1930's Irish Radio Analysis - Part One. Society Changed by the Wireless

Irish Radio in the 1930's was to be educational. Its early aims were to teach farmers how to farm better and improve productivity holding out the dream of a better way of life. It would teach new languages including Irish, French, German and Esperanto. It would help to teach children many of whom had left school early to work the family farm or just to survive. Radio would provide women more help in the kitchen, which they rarely left. There was a hope that the station could be all things to everyone but it ended up being nothing to anyone except those who could criticise or take monetary advantage. The arrival of radio would alter the Irish people and their persona more than the introduction of the telegraph, telephone or even television. Rural Ireland and its way of life would be radically altered with the arrival of the station and radio itself.

The monetary value of radio broadcasts were exploited as village fairs, fetes and charity events across Ireland advertised ‘Dances by Wireless’ as a way of generating revenue. These events were ‘paid in’ events with music relayed by a radio set (known popularly as ‘the wireless’) on a stage and dancing on the main floor, an early form of nightclub or for a later generation The TV Club. These events were often organised by the local parish priest to raise funds for local charities, church and school repairs or for the running of the church itself. The parochial organisers often saw themselves as the ‘censor in chief’ monitoring what their flock listened to and protecting the moral fibre of the community. Prior to the arrival of the ‘Irish station’ this was difficult as they had no control over the choice of music being played by international radio stations.

Entertainment was an escape from the trauma of the battlefield, the poor and distressed living conditions and the mundane hand to mouth existence of much of the rural Irish population. In many homes in Ireland late at night the only light in the front room was the light of the Sacred Heart photograph on the wall and in the dial of their radio set. For rural Ireland many of the new technologies of the early part of the twentieth century like the motor car, the aeroplane and even electricity meant little to the Irish farmer, who dominated Ireland’s ‘industrial’ output in the 1920's but radio was affordable especially with a homemade crystal set. An increase in the number of licences in rural Ireland was not seen until the latter part of the thirties as listeners abandoned the crystal set for a production model. The increase was also attributed to the launch of not just a Dublin broadcasting station but a national station accessible in every part of the country.

What difference would radio make to the simple, uneducated farmer living in Dingle or Ballina? Rural Ireland was isolated, it was agricultural based and poorly educated. News of happenings outside your four walls came through word of mouth often offered at the church gates on a Sunday or the communal newsreader. The communal newsreader was the local who had a better degree of education than most and was able to read the newspaper. This led to a gathering where the reader would educate and entertain their neighbours with the contents of a newspaper that was often more than a week old. But events outside their townland or parish had little effect on their lives or so they assumed. M.R. Heffernan TD, the Secretary at the Department of Posts and Telegraphs in an article he wrote for The Irish Radio News told the farming community that he believed

            ‘broadcasting will help towards filling the gaps in the lives of our rural population, which gaps at present are dull and uncultivated gaps.’

The arrival of radio made the communal newsreader unemployed as you did not need to read and write to be able to listen to the news via the wireless and form your own opinions. There was still the gathering, the social third place after work and domestic living, but the nature and tone of the gathering had changed. Before radio broadcasts, entertainment centered on the house party. Locals would gather, drink perhaps some locally distilled spirit, sing traditional tunes and sean nos dance on the grey flagged stone floors while maintaining the Irish art of the storytelling. But now the radio broadcast was the centre of attention. People listened in silence to the music and the news.

The local traditional music was not just the only music available to the listener especially the young and impressionable. Marching band music, Operas, Jazz, crooning which was invented for radio vied with traditional Irish music for the listeners attention with the native airs no longer locally based but a national identity.  Musicians from Kerry could now hear musicians from Donegal and like an accent or a dialect there were often variations in the way the same traditional tune was played. There were new influences appearing in traditional Irish music much to the dismay of traditionalists and purists and for this radio was blamed. It was a diluting of the traditional and a moving away from the Irish culture and heritage that was once almost lost and certainly driven underground under Britain rule. For many who did not appreciate how radio worked, their belief that an Irish radio station could have the same isolationist attitude as the nation as a whole ignored the fact that the ether was carrying other influences and stations into the sometime naïve Ireland.  

But now the social equilibrium was broken as a new voice entered the home. This new unseen voice was full of new ideas, ideologies and advancements that produced change faster than the listener could adapt. The radio set was the first piece of twentieth century technology to enter the Irish home. In most houses even before electricity the radio set was the only piece of modern furniture. For many households who bought an imported radio set it was a major investment in tough economic times.

Women were suddenly not lonely when their men folk were out in the fields or cutting turf on the bogs. They were gaining in independence, more receptive to new ideas. The radio was a window on the world rather than a world that just involved the people and events of the next town land. The Irish had let this unseen stranger into their homes in a very intimate way. There were no formal introductions, their way no way to judge by a man’s looks if he was honest or not. This voice from the box was invading a space traditionally reserved for the man of the house even though that person by the act of purchasing a radio set issued an unwritten invitation. The sense of wonderment that somehow you were listening to a broadcaster or a musician in Paris, France while you sat in your kitchen in Kerry was in itself a complicated concept to accept by a simple man from of the land. If you lived on an isolated farm the only voices you would hear were those of your family, your neighbours and perhaps a few villagers as you attended Mass on a Sunday. This totalled less than one hundred people but by listening to the radio you had doubled that total in one week.

