3D, animation, the different genres from slapslick to sci-fi and the evolutionary advances in CGI has changed how we consume the movies. Each development being heralded as a 'game changer'. Each new theme is an attempt to keep the audience captive, evolving as the audience evolves and matures. Each development becomes an attempt to suspend our belief in reality or to create a new reality. The cinema, like other mediums. lures us in and then through mystery, comedy, horror or action alters our perception of the world. Cinema has changed with the times, reflected the times we live in and changed how we consume the medium with the arrival of talkies, the blockbuster or propaganda films.

Cinema's cousin is television and from the time of Baird in the 1920's, television too has changed in both delivery and consumption. The early television was mechanical, then electrical became the norm and the medium evolved from 405 lines to 625 lines to HD, black and white became colour, sets originally were bulky are now flat screen and slimline, cable television, satellite TV and digital. What we consume has expanded, as has delivery systems from single channel, to multi channel, video recorders, on demand, subscription TV and online.

The internet in the past two decades has developed at a tremendous speed and its entertainment provision has expanded, sometimes unchecked. From YouTube to Tik Tok, from online gaming to social media and from porn to online movies and sports, the internet continues to evolve and to entertain. The method of consumption has also changed exponentially. Originally a hard drive and a monitor were the delivery system, today it is on lap tops, tablets and mobile phones.

One entertainment that has changed the least is the delivery of audio entertainment via the radio. The radio had been with us since the 1920's and while the method of delivery whether it is via AM/FM/SW/LW, digital or online apps the content has changed little, speech and music with no special effects or gimmicks ( not withstanding the brief relationship with AM stereo). The wireless box in the corner of the living room has morphed into a portable transistor radio, the car radio, through your mobile phone and online, often changing the definition of radio.

The radio station, like the movie studio or the television channel may have different outlooks and editorial bias, they may be state run, independent and commercial, local and community,  pirate or institutional outlets but their content changes little. That editorial direction, like a movie or TV show are often tailored for their particular audience but at the end of the broadcast it is speech delivery or music. If you tune up and down the radio bands or listen to online audio content including podcasts, speech and/or music is what you will here and unlike a cinema where having paid in and you don't like the film and rarely walk out, on radio you can easily change what you listen to.

With reflection on current events (the Covid19 pandemic 2020), the cinemas are closed and fake news confuses the consumer online and in social media, yet radio has found a new lease of life as it continues to deliver speech in the form of information and news and allows quiet reflection with music of every genre. Radio has surprised and surpassed expectations in these troubled times and we as a race of people should be thankful for the fact that radio is there, the constant companion whether you are in the kitchen, the bedroom, the car or exercising and we should show our appreciation to those who have stayed on the air whether it is from the quieter studios or home studios, they have been essential.

The Archaeology of Irish Radio (Part One)

Across Europe and further afield the arrival of radio created a new sense of national identity and nations displayed their national pride by building ornate architecturally stunning broadcasting houses but not in Ireland. At a Transnational Radio Seminar in Luxembourg in 2018 organised by Andreas Fickers and Richard Legay, one of the speakers at the event was Maryam El Moumni of the Brandeburg University of Technology spoke of the Archaeology of Radio and I pondered what the Irish experience of this was. 

Radio arrived in Ireland north of the border in Northern Ireland with the opening of 2BE in Belfast. The station which first went on air on October 24th 1924 was originally located in a converted warehouse in cramped rooms. Following a decade of violent turmoil, a new Irish Free State turned its attention to broadcasting. Two years after the Belfast launch, a new Dublin station 2RN went on air. The studios were located in a terrace of houses on Little Denmark Street in the heart of the city centre with the studios linked to the makeshift transmitter site at the nearby McKee Army barracks. The Dublin station was followed by 6CK in Cork City.

The success of radio stations across Europe was continuing upwards and nations felt a sense of pride in beaming their transmissions not just to a national audience but transnationally across borders. It was often a sense of national pride which after the postage stamp demonstrated to the world that a nation was truly independent. Elaborate, ornate and architecturally wonderful buildings were being created across Europe from England to Germany. 

