The 2021 Irish Radio Station Survey

On July 1st 2021, I carried out a survey on the choice of radio available to the Irish listeners in the Republic of Ireland. This survey was carried out over various platforms from traditional analogue FM/AM/SW, to DAB (the FreeDAB service), stations android Apps and numerous platforms including radio.ie's 'RadioLab', Tune-In, Streema, Irish Radio Player and Radio Garden. There were 250 stations available either broadcasting live or with music streams.  

WHICH ONE HAVE YOU LISTENED TO TODAY?

STATION	LOCATION	TYPE	LICENSE	ON AIR	FM	OTHER	STREAM	STREAM	OTHER
8 Radio	Dublin	Temp Licence / Online	BAI	Music			Radio.ie
98 FM	Dublin	Independent Local Commercial	BAI	Music	FM		Radio.ie
98 Throwback	Dublin	Online		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden	APP
98 FM Dance	Dublin	Online		Music					APP
ABC 50's	Dublin	Online		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Absolute Irish	Dublin	Online		Music			Radio.ie
ADK Radio	Tipperary	Online		Music			Radio.ie
All 80s	Dublin	Online		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
All Gold	Dublin	Online		Music			Radio.ie
All Irish 80s	Dublin	Online		Music			Radio.ie		TuneIn
Annestown Community Radio	Waterford	Online		Community			Radio.ie
Athlone Community Radio	Westmeath	Local Community	BAI	Community			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Atlantic Radio Ireland	Cork	Online		Community					TuneIn
Babylon Radio		Online		Music Ethnic			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Ballina Kilaloe Local Radio	Clare	Online		Music			Radio.ie
Ballina Community Radio	Mayo	Online	BAI	Music	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Beachball Radio	Cork	Online		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Beat 102 - 103	Waterford	Independent Regional Commercial	BAI	Music	FM		Radio.ie
Bere Island Community Radio	Cork	Online		Community			Radio.ie
Blue Cat Radio	Waterford	Online							TuneIn
Birdhill Radio	Tipperary	Online		Community			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Breffni Digital Radio	Cavan	Online		Local Music			Radio.ie
Bundoran Community Radio	Donegal	Online		Music					Streema
Ciao World Radio		Online		Music				Radio Garden
Cork 96FM	Cork City	Independent Local Commercial	BAI	Music	FM		Radio.ie
Cork 96 Hit Mix	Cork City	Digital		Music	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
C 103	Cork County	Independent Local Commercial	BAI	Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
C 103 Anthems	Cork County	Digital		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Carlow FM	Carlow	Online		Community			Radio.ie
Caroline Cork	Cork	Pirate Radio		Music	FM
Century FM 100	Cork	Online		Music					TuneIn
Ceol FM		Online		Irish Traditional			Radio.ie
Ceol FM Energetic		Online		Irish Traditional			Radio.ie
Ceol FM Fiddle		Online		Irish Traditional			Radio.ie
Ceol FM Seanois		Online		Irish Traditional			Radio.ie
Ceol FM Songs		Online		Irish Traditional			Radio.ie
Ceol FM Soothing		Online		Irish Traditional			Radio.ie
Ceol FM Pipers		Online		Irish Traditional			Radio.ie
Charity Radio		Online		Music	FM*		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Christmas FM		Seasonal Temp License & Online	BAI	Music	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Christmas FM Classical		Online		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Christmas FM Classics		Online		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Circle of White Light Radio	Meath	Online		Christian				Radio Garden
Cityview Radio	Cork	Pirate Radio		Music	FM
Clare FM	Clare	Independent Local Commercial	BAI	Music	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Claremorris Community Radio	Mayo	Local Community	BAI	Community	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Classic Dance Hitz	Limerick	Online		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Classic Hits 4FM	Dublin	Independent Multi-City Commercial	BAI	Music	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Clonmellon Community Radio	Westmeath	Online		Community			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Club FM	Dublin	Online		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Coastline Radio		Online		Music C&W			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Community Radio Castlebar	Mayo	Local Community	BAI	Community	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Community Radio Kildorrey	Cork County	Local Community / Online	BAI	Community	FM
Community Radio Kilkenny	Kilkenny	Local Community	BAI	Community	FM		Radio.ie
Community Radio Youghal	Cork	Local Community	BAI	Community	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Connemara Community Radio	Galway	Local Community	BAI	Community	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Copper Coast Radio	Wexford	Online		Music			Radio.ie
