When A Radio Station Isn't A Radio Station

Through the pandemic of 2020, radio has proved to be vital in both delivering information and entertainment. Radio is still king. But as we hurtle through the early part of the twenty first century, the discussion as to what exactly the definition of radio is, has taken centre stage and led to differing opinions. For decades radio was delivered through a transmitter on various wavelengths and frequencies but today, what is described as ‘audio content delivery’, reaches our ears via analogue radio, digital radio, podcasts or online radio apps. But while we discuss today was a radio station is, that same discussion could have easily taken place in the late 1970’s.

Like today, the image we have of radio, is a studio with a presenter behind the microphone and the content then fed into a transmitter, to broadcast through the ether to your radio set. But in the 1970’s and early eighties radio came advertised in different forms, on air with everything except a transmitter, thus avoiding any law breaking and being deemed a pirate radio station.

There were numerous different varieties of operations that called themselves ‘radio’ but were not in the purest sense of the word.

Firstly there was the ‘Festival Radio Station’. In many rural towns and villages, the highlight of the social calendar was the local festival or fete, attracting both locals and tourists. These festivals ranged from accordion, Wild Boar, Trout, May Day, Christmas shopping to Cheese promotion festivals. The promoters of these festivals advertised a ‘radio station’ to entertain and inform but rather than transmitter based these stations like Omagh Festival Radio, Athlone’s and Carrick-on-Shannon’s celebration of the River Shannon and Radio Loughshinny were ‘broadcast’ via a public address systems attached to poles in the town or from speakers hung outside the festival office.

Secondly came the Hospital Radio stations. From the 1930’s hospitals installed speakers and later as technology evolved, bedside headphones so that patients could be entertained. Initially these systems piped Radio Eireann through the cables but then hospital specific studios were set up to broadcast within the hospital. These proved extremely popular with most major hospitals having their own ‘radio’ station. Hospital radio was extremely popular in Northern Ireland.

Next came school based radio stations. As the interest of the younger generation focussed on radio for entertainment and as transistors became more widespread, with these transistors often tuned into pirate radio stations, school authorities tried to tap into this interest by allowing pupils set up their own ‘radio station’ to broadcast at lunchtime through intercom systems. A number of these students would later become involved in pirate radio and would trace their interest in ‘radio’ broadcasting back to those early school stations.

By the seventies, ‘radio’ was everywhere and with the state broadcaster Radio Eireann attempting to cater for all tastes, the need for the broadcasting of popular programmes and music was growing rapidly. Pirate radio offered one alternative, but others emerged. When President Erskine Childers opened the expansive entertainment complex of Leisureland in Galway, one of its attractions was its very own ‘radio station’ broadcasting through the centre’s ‘closed circuit’ system. It paved the way for other venues to follow the example and these stations provided an alternative, employment and training for future broadcasters.

Another ‘radio’ station that gained widespread publicity was CIE’s radio train. The first excursion departed Kingsbridge (now Heuston) Station on November 6^th !949. The idea sprung from two CIE employees Pat Heneghan and Gerry Mooney and was designed originally to make the centenary of the opening of the Dublin to Cork rail link. A studio was installed in one of the carraiges and the ‘broadcasts’ were piped through the train. On that first trip the man ‘spinning the discs’ and entertaining the passengers was Terry O’Sullivan. The trip was an instant success and every year throughout the fifties the number of trips of the Radio train increased and were often sold out. It proved just as popular as CIE’s other novelty trips ‘The Mystery Train’. The company also ran specials including an Irish language return trip to Galway and a Pioneers trip with the bar carriage removed. The bus service attempted to piggy back on the success of the trains by advertising a ‘Radio Bus’ but it was simply a guide on a microphone telling some stories and inviting passengers to sing.

Later incarnations of radio stations with the transmitter included the Virgin Record Store on Aston Quay that opened in the late eighties and stations built into new shopping centres to entertain and promote the shops in the centre.

The Not So Long Arm of The Law

The mere nature of pirate radio broadcasting was that you were breaking the law. The authorities did 

not want you on air and to effect your departure raids took place. Often a raid would suffice to have 

the station at least lay low for awhile but in order to send out warnings to others, court cases 

followed and station operators were fined a paltry amount which rarely served as a deterrent.  