       Nauen Germany 1920                                        BBC HQ

                 Radio Normandie in France in the 1930s

When the decision was taken that a Irish Free State radio station would be state controlled rather than a commercial entity, a location was needed for the studios and transmitter. The overriding issue for the fledgling state broadcaster was the lack of finance and this would dictate what could be afforded for the launch. There would be no spectacular ‘broadcasting house’ built instead when the station was launched on January 1st 1926 the stations studios were located in the inner city of Dublin on a narrow market street on Little Denmark Street. Number 36 was a four storey over basement building constructed of concrete and steel with a red brick finish and slated roof[1]. There was single studio and one actor who appeared in numerous early radio plays Harry Brogan remembered that they used their coats hanging on the studio windows to keep the noise of shouts from the street traders out. 

The locating of the transmitter in a wooden hut in the grounds of McKee Barracks was for two reasons expediency and security. McKee Barracks named after Richard McKee who was a key IRA operative for Michael Collins during the War of Independence with Britain. He had been captured in November 1920 and after being tortured he was supposedly shot dead as he tried to escape from his captives in Dublin Castle, the then British Government in Ireland headquarters. Originally called Marlborough Barracks it was built by the British Army in 1888. When Ireland became the Irish Free State in 1922, the British gave the barracks to the Irish forces and named after McKee 2] .

The McKee Barracks Hut (c) British Pathe News

By 1928 the small and cramped Dublin studios had become unfit for purpose and the station and its personnel were moved to the first floor of the iconic GPO (General Post Office opened in 1818) on O’Connell Street with one former presenter describing the corridors décor as reminding him of a public house gentleman’s urinal.

JJ Walsh the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs announced in the Dail,

‘The station is in the McKee Barracks, and the broadcasting headquarters, or studio, as it is usually termed, is in Great Denmark Street. The items set out here include furniture and equipment for both places. Under the heading relating to miscellaneous expenses, which amount to £850, we have such items as postage, stationery, and copyright royalties. Copyright royalties in broadcasting are not only difficult of arrangement, but are also expensive. We have also under this particular heading provision for weather reports and news services, and also such items as we may from time to time be called upon to provide in the way of extra musical equipment, gramophone records, and matters of that kind.’

Now, it is intended that this sum of £14,385 shall cover the period up to the end of the financial year. Thereafter the broadcasting estimates will take their place in the annual estimates and be discussed as separate items. It is not intended that these estimates should be included within the sphere of the Post Office proper.’[3]

Following the destruction of the GPO during the 1916 Easter Rising, it’s rebuilding was not completed until 1928 and when it was reopened the fourth floor was taken over by 2RN, later to be renamed as Radio Eireann, who now had three studios instead of the one at Little Denmark Street. In the 1950’s two more studios were built and in 1956 six more studios including a continuity suite were added on the third floor. But the GPO was never designed as a broadcast centre and the station suffered from the lack of sound proofing.[4]

When it came to put a second station on the air, Ireland’s second city Cork was to the location for 6CK. Once again the station was to be located in a second hand building, the former Women’s Gaol in the city. Today the Irish Radio Museum is located in the building where 6CK was broadcast from. Work on the Goal commenced in 1816 and the building of the prison proper started in 1818, The building having been designed by William Robertson. It opened to prisoners on 1824 and became a women’s only prison in 1878. The Goal closed as a prison in 1923 after the events of both the War of Independence and the Civil War. In 1927, the upper floors of the Governors House became the home of 6CK.

(c) Radiomuseum.org

The major expansion for Radio Eireann was the installation of a new high powered transmitter in the midlands near Athlone. The decision was taken at Cabinet level in November 1931 to build a high-powered transmitter in Athlone. Since the inception 2RN wanted to be heard nationwide and the Government desired that Irish broadcasts and programmes should be heard further afield, to be on at least a par with some of the European stations that were now quite popular in Ireland. They wanted to counteract the broadcasts of 2BE and the BBC networks although the BBC had been quite helpful directly to the staff and management of 2RN. This included the relaying of certain broadcasts including St. Patrick’s Day broadcasts and sporting events including the motor racing from the Phoenix Park. A large powerful transmitter would be geographically located in the centre of Ireland. Engineers identified both Athlone, County Westmeath and Birr County Offaly as possible locations. In 1931 a site was purchased at Moydrum Castle on the outskirts of Athlone for the transmitter. The Department of Finance set aside resources for the building of the infrastructure and the purchase of a 100 kilowatt transmitter from the Marconi Company in England. A four hundred and twenty-five aerial was erected and when DeValera came to power in February 1932 a new impetus was injected to have the station operational in time for the Eucharistic Congress being held in June 1932.