Cork Community Radio	Cork	Online		Community	FM*		Radio.ie
Cork Music Station	Cork	Online		Community					MyTuner
Country Hits	Kildare	Online		Music C&W				Radio Garden
Cruize Radio		Online		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
CUH FM	Cork	Hospital Radio	BAI	Institutional	FM		Radio.ie
DDM Radio	Dublin	Online		Music			Radio.ie		TuneIn
Decades Radio		Online		Album Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Deephouse Radio	Dublin	Online		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Diamond 192	Dublin	Online		Music Tribute Station			Radio.ie
Donegal Bay Radio	Donegal	Online		Community			Radio.ie
Downda Road Radio	Kildare	Online		Music			Radio.ie
Dreamtime Radio	Kilkenny	Local Community	BAI	Community	FM
Dublin City FM	Dublin	Local Community	BAI	Community	FM			Radio Garden
Dublin Digital Radio	Dublin	Online		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Dublin South FM	Dublin	Local Community	BAI	Community	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Dundalk 100FM	Louth	Local Community	BAI	Community	FM		Radio.ie
East Coast FM	Wicklow	Independent Local Commercial	BAI	Music	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Easy FM	Dublin	Temp Licence / Online	BAI	Music	FM*		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Eden FM	Offaly	Temp Licence / Online	BAI	Music	FM
Eirewave	Dublin	Online		Music			Radio.ie
Elite Radio / IZZ Radio		Online		Music C&W			Radio.ie		TuneIn
Emerald Connecions Radio	Dublin	Online		Music C&W					Streema
Energy 1395	Dublin	Pirate Radio		Music		AM
Erris FM	Mayo	Temp Licence / Online	BAI	Community	FM
Event FM	Wicklow	Online		Music				Radio Garden
Finn Valley Radio	Donegal	Online		Community			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
First Dance Radio	Cork	Online		Music (Wedding Songs)			Radio.ie
Flirt FM	Galway	Local Community	BAI	Community	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
FM 104	Dublin	Independent Local Commercial	BAI	Music	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Freedom 92	Dublin	Online		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Freedom 92 Country	Dublin	Online		Music			Radio.ie
Freewheel Radio	Sligo	Online		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Galaxy FM	Kildare	Pirate Radio		Music	FM
Galway Bay FM	Galway	Independent Local Commercial	BAI	Music	FM		Radio.ie
Garden County Radio	Wicklow	Online		Community			Radio.ie
Gateway FM	Cork County	Temp License/Online	BAI	Community	FM				Liveradio.ie
Gem Radio New Wave	Dublin	Online		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Global Irish Radio	Galway	Online		Music Irish			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Global FM	Cork	Online		Music					DAB
Greatest Hits Ireland		Online		Music					TuneIn
Go Loud Country	Dublin	Online		Music C&W			Radio.ie
Halloween FM	Dublin	Online		Music			Radio.ie
Healing Radio	Donegal	Online		Christian					Mytuner
Heartbeat FM	Dublin	Online		Music Tribute Station			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Highland Radio	Donegal	Independent Local Commercial	BAI	Music	FM		Radio.ie
Hits Radio Ireland	Dublin	Online		Music					TuneIn
Hope Radio	Dublin	Online		Music			Radio.ie
Hortyna Radio	Dublin	Online		Music Ethnic					Liveradio.ie
Hot FM	Dublin	Pirate Radio		Music	FM		Radio.ie
Ice Radio	Dublin	Pirate Radio		Music	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Ignoreland Radio	Dublin	Online		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
iRadio North East	Meath	Independent Regional Commercial	BAI	Music	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
iRadio North West	Westmeath	Independent Regional Commercial	BAI	Music	FM		Radio.ie
Ireland Pop Up Radio		Online		Music C&W					TuneIn
Irish Bangla Radio	Dublin	Online		Music Ethnic			Radio.ie
Irish Country Radio		Online		Music C&W			Radio.ie		TuneIn
Irish Country Music Radio	Dublin	Online		Music C&W			Radio.ie	Radio Garden	TuneIn
Irish Pub Radio	Dublin	Online		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden	TuneIn
Irish Radio Canada	Canada	Online		Music			Radio.ie
Jazz Radio Ireland	Dublin	Online		Music			Radio.ie
Juice FM	Cork	Temp School	BAI	Institutional	FM
KCLR	Carlow	Independent Local Commercial	BAI	Music	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
KFM	Kildare	Independent Local Commercial	BAI	Music	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Kinvara FM	Galway	Temp Licensed	BAI	Community	FM				MyTuner
Kiss FM	Dublin	Online		Music			Radio.ie		TuneIn
Kick Covid Country Radio		Online		Music C&W					Radio24
Life FM	Cork	Religious	BAI	Christian	FM		Radio.ie
Liffey Sound FM	Dublin	Local Community	BAI	Community	FM		Radio.ie
Limerick City Community Radio	Limerick	Local Community	BAI	Community	FM			Radio Garden