Occasionally the pirate stations found themselves further up the court chain other than the District or 

Circuit Courts. From time to time the names of the illegal pirate radio stations found themselves 

been spoken of in the hallowed corridors of both the High Court and even the Supreme Court. Here 

are some of the High Court appearances of pirate stations from 1978 - 1988. 

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 Irish Legacy of Ronan O'Rahilly and Radio Caroline

In The Beginning, the Irish Dimension

With the passing of Ronan O’Rahilly in April 2020, a colossus of radio broadcasting has left a legacy that will stand the test of time and has made a massive impression on radio broadcasting in Ireland. While his beloved Radio Caroline was a familiar sight off the South East of England, its influence on both radio and music in 1960’s Britain cannot be underestimated. It forced the British Government to enact new legislation outlawing the almost a dozen pirate radio ships that blasted pop music into Britain and it forced the BBC to reorganise and compete with the opening of a dedicated pop channel in 1967, BBC Radio One. In the month when Ronan passed onto the afterlife, both BBC Radio One and Radio Caroline still broadcast today. But while Caroline’s history focusses mainly on its influence on Britain, Ireland has played a key role in that colourful history and this is that story.

At the helm of Radio Caroline was Ronan O’Rahilly. He was born in Clondalkin, Dublin in 1940, his father Aodogan was a well-known and wealthy businessman, regarded as an influential ally of Eamon DeValera, while his grandfather Michael O’Rahilly was better known as The O’Rahilly, sacrificed his life during the 1916 Easter Rising having been shot dead while leading a charge on a British position at the end of Moore Street.

While still a teenager Ronan left Dublin and made his way to the centre of the new music industry, London’s club scene. In Soho, the young Ronan began to manage a music club and saw some of the up and coming artists including the Kinks and the Animals make their first steps into the limelight.  Despite managing several pop acts one of his favourite was Georgie Fame. He recorded a Georgie Fame record on his own independent label, unheard of at the time. He took the record to the BBC to try to get it played. He discovered that the record industry was dominated by EMI and Decca. He then tried to get it played on Radio Luxembourg, the Great 208, who were the commercial pop station most listened to in England at the time and O’Rahilly discovered closed doors and that the shows were 'owned' by labels like EMI, Pye and Decca. They were essentially 'payola' shows and featured only music from the paying label. He said, "I have recorded the guy, so I can't get it played, so we have to start a radio station."

The ship was originally a Baltic ferry the MV Frederica built in 1929 and purchased by Ronan O’Rahilly for the reported £20,000. It was taken to the port of Greenore in early 1964 to be converted into a radio station including a 180-foot aerial and renamed the MV Caroline. He chose the port of Greenore as it was at the time privately owned by his father Aodogan O'Rahilly who died in 2000. At the same time, the Caroline was being fitted out as a radio station a second ship was in the port also being fitted out as a radio station, the MV Mi Amigo which would broadcast as Radio Atlanta. Atlanta planned to be on the air first but technical issues forced into port for repairs and did not get on air until May 1964.

A parent company was registered in Ireland to operate Radio Caroline in 1964. The company Planet Production Limited was dissolved in 1981. A second company was registered to sell advertising for the ship with Planet Sales Limited also registered companies in Ireland. When the ship left the port, it carried out test transmissions as it sailed through the Irish Sea. The authorities were informed that the ship was heading to Spain but as it passed Lands End it took a sharp left and headed up the English Channel, maintaining radio silence, to anchor of Felixstowe on England’s east coast. Their signal would cover most of the south coast of England including the important advertising market of London. On Easter Saturday, 28 March, it began regular broadcasting at noon on 197.3 metres/1520 kHz announced as 199 as it rhymed with Caroline, with the opening conducted by Simon Dee. The first programme was hosted by Chris Moore. Within months the station was boasting audiences of 7 million listeners. The rapid sales of portable transistor radios across Ireland created a wider audience with radio shop advertisements stating that purchasers would easily listen to Radio Luxembourg or Radio Caroline.

In July 1964, Radio Atlanta and Radio Caroline's parent companies merged, with Allan Crawford, an Australian music publisher and Ronan O'Rahilly as joint managing directors. Radio Atlanta closed at 8 p.m. that day. It was renamed Radio Caroline South and MV Mi Amigo remained off the English east coast while MV Caroline broadcast under the name Radio Caroline North. MV Caroline sailed to the Isle of Man and her new anchorage at Ramsey Bay, on 6 July 1964. The two stations were able to cover most of the British Isles.