The first Eucharistic Congress was held in 1881 under Pope Leo XIII. The congresses were organised by a Papal Committee for Eucharistic Congresses to increase devotion to the Eucharist as a part of the practice of faith, and as a public witness of faith to Catholic population at large. The 31st International Eucharistic Congress was held in Dublin, 21-26 June 1932. It was the premier international Catholic event. The 1932 Congress provided the platform for the Irish Free State Government of DeValera to assert their position as a leading Catholic nation. It would be the largest public gathering in twentieth-century Ireland until the 1979 visit of Pope John Paul II. There was even an act passed by the Government specifically for the event titled the Eucharistic Congress (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1932.

Congresses were often linked with anniversaries or other events special to Christians and in particular to Catholics of the country in which they took place. The 30th Congress which took place in Carthage, Tunis, commemorated the death of St. Augustine. The Dublin congress commemorated the death of St. Patrick, Ireland’s patron saint.

The new Irish State mobilized its meager resources in order to meet the challenge posed by this show case event. The arrival of the special Papal Legate, Cardinal Lorenzo Lauri at Dún Laoghaire Harbour at the beginning of Congress Week was greeted by thousands along the harbour piers and the Papal Mass in the Phoenix Park six days later was attended by over 1,000,000 of the faithful. The event was considered to be an outstanding success. The Irish State had successfully entertained literally thousands of churchmen and laity who came to Dublin from every corner of the globe to pray.

The Congress was a logistical nightmare for the under resourced radio station. The station carried out a number of major outside broadcasts from across Dublin for the event. These programmes were relayed by landline to Athlone whose transmitter was operating at sixty kilowatts allowing coverage over much of Europe and more importantly the powerful transmitter allowed for coverage across Ireland. For those with radio sets it was a massive improvement in quality but the broadcasts were relayed on receivers in churches and halls across the country allowing everyone access for the first time to listen to 2RN. The Congress marked the first time that the overwhelmingly Catholic population heard the voice of the Pope relayed over the Athlone transmitter on the final day of the Congress. Reaction to the broadcasts in the print media was positive and commended the station on their achievements.

The Athlone transmitter was officially opened by Eamon DeValera on February 6th 1933 but some complaints remained that the station was too Dublin orientated as the studios and all of the programmes produced came from the GPO Studios in the capital. In January 1937 the Athlone transmitter power was increased to the full 100 kilowatts. Radio Athlone began life on 413m but the Lucerne Conference altered that to 513m medium wave. With the opening of Athlone, the Dublin transmitter was closed down and the station became known as Radio Athlone rather than 2RN. 

The Athlone transmitter building (c) Joe Guilfoyle

Although no longer in use, the building houses the oldest working 1930's Marconi transmitter

On December 31st 1961 a new television channel began and Radio Eireann became Radio Telifis Eireann. The television studios were located at Montrose in Donnybrook. The site at Montrose was originally bought by University College Dublin in June 1949 as a University Campus but in a swap UCD moved across the road to Belfield and the State took over the Montrose site. On the land was a house once lived in by Guglielmo Marconi, the father of radio whose mother Annie Jameson owned Montrose House. Jameson was related to the famous distilling family before she married Marconi’s father. 

  

In June 1960 Michael Scott of Scott, Tallon and Walker architects was appointed architect to design the new RTE television centre at Montrose. Scott had won acclaim as the architect of the Dublin central bus station Busaras. The contract to built the television studios was signed on October 3rd 1960 with the Government, RTE and Michael Scott with the builders E Stone of Thorncastle Street. The company had previously built the new stand at Lansdowne Road. The studios were the first building in Ireland to use pre-cast concrete and flat slab structure.[5]

A 380 ft a self supporting lattice steel tower in the grounds connected with transmitter site at Kippure in the Dublin Mountains. Following a tender process the contract to build the tower was awarded to Anderson & Martin Capital Equipment in association with Huso Verft and Mek of Tronsberg Norway with an estimated cost of £20,000. Working on behalf of Radio Eireann was Chief Engineer J. J. O’Keefe, A. G. Tobin head of transmitters which were built by Pye Limited.