Limerick Regional Hospital	Limerick	Hospital Radio	BAI	Institutional	FM		Radio.ie
Limerick Live 95	Limerick	Independent Local Commercial	BAI	Music	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Live Ireland Radio	Dublin	Online		Music			Radio.ie		TuneIn
LMFM	Drogheda	Independent Local Commercial	BAI	Music	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
LMFM Country	Drogheda	Online / Digital		Music C&W			Radio.ie
Loughrea Community Radio	Galway	Online		Community			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Love Radio		Online		Music			Radio.ie
Mid West Radio	Mayo	Independent Local Commercial	BAI	Music	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Midland 103	Westmeath	Independent Local Commercial	BAI	Music	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Mix Live.ie		Online		Music				Radio Garden	MyTuner
More Music Ireland	Dublin	Online		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden	TuneIn
Near FM	Dublin	Local Community	BAI	Community	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Newstalk	Dublin	Independent National	BAI	Speech	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Non Stop 90's	Dublin	Online		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Northern Sound/Shannonside	Monaghan	Independent Local Commercial	BAI	Music	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Noughty Beats	Waterford	Online (Beats 102)		Music				Radio Garden
Ocean FM	Sligo	Independent Local Commercial	BAI	Music	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden	TuneIn
Off The Ball Radio	Dublin	Online / Digital		Speech			Radio.ie
Open Tempo	Waterford	Pirate Radio		Music	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden	DAB
Open Your Mind Radio		Online		Music/Speech			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Ownea Radio	Donegal	Local Community / Online	BAI	Community	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Phever FM	Dublin	Online		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Phoenix FM	Dublin	Local Community	BAI	Community	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Pirate FM		Online		Music				Radio Garden
Planet Radio	Cork	Online		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Planet Radio Country	Galway	Online		Music C&W			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Polskie Radio Irlandia	Dublin	Online		Music Ethnic			Radio.ie		DAB
Power FM	Dublin	Pirate Radio		Music	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Power87	Cork	Pirate Radio		Music	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Premier Radio International	Dublin	Pirate Radio		Music		SW	Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Pure Radio	Tipperary	Online		Music			Radio.ie
Pure Radio Gold	Tipperary	Online		Music			Radio.ie
Pure Radio Country	Tipperary	Online		Music			Radio.ie
Q 102	Dublin	Independent Local Commercial	BAI	Music	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Rabbithole Radio	Galway	Online		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Radio Active International	Dublin	Online		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Radio Beats	Wexford	Online		Music Ethnic			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Radio Kerry	Kerry	Independent Local Commercial	BAI	Music	FM		Radio.ie
Radio Live Ireland		Online		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Radio Maria Ireland	Dublin	Religious	BAI	Christian			Radio.ie		TuneIn
Radio MoLi	Dublin	Online		Mix			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Radio North	Donegal	Pirate Radio		Music		AM
Radio Nova	Dublin	Independent Local Commercial	BAI	Music	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Radio Nova International	Dublin	Online		Music Tribute Station			Radio.ie
Radio Corca Baisinn	Clare	Local Community	BAI	Community	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Radio Na Life	Dublin	Statsuin Gaelige	BAI	Community	FM		Radio.ie
Radio RiRa	Dublin	Online		Music Gaelige					MyTuner
Radio Siamsa	Dublin	Statsuin Gaeilge		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Radio Sligo	Sligo	Online		Music					MyTuner
Radio Star Country	Cavan	Pirate Radio		Music		AM	Radio.ie
Radio Wexico	Wexford	Online		Music			Radio.ie
Radio Zodiac	Dublin	Online		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden	TuneIn
Rebel Radio Ireland		Online		Music			Radio.ie
Red FM	Cork	Independent Regional Commercial	BAI	Music	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Redrock Radio	Carlow	Online		Music					Liveradio.ie
Reggae Ireland Radio		Online		Music			Radio.ie
Retro Radio	Dublin	Pirate Radio		Music	FM		Radio.ie
River Radio	Derry	Online		Music			Radio.ie		DAB
Ros FM	Roscommon	Local Community	BAI	Community	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Rosses Radio	Donegal	Local Community	BAI	Community	FM