Radio Caroline North had operated off the coast of the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea from July 1964 until March 1968 and was well received and popular across the West coast of Britain and across both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It meant that Caroline’s audience was now in excess of 25 million. The station continued as the new Marine Broadcasting Offences Act came into force, anchored in international waters outside the 3-mile limit. The two ships were supplied from ‘foreign’ countries namely Holland through Amsterdam supplying fuel and food supplies by tender for Caroline South off Felixstowe and from Dundalk for Caroline North. The Dutch tug ‘Offshore III’ (misidentified in the newspaper as the Foreshore III) was originally used to supply the MV Caroline from the Isle of Man but with the introduction of the new Marine Offences Act, the tender sailed to Dundalk, loaded with supplies and sailed back and forth to the ship. The new Act which put pressure on advertisers meant that some bills to Dutch firms were not being paid and in a co-ordinated operation, Dutch tugboats seized both ships in March 1968 and they were towed to Holland.

Caroline Showband & Musical Interlude

The showband scene was exploding in Irish dancehalls in the early sixties and as with the pop music explosion, for airtime exposure, showbands would have to turn to the pirates. Radio Eireann played little or no modern music on its single channel. The opening of Radio Caroline in 1964, helped showbands reach the top of the charts. To ride that wave, Radio Caroline launched their own showband in Ireland, The Caroline Showband in 1964. The band, a publicity exercise to advertise Radio Caroline around the country, received extensive newspaper coverage especially as their lead singer Earl Jordan was a coloured singer. Jordan, although born in Buffalo, New York, came to England with the US Air Force and following his departure from the USAF, he arrived in Dublin in December, 1963.The band would be managed by Caroline’s representative in Ireland at the time, Kilkenny born Jim Craig. The band made its debut at a reception in Dublin's Gresham Hotel on Tuesday, December 22nd, 1964. The original line-up included: Kevin Brady (RIP-Dublin-drums), Earl Jordan (Buffalo, New York-vocals), Tony Kearns (Drogheda-sax), Reginald Dunne (Dublin-guitar), Kevin Gregan (Dublin-bass), Tony Coffey (Dublin-keyboards), Harry Burrows (Birmingham-sax), and Michael Burns (Sligo-trumpet). The manager was Frank Traynor of Dublin. On stage the band wore dark blue suits with Earl decked out in a white blazer. One of the highlights of their early success was headlining at a gala ball held at the Powerscourt Estate in County Wicklow attended by Irish born Princess Grace of Monaco.

While the showbands were hugely popular with a certain generation of music listeners and goers and in rural Ireland, the rural popularity of Radio Caroline and with the showband fans was relatively weak. The Caroline showband were excluded from receiving airplay on Radio Eireann and this seemed to detract from their reach in places like Galway, Kerry and Cork. This need to expand their reach and incidents around a barbeque held in Brittas Bay that led to violence, in July 1965, The Caroline Showband and Jim Craig end their association with Radio Caroline. Shortly after Jordan would leave the band, they would take on a new manager and would be renamed.

The barbeque was a PR disaster for Radio Caroline in Ireland in 1965. In June 1965, Radio Caroline through its subsidiary Club Caroline advertised and sold tickets for a barbeque to be held on Dalkey Island. The club was run by Dennis Binns and Jim Craig. The event was to take place on Saturday June 26th 1965. The tickets were an immediate and popular success. Over one thousand tickets at a guinea each were sold and the plan was to transport guests across to the island by boat from Coliemore Harbour. Several acts promoted by Radio Caroline, including the Caroline Showband, were to appear on the bill. A week before the events the local council stepped in and announced that no permissions had been sought or given for the event to take place within their jurisdiction. The Gardai were placed on standby to prevent the event taking place in the upmarket area of South Dublin. With mounting opposition with the local community, Caroline’s organisation in Ireland decided to change the venue and moved to a privately owned beach at Brittas Bay in County Wicklow. Unfortunately, the event in Wicklow was not all smoothly run, the lighting failed and the grills failed to work. In the early hours of the morning, according to one newspaper report ‘just be before dawn’, frustrations and excess consumption of alcohol led to violence and the intervention of the Gardai riot police.