People began to speak about presenters in the same way they would talk about a family member even though they would never actually cross paths. Presenters were becoming household names. There was a third presence in a marriage whether the spouses liked it or not. The first battle over what should be listened to was now breaking out. Different styles of music and not just Irish traditional music was drawing greater audiences. When local musicians came to the house they played the tunes they knew and same way they always played them but they were now becoming redundant as with a turn of the dial or a movement of the aerial, ‘new’ music was being heard.

When they heard Birmingham, Manchester, Pittsburgh or New York there was a sense of connection for many of the older generations as these were the cities that their families had emigrated to during and after the famine. Many had lost touch completely never knowing for sure if their brother, sister, son or daughter made it to their new land of opportunity. Even though there was no direct personal contact on the radio, the thought that you were hearing programmes from New York at the same time as a family member was in that city brought a sense of peace and understanding. It drew line under some of the hurt caused by the enforced separations.

Radio changed the social activities of the natives. Radio became a national culture and a disseminator of culture. No longer did people have a parochial or provincial window on life they were now part of a bigger country or the world Listeners across the length and breath of the country were able to hear the same music, talk or news at the same time as everyone else. The advertisement of products was now a national endeavour rather than a local necessity.  Radio became a shared experience with people they would never meet. There was no need to leave the house to be entertained. No need to go to the theatre as 2RN broadcast plays, no need for vaudeville as comedians embraced the new medium and the musical hall came to your living room rather than the need to travel or pay an admission fee even though a licence fee was required to listen to the radio but the purchase of licences outside the urban conurbations was slow. The radio also meant that your entertainment requirements were not affected by inclement weather. The way we were entertained and the way we demanded to be entertained reached new plateaus.

The men of the nation were able to listen to a broadcast of the All Ireland GAA Finals live and we will look as the new stations uneasy relationship with Ireland’s largest sporting body in the next post.

A Couple of Slides from NORTHERN IRELAND PIRATE RADIO Lecture

'No Borders' Radio in Ireland

Just like it is today the border between the new Irish Free State and Northern Ireland following the passing of the Treaty that ended the War of Independence was not to everyone’s liking but radio did not recognize so called hard borders and its signal in the ether was transnational. 

On December 13^th 1927 at 8 pm a unique experiment took place, that at least for forty five minutes united the island of Ireland. A comedy revue titled ‘Hip Hip Hooradio’ was staged at the Empire Theatre in Belfast. The show was transmitted live by the Belfast radio station 2BE but in a moment of broadcasting history it was also relayed by 2RN in Dublin and 6CK in Cork. 

The Lord Mayors of the three cities recorded greetings for each other which were aired before the relay. The Lord Mayor of Belfast Rt. Hon. Sir William Turner attended the Empire in person and spoke into the microphone from the stage. The comedy revue was written by Richard Hayward and Gerald McNamara and was described in the pre-publicity as having ‘seventeen scenes of fun and frolic’ performed by the Ulster Players. The show was set in a radio station studio. Some of those who performed in the show were Vivian Worth, Marian Wright, Kitty Murphy, Dorothy Camlin, Jack Chambers, Richard Hayward, Jack Gavin and Kenneth Coffey.

 While the relay was well advertised in the Dublin newspapers, the Belfast newspaper like the Telegraph and the Northern Whig advertised the show at the Empire Theatre just before it closed for renovations and the fact that it would be relayed on the 'wireless' but did not push the fact that it was being relayed on Free State radio stations. 

Gardening Shows on Pirate Radio

When I was conducting interviews into research on Belfast pirate radio, one story that stood out was Speak Your Peace 101 FM. The station based above a vegetable shop was challenging, diverse and anarchist. It's diversity is best illustrated as one of the programmes that they aired was a discussion on the market conditions on the then sale of drugs in Belfast. They provided current street prices on various illegal narcotics and while they did not endorse the taking of drugs they did give general directions as to where drugs could be purchased. They show and its presenters proved very popular with listeners but not with the authorities but the authorities were listening and taking notes as a number of raids and arrests followed discussions on the air. 

To follow this controversial show was 'The Gardening Hour', but this was no ordinary horticultural show in fact the show gave an in depth guide on how to grow and cultivate cannabis, and like the lead it show it proved very popular on Speak Your Peace.

The Legacy of Irish Pirate Radio

What is the real legacy of pirate radio in Ireland? As we approach the 30^th anniversary of the Wireless Telegraphy Act and the closing of many of Ireland’s most iconic and successful pirate radio stations was there more to that period other than the rosy tinted nostalgia for a pre-social media, fake news and Brexit?