RTE Radio 1	Dublin	State National	BAI	Speech/Music	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden	Saorview
RTE Radio 1 Extra	Dublin	State National		Speech/Music					Saorview
RTE Radio 2	Dublin	State National	BAI	Music	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden	Saorview
RTE Gold	Dublin	State National / Digital		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden	Saorview
RTE XFM	Dublin	State National / Digital		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden	Saorview
RTE Junior	Dublin	State National / Digital		Mix			Radio.ie	Radio Garden	Saorview
RTE Pulse	Dublin	State National / Digital		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden	Saorview
Raidio na Gaeltachta	Galway	Statsuin Gaelige Naisuinta	BAI	Mix	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden	Saorview
RTE Lyric FM	Dublin	State National	BAI	Classical	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden	Saorview
Scariff Bay Radio	Clare	Online & Temp Licence	BAI	Community	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Smooth Gold Radio	Galway	Online		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Smooth Hits Gold	Galway	Online		Music			Radio.ie
Social Light Radio	Dublin	Online		Music			Radio.ie
Solid Gold Ireland Radio	Laois	Online		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Solid Gold Ireland Radio 2	Laois	Online		Music				Radio Garden
South East Radio	Wexford	Independent Local Commercial	BAI	Music	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Soul City	Dublin	Online		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden	DAB
Sound Coffee Radio		Online		Music			Radio.ie
Sth Tipperary General	Tipperary	Hospital Radio	BAI	Institutional	FM		Radio.ie
Spektrum Radio	Dublin	Online		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden	DAB
Spin 103.8	Dublin	Independent Local Commercial	BAI	Music	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Spin Fresh	Dublin	Online		Music					APP
Spin South West	Limerick	Independent Regional Commercial	BAI	Music	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Spin SW Extra	Limerick	Online		Music				Radio Garden
Spirit Radio	Dublin	Religious	BAI	Christian	FM	AM	Radio.ie	Radio Garden
St. Ita's Hospital	Dublin	Hospital Radio	BAI	Institutional	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Storm North East	Dundalk	Pirate Radio		Music	FM			Radio Garden	DAB
Sunshine 106.8	Dublin	Independent Local Commercial	BAI	Music	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Sunshine Soul	Dublin	Online		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Symphony Radio	Dublin	Online		Classical			Radio.ie
The 90's Network	Dublin	Pirate Radio		Music	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden	DAB
The Beach	Dublin	Pirate Radio		Music	FM
The Upsetting Station	Dublin	Online		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
The Zone	Dublin	Online		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Time Warp Radio		Online		Music			Radio.ie		TuneIn
Tipp FM	Tipperary	Independent Local Commercial	BAI	Music	FM		Radio.ie
Tipperary Mid West	Tipperary	Independent Local Commercial	BAI	Music	FM		Radio.ie
Today FM	Dublin	Independent National	BAI	Speech/Music	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Today XM	Dublin	Online		Music					APP
Today Rock Anthems	Dublin	Online		Music					APP
Today All Irish	Dublin	Online		Music					APP
Today FM 80s	Dublin	Online		Music					APP
Today FM 90s	Dublin	Online		Music					APP
Today FM 00s	Dublin	Online		Music					APP
Together FM	Dublin	Online Weekends		Mix					Webpage
Tomorrow Radio		Online		Music			Radio.ie		DAB
Total Access Radio		Online /FM 104		Music			Radio.ie
Total Country Inchicore	Dublin	Online		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden	DAB
Totally Music Radio	Cork	Online		Music					MyTuner
Touch Radio		Online		Music			Radio.ie
Trance Hits	Dublin	Online		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Trax	Dublin	Online		Music			Radio.ie		DAB
True 80s	Dublin	Online		Music			Radio.ie
Tullamore FM	Tipperary	Online		Community	FM*		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
UCB	Dublin	Religious	BAI	Christian			Radio.ie	Radio Garden	TuneIn
UCC 983	Cork	University	BAI	Institutional	FM
UDMI Radio	Dublin	Online		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Uplift Radio	Donegal	Online		Music			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
West Cork FM	Cork	Online		Community			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
West Limerick 102	Limerick	Local Community	BAI	Community	FM		Radio.ie
Wexford Music Radio	Wexford	Online		Community			Radio.ie	Radio Garden
Wired FM	Limerick	Local Community	BAI	Community	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden
WLR FM	Waterford	Independent Local Commercial	BAI	Music	FM		Radio.ie	Radio Garden