Another group to receive a significant boost to their careers were The Dubliners. The Ronnie Drew and Luke Kelly led group released ‘Seven Drunken Nights’ in March 1967. The single was released on the Major Minor label that was owned by Phil Solomons, see Solomons later involvement in Irish radio’s revolution in 1980 later in this article. The song, despite not receiving any airplay on BBC Radio, reached No. 7 UK charts and led to an appearance on BBC TV’s Top of the Pops and as a result of its chart position was played on the radio. Because of the raunchy lyrics in the last two verses of the song, the track was banned by RTE Radio. Because it was Solomons’ record label who produced the track, Radio Caroline heavily plugged the song and with its reach into Ireland, Seven Drunken Night reached Number One in the Irish charts.

 Radio Caroline and RTE appearing side by side in the one advertisement.

This is Your Life on Board, Noel Andrews

A brother of Eamonn Andrews, who famously presented What’s my Line and This is Your Life on TV, Noel broadcast his first show ‘Andrews Live’ on Radio Caroline on Tuesday December 1st 1964 as Caroline was now averaging a listenership in the British Isles of 28 million every day. The first track he played was fellow Irishmen The Batchelors who were now heading for stardom in Britain. A popular broadcaster with the housewives previously on radio Eireann where he presented ‘Housewives Choice’ programmes and also was extremely popular on sponsored shows, many of them produced by his brother’s production studio. Not only was he appearing on Radio Eireann presenting the Irelands Top Ten show (broadcast on a Monday at 6.45pm for 30minutes) When he returned to Radio Eireann he was relegated to presenting Children’s programmes.

Caroline House, Looks Over the Irish Parliament

With the arrival of Caroline off the Manx coast, their transmissions were heard widely across Ireland and an opportunity to grab some of the lucrative advertising pie. With this in mind, Jim Craig was appointed Caroline’s representative in Ireland and they opened offices in August 1964 at 27 Molesworth Street, dubbed Caroline House. Today that building is incorporated into Buswells Hotel. These offices were directly across the road from the Irish parliament building, Leinster House.

Caroline Racing, Speeds into Print

In a further attempt to keep the Caroline prominently featured in newspapers across the British Isles, Radio Caroline began to sponsor a car racing team. They entered a Brabham Formula Junior car in the Irish championship, their car driven by D Romano. The team entered the Leinster Trophy scratch race at Dunboyne raceway and it warranted the arrival of Ronan O’Rahilly himself, who newspapers reported had flown into Dublin on a private jet to be greeted by his father. Unfortunately for O’Rahilly it was a wasted trip as his car failed to qualify for the starting grid. He flew back to London the following day.

The Caroline Shop, Belfast Sales

Radio Caroline proved extremely popular in Northern Ireland. In order to create a buzz and publicity on Saturday December 12th 1964, Radio Caroline opened a record shop on Andersonstown. The official opening was performed by one of the most popular DJ’s on Caroline Simon Dee. He recounted that his arrival at Belfast was greeted like that of a pop star with hundreds lining the street outside the shop in anticipation of his arrival. Also, on hand for the opening was Jim Craig, the Caroline manager in Ireland.

The Holy Trinity, Solomons, Robinson and Cary

A more important link to Caroline from an Irish legacy point of view is not just that it was an Irishman who built up the station but in 1966 the running and financial input from another music impresario into Caroline was hugely significant, the involvement of Phil Solomons. Solomons in the early sixties was the sole Decca Records distributor in Ireland. Two of Caroline’s most popular DJ’s were Robbie Dale and Spangles Muldoon and these three men would revolutionise Irish radio, all directly linked to Radio Caroline. It was Solomons’ money who financed Robbie Robinson’s (Dale) and Chris Cary’s (Muldoon) opening of Sunshine Radio in 1980 broadcasting from the Sands Hotel in Portmarnock. They three men saw the lax Irish broadcasting regime and while their originally plan was to put Sunshine on a ship, they had bought and berthed in Waterford harbour, why go back on rough seas when you could broadcast from plush surroundings of a hotel with little fear of a raid from the authorities and even if you were, the equipment confiscated had to be returned to you. The early sabotage of Sunshine’s aerial, explosives used by Radio Dublin owner Eamon Cooke, encouraged Solomons and Cary to sell their shares to Robinson. Cary having seen the success of Sunshine returned to the Dublin airwaves with perhaps the greatest and most popular station the capital ever saw, Radio Nova which opened in 1981 and the rest the say is history. (See the Radio Nova History in this Blog) All thanks to the connections made at Caroline.