Pirate radio has a long tradition in Ireland dating back to the 1916 Rising when a rebel radio apparatus made Ireland the first nation in the world to be declared by radio. In Britain the pirate radio that created the need for a pop music channel was located on the high seas with the likes of Radio Caroline but in Ireland the radio buccaneers remained on dry land. The plethora of pirate radio stations in Ireland exposed the listening public to the possibility of an alternative to RTE Radio. It created an awareness of the power of radio and it also demonstrated to financial giants that radio in Ireland could generate huge turnovers.

Pirate radio across Ireland in cities, towns and villages gave a voice to communities and allowed local businesses to advertise local people. The golden era of pirate radio for the decade 1978 to 1988 was the birth of a fledgling radio industry that today directly employs hundreds of people and indirectly thousands in ancillary service such as transmission provision, PR companies and advertising agencies. In the late seventies the hobby, bedroom room, homemade transmitter pirate station was making way for more grounded yet still illegal stations with imported purposely built transmitters, studios and offices located in Georgian buildings and formats that were attracting listeners and advertisers.

It created a host of media personalities many of them still on radio and television today. Household names trained and mentored on pirate radio. Pirate radio was a beacon of light in times of local crises. RTE is a national state broadcaster trying to cater to everyone’s needs and tastes while BLB was Bray Local Broadcasting in every sense of its title. When Hurricane Charlie struck the seaside town in 1986, BLB was the glue that held a community together. It informed, it comforted and it made a difference.

Without pirate radio some of Ireland’s most famous musicians would not have had a platform for success. Would U2 have become the global force they have become if in the 1970's and 80's they were solely reliant on RTE Radio 2 for exposure? Would Daniel O’Donnell have become the massive star he is without the airplay from TTTR, Radio Star Country or Mid West Radio?

Pirate radio shone a light on dull, dark Ireland and for that as a nation we should be thankful and praise the contribution of all those pirate broadcasters across Ireland we have made a difference.

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

A Century of Irish Radio Reviews

A Century of Irish Radio 1900 -2000

This new book tells the story of how this popular medium with much of its early history centered in Ireland, has revolutionised and changed Irish society more than any other medium.

“An excellent work, this book is a must”, Ian Biggar, The DX Archive (Scotland)

“An excellent read”, Amazon 5* review by Premier Radio

“If you’ve an interest in broadcasting, this book is for you. Well worth the money”, Aidan Cooney Q102 Presenter and former Ireland AM (TV3) host

“Eddie’s magnus opus is the most comprehensive work on the history and evolution of radio in Ireland. Historically important record” Eoin Morgan News4 Newspaper
“A great book”, Ralph McGarry radio presenter

“A superb read” E. Burbage on Goodreads

“A great read” Rob Allen 96FM Cork

This comprehensive story begins when Ireland became the first nation in the world to be declared by radio during the iconic events of the 1916 Easter Rising. It charts the birth of legal radio in 1926 which is shrouded in scandal and reports of corruption with fatal consequences. Irish radio while born in the twenties, the evolutionary 1930's would change how the Irish listener consumed and interacted with the’ wireless’. The book tells why Radio Eireann’s revenue in 1932 was £220 but a year later they reported revenues of £22,000. In the 1930’s you could learn to swim on the radio or listen to commentaries on the International Fishing competitions held on the rivers and lakes of Ireland. You can read about an anti-Jazz movement whose legal ramifications are still felt today and how the Church and State battled both for and on the airwaves. We unravel an urban myth that the first ever radio broadcast of ‘The Saint’ was on Radio Eireann in 1940. The book tells the story of the first man in the world to die on hunger strike, Sean McNeela having been convicted of pirate radio broadcasting. The book acknowledges the real success of Radio Eireann as it transformed rural Ireland on limited resources and offered women a new independence and perspective.

The Irish language was relegated to third place for a time on the official airwaves but the radio battle for our native language to have access to the ether has been long, protracted and eventful. Irish radio has been a conduit for propaganda and has become Americanised with men like Bill Cunningham changing how we consume radio, the giveaways, the profits and even the success and failure of Atlantic 252. The book tells how this nation interacts with the rest of the world through radio and how ironically it was two Englishmen Leonard Plugge and Chris Cary who revolutionised radio in Ireland.

For the first time ever, the book lists and offers station histories of over one thousand illegal pirate radio stations from the first conviction of Michael Madden in 1935 to the commercial successes of the so called super pirates of the 80’s with Nova and ERI. The book examines the impact of political pirate radio in Northern Ireland at the beginning of the troubles and how paramilitary pirate stations brought down a Government and accelerated the end of a major political career. It documents how pirate radio and TV both threatened Government policy and led to dramatic change. As an avalanche of pirate radio stations across the country forced new legislation creating legal independent radio and television, commercial interests would dominate and cause further controversy with stories of fraud and corruption.

Learn about the good and evil within pirate radio, how this illegal activity created today’s radio industry. ‘A Century of Irish Radio 1900-2000’ covers the border blasters, the innovators, the urban myths are dismantled, and we reveal the careers of characters and presenters from Michael O’Hehir and Larry Gogan to Dave Fanning and Andy Preston. The first full comprehensive history of Irish radio in decades is detailed in this 595-page book.

Copies of the book can be purchased here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Century-Irish-Radio-1900-2000/dp/1717899641