By the end of the decade the GPO was now unfit for purpose as a broadcasting centre and a new purposely built radio centre was to be built at Montrose after almost a half century of radio broadcasting radio in Ireland was to get its first dedicated radio studios.

 RTE on top, Illinois Institute of Technology on the bottom, 

it's hard to tell the difference

Ronnie Tallon (1927 – 2014) of Scott, Tallon and Walker was appointed to design the RTE Radio Building.[6] Tallon was an admirer of Mies Van Der Rohe (b.1886 Germany d. 1969 US Citizen) who designed unornamented steel and lass skyscrapers.[7] The architects had previously worked on the building of the Illinois Institute of Technology and there is no escaping the similarity.

Work on the Radio centre commenced June 9th 1969 on 8 acres formerly used as the sports ground of nearby St. Andrews College. The original budget was £650,000 but eventually cost was over one million pounds. The final broadcast came from Henry Street on November 8th 1976.

When new legislation in 1988 created an independent commercial radio sector for the first time a national licence was granted to Century Radio but like the early days of Radio Eireann, they were located on the floor of an office block across the street from the iconic and historic Christ Church Cathedral. Located at One Christchurch Square, High Street, the station went on air on September 4th 1989 but due to financial troubles was gone within two years. To get on air the station’s owners had purchased the pirate radio transmitters and site of Sunshine Radio on the Northside of the city.

       Mornington House, Trim County Meath where the studios 

and offices of 252 were located.

The Transmitter building at Clarketown, Co Meath

When the joint venture of RTL (Radio Luxembourg) and RTE on longwave 252m, Atlantic 252 was launched and located in County Meath. The stations studios were located in a three-storey period building known as Mornington House on Summerhill Road in the town of Trim. According to the auctioneers[8] the building consisted of

Accommodation: ground floor, entrance hall with ornate stairs to first floor, production room (sub divided into smaller offices), boardroom, kitchen with filled floor and wall presses. ladies & gents toilets. First floor, four offices, reception, three studios. Second floor, two offices, landing office, library and links room.

This was not a purposely built radio station but an adapted studio facility. The stations powerful transmitter and aerial system at nearby Clarkestown were the subject of a number of High Court appeals by local residents and an active campaign to prevent its installation and operation. After the demise of Atlantic 252 Mornington House was bought by Meath County Council for their own uses in 2002 for € 750,000

Pirate radio had a long and colourful past and some locations for the stations have included Georgian Houses in the Dublin City Centre, garden sheds, attics and caravans. While no pirate radio station built a purpose built studio and broadcasting facility some stations purchased portacabins to broadcast from as they were easy to locate and to soundproof. Perhaps the largest and most successful pirate radio station was Radio Nova (1980 – 1986) who were initially located in a Georgian building on Herbert Street on the south side of Dublin city near the Grand Canal. 

There transmitter site was located at a nightclub complex in the foothills of the Dublin Mountains near Rathfarnham known as Green Acres. Following a number of raids on the station and the jamming of their microwave link from Herbert Street to their main transmitter, the station moved to Rathfarnham where the nightclub was renamed Nova Park. Q 102 also broadcast from the basement of a Georgian House on Upper Mount Street until the closure of the majority of pirate radio stations in December 1988 when new tougher legislation was enacted and a new Independent sector was created. Other stations because of their illegal nature found themselves located in Caravans, farm sheds and garages. 