The Legacy

Radio Caroline revolutionized radio for a generation, shining a light on a dark world. It led to the creation of BBC Radio 1 to compete for the ever-growing audience of young listeners. It provided an outlet for new music and it gave enjoyment to millions. It is still on the air, there is a nostalgia and a reverence for what Caroline was. It was a rebel, it was an influencer, it was a genuine attempt to provide what the listening public wanted.

In Ireland, Caroline opened up the possibility of an alternative to State media, and while we never had a pirate radio ship broadcasting into the country, Caroline’s success created a community of pirate radio pioneers across Ireland (some using the Caroline moniker in homage) and this pirate radio tidal wave eventually created the industry that broadcasts today.

The Pirate Radio of Dungloe

The small village of Dungloe in Donegal is famous for the Mary from Dungloe annual festival. In 1981 as part of RTE's mobile radio station community service, the station arrived in May 1981 although the Festival for which the town is globally known for was held around the August bank holiday weekend. The RTE station broadcast on 202m medium wave and on FM. 

For the festival, having seen the success of RTE's service in the locality, the organising festival committee in 1981 with the help of a local pirate radio station put their own station on the air to entertain and inform the thousands who visited the area for the festival. That years crowned Mary was Noreen Galligan who represented The Gaeltacht.

The following year the Festival station was back on the air broadcasting on 257m from an OB unit located in a caravan based on the main street in the village.

In 1983 the pirate station was again on the this time located on 192m on the medium wave band and on the air for ten days, including the festival itself and a couple of days before the official start of the festival. The reason for the extended broadcasting hours was to increase advertising income. 

In 1985, the locals in Dungloe yet again had their own festival station but this time RTE's mobile service returned to the town. 

The Festival Pirate Radio Stations of the 1970s

Throughout the seventies, towns and villages across Ireland organised local festivals to create entertainment and attract business. These festivals ranged from accordian festivals, Wild Boar, Trout, May Day, Christmas shopping and Cheese promotions. In the sixties and early seventies festivals advertised a ‘radio station’ to entertain and inform but rather than transmitter based these stations like Omagh Festival Radio, Athlone’s and Carrick-on-Shannon’s celebration of the River Shannon and Radio Loughshinny were ‘broadcast’ via a public address system attached to poles in the town or from speakers hung outside the festival office. From the mid-seventies , RTE’s mobile service broadcast live from various festivals but that was usually just for one year, rarely visiting the same town twice, therefore the festival committee’s seeing the success of the previous years broadcasts set up a transmitter and began to broadcast themselves. These included stations like Radio Ceilteach and Radio Letterkenny Folk Festival both in Donegal, Radio Charleville who were originally a RTE mobile visit but in subsequent years received the assistance of Big D Radio in Dublin to go on air but the ‘committee pointed out that this is festival radio not a pirate radio.’

Some of the stations that broadcast in the seventies via transmitters include,

Festival Radio Ardee – MW

In 1972 this early festival radio broadcast for the local festival celebrating December 8^th, a major shopping day before Christmas.

Festival Radio Ballinrobe – MW

This station operated from 8am – 10pm during the ‘Trout Festival’ which was held annually in June. It was first heard during the 1977 festival in the County Mayo town.

Festival Radio Charleville – 212m MW

In 1977 RTE’s mobile radio station visited the town for the Cheese Festival. For the following years with the assistance of Dublin’s Big D Radio, the festival committee put the festival station back on the air.

Festival Radio Ceilteach – 192m MW

This station was reported during the Falcarragh Celtic Music Festival in June 1979. Falcarragh is located in Donegal.

Festival Radio Downings – 192m MW

A local Donegal festival station that operated during July 1983.

Festival Radio Kanturk – 212m MW

Was heard broadcasting during the Wild Boar festival in July 1975. 

Festival Radio Kilmaine – MW

Organised by Pat and Jackie O’Connor, this county Mayo station broadcast for one festival from 16^th – 25^th June 1978.

Festival Radio Kilorglin – FM

Operated for the local Puck festival in August 1984, the temporary station was replaced by a more permanent station in the Kerry town in the years after. 

Festival Radio Letterkenny – 192m MW

This station was operated during the Letterkenny Folk Festival in August 1977.

Festival Radio Twin Towns – 192m MW

A Donegal based station that operated during a festival spread between the twin towns of Stranolar and Ballybofey during July 1983.