Radio Nova's 40th Anniversary. A Radio Behemoth & Broadcasting Revolution

To commemorate the 40th anniversary of perhaps Ireland's most influential and important radio stations in the history of Irish broadcasting, here are a selection of the recently received archives from Anoraks Ireland. Radio Nova, the brainchild of the late great Chris Cary, began broadcasting 'clutter free' music to Dublin on June 29th 1981. In its five years on air, the station, its owner, its ethos and its commercial success revolutionized Irish radio and created an industry that thrives today. 
This is an early daily schedule for the station

One of the most successful double acts ever in Irish radio was Declan Meehan (who began his pirate career as Arlo St Jude) and American born Bob Gallico. The Deckie Wekkie Brekkie Trekkie was the number one rated show on Radio Nova and while Declan continues in radio today on East Coast Radio, Bob alas passed away in 2013. This is the letter sent to him by Sybil Fennell (later to become Chris Cary's life partner) to say that his demo tape had won their attention and as they say the rest is history. 

https://radiotoday.ie/2013/08/tributes-paid-as-bob-gallico-dies-at-83/

Note in 1982, Nova's stationary were dual language English and Irish. 

One of Nova's enduring legacy's was their charity broadcast 'Operation Novacare', which is forever associated with by a certain generation of listeners with the track  'I Won't Let You Down' by Jim Diamond.

Radio Nova attempted to spread its wing by focusing more on broadcasting into Britain and began announcing that rather than broadcasting 'to Dublin' they were broadcasting 'from Dublin'. They at one time opened an advertising office in Liverpool. This is an opinion poll sheet used in Liverpool.

The end came in 1986 for Radio Nova as industrial issues and increased competition for advertising forced Nova from the airwaves. The company went into liquidation and a local auctioneering firm were tasked with disposing of what assets they could. 

For further information on Radio Nova see

https://ibhof.blogspot.com/search?q=radio+nova

https://radionovainternational.co/?fbclid=IwAR0aVthVfbkdYzIrmNOUMthxHbn0gWYNxP-3gRqczOPoCKuGZGyrCdlfgAc

The images above are from the Archives of Paul Davidson & Anoraks Ireland which have recently donated to the Irish Pirate Radio Archive at Dublin City University

 

A Salute to the Men who Put 2RN (& BBC TV) on the air in 1926 (Part 2) William Beatty

In part two of our salute to the men who brought 2RN to the airwaves in January 1926, we look at the engineers who bought the Marconi transmitter in the UK, had it shipped to Ireland, renovated the wooden hut in the grounds of McKee Barracks and installed the framework for broadcasting at new studios on Little Denmark Street. These men were integral to the early success of radio in Ireland and their key roles have almost vanished from history...until today.

William Arnold Beatty was born in Cork to parents from Bangor County Down. As soon as the young Beatty could access a place in the School of Wireless Telegraphy on the Mardyke in the city centre, he enrolled. Once qualified in the new profession as a Wireless Operator of Marconi equipment he found himself travelling the high seas of the world in ships wireless rooms despatching morse messages for his employer Gugielmo Marconi.