When the independent franchises were awarded the national franchise was awarded to Century Radio, who located their headquarters in an office block in the shadows of Christchurch Cathedral on High Street. Their transmitter network was leased from RTE which two medium transmitters and their sites were bought from former pirate stations Sunshine Radio in Dublin and ERI in Cork. Century was a short lived station, closed to due crippling financial losses but the two successful Dublin candidates 98FM and Capital Radio were launched in 1989. Initially 98FM were located in Studios in a shopping centre on St. Stephen Green, while Capital Radio was located in the former Q 102 headquarters in a Georgian house on Upper Mount Street. 98FM would later move to a former granary silo building on the banks of the Grand Canal while FM 104 as Capital Radio was re-branded and moved to the upper floors of an office block in the docklands. The floors would be shared by FM 104 and a legal Q 102 who were both owned by the same parent company. In 2017[9] 98FM would move once again moving to its parent company’s new headquarters on Digges Lane, known as Marconi House.

Marconi House in the compact office block on Digges Lane

The only indication that the headquarters of FM 104 & Q 102 are located in the office block are name plates on the front entrance intermingled with other renters in the building.

The replacement for Century Radio was launched on March 17^th 1997 as Radio Ireland from studios located in the centre of the city at 112 Upper Abbey Street. Radio Ireland was rebranded as the nightly successful Today FM and would be purchased by 98FM’s parent company Communicorp. Today FM moved to Marconi House in 2007 followed by fellow stations 98FM and Spin 1038. The quasi national news channel NewsTalk also moved into the building from its original location on the upper floors of an office block on Upper Mount Street. The building also housed the failed Phantom/TX FM before its closure.

In Cork when 96 FM (originally known as Radio South) were awarded the local franchise for the city in 1989, the station set themselves up in the former pirate radio station ERI’s location in White’s Cross. In 1991, a merger took place between 96FM and the Mallow-based County Sound 103FM and some years later, the station moved premises from the rural Whites Cross (the former Radio ERI studios) to a city centre location at Patrick's Place, in a building which was formerly the location of Christian Brothers College. The station named its new premises 'Broadcasting House', but this building name is rarely referred to on air, except by Emmett Kennedy in the evenings.

                                 

As a number of the local franchises became more established and their contracts renewed by the overseeing Broadcasting Authority of Ireland[10] they began to move from second-hand premises seen as unfit for purpose, to purposed built broadcasting centres. The stations making that move include Waterford Local Radio (WLR) who moved from a building on George’s Street facing onto the quays in the city to a building at Ardkeen. Work began on the €3 million 10,000 square feet project began in 2002 with the new studios the following year but the cost had spiralled to over five million[11]. The official opening was performed by the then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern TD The station sold their former home in the city centre to property developers[12]. With WLR in the broadcast centre was the youth radio franchise for the South East, Beat 102-103. The station claimed that their new studios were the first purposely built radio studios since the development of Montrose for RTE Radio[13].

This was an exaggerated claim as LMFM serving the north east franchise area moved into their purposely built radio centre in 2001 with the official opening performed once again by the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in January 2002. When the station opened first in 1989 it’s main studio was located in the Boyne Centre in Drogheda with a satellite studios located in the Navan shopping centre[14] and Williamsons Mall in Dundalk. For LMFM, with their success they could financially absorb a move from rental accommodation to a dedicated studio and office facility.

One of the most popular and successful regional stations was MidWest Radio based in Ballyhaunis, County Mayo. Led by Paul Claffey who had run the pirate version of the same station up to the new legislation in 1989, MidWest moved into new fit for purpose premises on Clare Street in the town in 2000, a decade after they had been awarded the licence on a ten year basis. The station when it was awarded the licence was located on nearby Abbey Street.

Highland Radio first broadcast in March 1990 with the franchise for the North West of Ireland. Despite a challenge to their license in 2014, Highland Radio has been located in the same premises in the Pinehill Industrial Park on the outskirts of Letterkenny. While the building was built as a storage area by the Boal family and never envisaged as a broadcast facility, the station has created a permanent location for the station in the building.

© Google Maps

© Radio Today

One of the few purposely built radio buildings in Ireland was that of Radio Na Gaeltachta in County Galway in 1972. When the Government gave the go ahead for the Irish language channel which would primarily serve the Gaeltacht areas, its headquarters would be situated in the main Gaeltacht area in County Galway. The architect firm of Nolan and Quinlan on Pembroke Street, Dublin were employed on the design and James Stewart Limited were awarded the contract for the build. The main single storey studio building consisting of three studios, two control rooms and sundry office space would be built at Derrynea in Connemara while a transmitter site five miles away was located at Bealadangan. The Government allocated a quarter of a million pounds for the building project and a further ninety thousand for transmitters. Satellite stations were to be built later in Kerry and Donegal.  