The Crazy World of 1930's Irish Radio

Radio Normandie's Headquarters near Felcamps France,

According to a January 1933 edition of the Irish Radio News magazine, a new entity The International Broadcasting Company was formed ‘to handle the advertisement side of the station’s activities’. The then Irish Minister for Posts and Telegraphs signed the contract with The IBC on August 23rd 1933.

The IBC was the brainchild of entrepreneur and British Conservative MP Leonard Plugge. He had identified a new radio market with programmes aimed at the British audiences from transmitters located outside that jurisdiction. His first venture was Radio Normandie which was initially a small low powered private radio station located in the North of France. Under his direction, a high powered transmitter was installed and broadcasts were aimed at London and the South of England. Lord Reith who ran BBC Radio at that time, believed that Sunday broadcasts from the Corporation should be of a sedate, religious nature and this opened up an opportunity for Plugge to launch a commercial alternative broadcasting the most popular music of the day and selling advertising. He even created and sold a face cream for women to prove the worth of radio advertising to prospective clients. 

Normandie was extremely popular with both listeners and advertisers. The station proved to be a major challenge for the BBC and it was only the intervention of the Second World War that curbed the private broadcasting boom. A second station opened to broadcast into London and that was Radio Luxembourg located in the Grand Duchy which would continue on its famous 208 frequency into the 1980s.

Plugge increased the availability of his sponsored programmes into the western half of Britain especially to cities like Manchester and Liverpool by utilising the new powerful Athlone transmitter. He rented airtime in the evenings from 9 – 11pm and to sweeten the pot for the capitalistic Plugge, Radio Eireann extended the available hours from November 1933 to include 1-4pm on Sunday afternoons. There were however many complaints within Ireland about the programming especially both the music being played and the products being advertised and as the contract expired on May 22nd 1934 it was not renewed by the Government. The sponsored programmes ceased except for one who did a direct deal with the Irish Government it being the infamous Irish Hospital’s sweepstakes. They knew from their research that the broadcasts were working in the UK as sales of their tickets continued to soar and so continued to sponsor a half hour show each night from ten o’clock. 

Generating finance was at the heart of these broadcasts into Britain as both Plugge and his IBC were selling advertising and Radio Eireann was making money from selling the airtime. The cost for Plugge’s sponsorship was listed as £120 per hour, £70 for a half hour, £55 for 20mins or £45 for 15minutes. The Irish Government’s decision to sell airtime meant that from earning £220 in advertising revenue in 1932, a year later the station had earned £22,000, a lifeline for the cash strapped station. Unfortunately for the station itself this new found wealth came at a price as the Government reduced the percentage of the licence fee paid to the station to finance its operations. 

In July 1938, Robert Silvey who had been hired by the BBC to analyse listener research, secretly reported to his bosses at Portland Place, BBC Headquarters that Radio Athlone’s largest proportion of listeners was not in Ireland but in the North West of England in Liverpool and Manchester this was attributed to the sponsored programmes and the ex-pat community in those areas. As a result of these findings and to compete with the success of Radio Athlone, the BBC’s Northern Regional transmitter network and finances were significantly expanded.

But at times Plugge liked to poke a stick at the authorities on both sides of the Irish Sea who ran radio at the time. In a BBC documentary on Plugge broadcast in August 2014, which included interviews with his the son, the documentary alluded to the fact that even in naming his company as 'The International Broadcasting Company' (later also known as The Industrial Broadcasting Company) the initials for the station I.B.C. when said quickly sounded like B.B.C.. He even based his company's London headquarters on Portland Place just yards from BBC Broadcasting House. 

And in using Radio Eireann's Athlone transmitter and frequency to beam his programmes into the West coast of Britain, he cheekily used the 'Come Back To Erin' song as his signature theme tune. The song had already been attributed to the first incarnation of Radio Eireann when it was launched in 1926 as 2RN (To Erin).

The Radio Pictorial January 1935

Radio Pictorial September 1938

Plugge also purchased airtime from other European stations to broadcast popular Irish music and to sell advertising allowing even Irish listeners to find an alternative on the dial for traditional Irish music and more current Irish music than was being played by Radio Eireann. Even Radio Luxembourg, then broadcasting on their pre-war frequency of 230m were broadcasting programmes specifically aimed at the 'Irish Free State' and selling advertising to the companies and products that while being sold in Ireland were denied airtime by the authoritarian management at Radio Eireann.