 

He was on board merchant ships crossing the Atlantic as the First World War raged and shipping encountered a new deadly threat, being torpedoed by German submarines. In 1917, off the coast of Tory Island, his vessel was torpedoed and sunk. He was saved by being prepared and engaging with all the safety measures at the time. A year later he watched from the deck of the SS Highland Pride as a British cruiser was sunk as it protected a convoy of ships crossing the Atlantic from South America.

 

In 1922, as the new Irish Free State Government took control of the affairs of a devastated and war torn country, Beatty returned to land and joined the new National Army of the Free State. With his skills he was immediately attached to the Signal Corps. Many of his colleagues in the Signals Corps were fellow former Marine wireless operators who were renowned as being face with the Morse codes key. He was in charge in the Wireless Room at Portobello Barracks on August 22^nd 1922 when the first news of the assassination of Michael Collins at Beal na Blath reached the capital.

 

In 1924 Beatty left the Army and in October the following year he was hired as the Assistant Engineer for 2RN with an annual salary of three hundred pounds per annum but interestingly with no pension. He worked under TJ Monaghan, who had been seconded from the Department of Posts and Telegraphs to overseas the opening of the Free State’s first radio station. He was at the heart of the McKee barracks hut transmitter location and the nearby aerial array. The transmitter was a 1.5kw Marconi transmitter and his engineering knowledge, training and expertise was invaluable in getting the signal on the air.

           SEE WILLIAM BEATTY & THE 2RN TRANSMITTER HUT IN BRITISH PATHE NEWS

 

He was in charge of many of the first outside broadcasts carried out by the station. This included its very first when 2RN was still in the test transmission phase in December 1925 before the official launch on January 1^st 1926. The first outside broadcast came from the La Scala Theatre on Princess Street, beside the GPO on O’Connell Street. In March 1926, he operated outside broadcasts from various locations around Dublin but with limited equipment, it meant that Beatty would have to load and unload the equipment from taxis as he moved from location to location. In May 1926, the first OB from Cork took place and Beatty was on hand to ensure the broadcast went smoothly. The variety show took place in the Cork Municipal School of Music located on Union Quay. He would make several trips to Cork through the following year as the second Irish station 6CK was readied to open from the old Women’s Gaol overlooking the Southern city. A similar broadcast came from the Town Hall in Sligo on June 15^th 1926 with Beatty once again in charge of the OB. The system operated meant that the microphone Beatty transported west was attached to the telephone line in the Mayor’s office which in turn was linked to the telephone exchange in the GPO and then by telephone line to the studios in Little Denmark Street and according to newspaper reports it worked perfectly. [1]

 

It was Beatty who set up the heavy cumbersome microphone on the side-line at Croke Park for 2RN to become the first station in Europe to broadcast a live commentary of a field sport. So primitive was the ‘Press’ facilities at Croke Park at the time, a 2RN employee had to spend the entire game standing with an umbrella over the microphone to protect the expensive equipment. On another occasion when covering a rugby game at Lansdowne Road, the ball hit and damaged the microphone, the game being held up until temporary repairs were made and the link to the city centre studios restored. In November 1927[2], Beatty was in charge of the technical infrastructure for an OB from the Empire Theatre, Galway. Not only did Beatty set up the broadcast equipment but he acted as the announcer from Galway on the night linking to Dublin.

In September 1928, the Irish Independent reported that,

‘Major Bell, lessee of the Capitol Theatre in his review of the position of the cinema trade before a party of Pressmen on Thursday, mentioned that the Capitol was installing such a system and mentioned the fact that useful ideas on the subject had been put forward by Mr. W. Beatty, engineer, Dublin Broadcasting Station.

Yesterday and Irish Independent representative saw Mr. Beatty and got from him some views on the subject. Mr Beatty is at present seeking protection for an invention of his dealing with the phono-film.’   