End of Part One

---

[1] James North Auctioneers description 1956

[2] Dublin City Corporation

[3] Dail/Oireachtas Historic Debates 1926

[4] The RTE Archive

[5] The Irish Times December 4^th 2010

[6] archiseek.com

[7] Free Dictionary

[8] Sherry Fitzgerald Auctioneers in 1972

[9] Radio Today June 11^th 2017

[10] Formerly known as The Independent Radio and Television Commission (IRTC) & The Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI).

[11] Waterford News and Star April 9^th 2004.

[12] The Irish Independent October 3^rd 2002

[13] Waterford News and Star April 9^th 2004.

[14] The Dundalk pirate radio station Radio Carousel also had a studio located in the Navan Shopping Centre

The 15-24 Market Have Abandoned Irish Radio

With the release recently of the years JNLR figures for October 2018 - September 2019 there must be some concern within the industry in Ireland as the 15 -24 year old age grouping has abandoned the medium as newer platforms. The JNLR figures does not take account of some stations that are not in the JNLR sweeps including Spirit Radio and Christmas FM, nor does it include those who listen via station apps or apps like Ireland Radio and Tunein. But in the battle for the advertising euro this is a worrying trend in seven years. 

In Dublin and the greater Dublin area there has been almost a 20% decline in young listeners who now prefer Spotify or online stations like the current Halloween FM. There is also the persistent issue of pirate radio stations broadcasting dance music not heard on licensed radio. The effect has been felt even by stations that clearly market themselves as for a younger generation. Over the same period Spin 1038 has seen a 9% decline while crucially FM 104, the city's market leader has seen a 14% decline in the 15-24 year old statistics. The only station that has seen similar year on figures or slight modest gains of less than 2% has been RTE 2 FM. 

While the Cork numbers for the 'Listened Yesterday' in the 15-24 group was down 8%, the Cork 96FM/C 103 group were down 13% while Red FM was down 4%. There is no doubt as habits of the younger listener changes and the market fragments, the traditional stations are going to struggle more to attract and maintain listenership. For many younger listeners the stations have lost spontaneity as repetitive playlists and voice tracking have alienated that generation of listeners. 

Listened Yesterday 15-24 Year Old

                          National    Dublin    Cork     South    South   North    N. East    Multi-     Dublin

                                                                         East      West    West      & Mid     City     Commuter
2011-2012             80             76          84          78         86        84          77           80           77
2018 - 2019           70             57          76          73         77        82          69           65           59
                             -10%        -19%      -8%       -5%      -9%      -2%       -8%        -15%       -18%

Early GAA on Television

If you visit the excellent GAA Museum at Croke Park you will see their current exhibition 'Wireless to Wifi' which tells the story of how the media has covered the GAA games since it became the first field sport to be broadcast on radio on 2RN in 1926.

The exhibition lauds the fact that when television arrived in Ireland in 1962, the fledgling RTE covered Gaelic games on television but the history of Gaelic Games on television stretches back further into the early days of television.


In September 1950, the BBC in the midlands of England had cameras and crew on had at Robin Hood stadium to cover the British Hurling Championship game between the local John Mitchels club and the ultimately victorious London's St. Mary's on a scoreline of 4-4 to 2-3. In the newspaper it was described as 'hockey with inhibition' and commentary was provided by RTE's voice of the GAA, Michael O'Hehir. Highlights of the game with shown on a sports round up show the following night.

In New York following the success of the 1947 All Ireland Final won by GAA, the local GAA committee and the authorities in Croke Park attempted to expand the games on the far side of the Atlantic. This included exhibition games similar to the more recent All Star tours and in the early 1950's the National League Final was payed between the winners of the 'Home' final and New York. These games gained widespread coverage amongst the Irish media in New York but also on television when a local brewer provided the sponsorship to have the game televisied. 

In 1948, The Munster Express reported that Waterford played Kilkenny in New York with highlights of the game shown on TV. 

From the Irish Independent July 22nd 1950