 

Beatty left the station in 1930 and moved to the United Kingdom where he initially took up a role with the International Maritime Radio Corporation who were installing powerful equipment on ocean going liners including those of Cunard and White Star. His fascination with sound and the moving picture led him to Alexander Palace outside London and working with someone who is considered by many as the Father of Television, John Logie Baird. He was one of the main engineers on Baird’s mechanical system of television broadcasts who was competing with EMI/Marconi’s electrical system, which ultimately won the battle to be the main system used by the BBC. In 1936 he was the Production Manager at Baird. [3]

 

After losing to EMI/Marconi, the Baird company went into a slump and eventually receivers were called in. Beatty moved on to HMV overseeing the production of new wireless receiving sets and later to Philco. With each company he worked for including the International Standard Electric Company and the Anglo- American company Kolster-Brandes Limited, he was refining equipment being used in both transmitting and receiving radio and television signals. He applied for and was granted numerous patents[4] for these improvements.

 William Beatty passed in Sussex away on January 26^th 1949[5] leaving behind a wife, Barbara.

 

Part of William Beatty’s engineering team at 2RN were Andrew Kettle. Kettle would later work for the ESB and serve as the Honorary Secretary of Bohemian Football club and represented the north Dublin club on the FAI Council.  James Nolan from Walsh Island Offaly, involved in attacks by the IRA on Black and Tans including ambush at Mount Lucas near Edenderry in February 1921. Joined the national army and was attached to the signal corps where he discovered that he was a competent wireless engineer and finally Michael Nugent. Without the hard work, ingenuity, professionalism and dedication of these men, 2RN would not have joined the world’s cavalcade of radio stations on January 1^st 1926 and Radio Eireann would not have been so quickly embraced by the Irish listening public. Thanks lads.

---

[1] The Sligo Independent June 19^th 1926

[2] The Connaught Sentinel November 22^nd 1927

[3] The Sunday Independent 31^st May 1936

[4] The US & UK Patents Office

[5] Northern Whig Newspaper

A Salute to the Men who put 2RN on the Air, (Part One) The Irish Eckersley, TJ Monaghan

 

Peter Eckersley was a famous name associated with the early days of radio in the United Kingdom. A sometimes eccentric extrovert, he was initially involved with the first broadcasting station, 2MT, before moving onto 2LO and then the amalgamation of radio stations that became the BBC. He was a controversial character but there is little doubt that without him the success of the BBC would have been stalled. In Ireland we had an engineer who was described as the ‘Irish Eckersley’[1]. He was a powerful Civil Servant who held sway over his domain unchallenged for over a quarter of a century, he controlled all engineering decisions over radio broadcasting, telephone and aeronautical communications. Yet very little is known or remembered of Thomas Joseph Monaghan, ‘The Irish Eckersley’.

 

T.J. Monaghan, as he was known, was born on April 21st 1887 near Accrington, Lancashire, England. His parents were Galway born doctor Thomas Monaghan and Josephine Maguire. He was educated at Xaverian College boarding school at Mayfield, Sussex. In 1902 he began attending South-western Polytechnic. Founded in 1895, one of the principal aims of the South-Western Polytechnic Institute was the provision of education for the poorer inhabitants of London. An emphasis was placed on instruction in handicraft, trade and business, together with access to recreational facilities, sought to improve the career prospects and their physical, social and moral conditions. This initiative initially took the form of day and evening classes for men and women over fifteen years of age, with the Institute offering well-equipped laboratories for the study of subjects such as mechanical and electrical engineering, mathematics, physics, chemistry and metallurgy, in the hope of attracting male students keen to learn a trade and enter industry. Practical training was additionally available in carpentry, brickwork and advanced cookery; whilst classes in economics and commerce offered training in shorthand and typewriting for lady secretaries together with examinations for appointments in the civil service and the post office. Students were also afforded the opportunity to attend lectures in literary arts and to receive instruction in languages. He left the College with a Batchelor of Science degree in Engineering, passing with first class honours.

 

 

Following his graduation, he received practical training variously at the Royal Small Arms factory at Enfield, Yarrow & Co. at Poplar, and Simpson-Worthington at Newark until 1909. In 1910, Monaghan then joined the General Post Office (GPO) as an assistant engineer at their H.Q. in London. The General Post Office in St. Martin's Le Grand, later known as GPO East, was the main post office for London between 1829 and 1910, and during that period was the headquarters of the General Post Office of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and was England's first purpose-built post office. It was demolished in 1912. It was the UK's second purpose-built post office after Dublin's GPO, which was completed in 1818 to a design by Francis Johnston, and still in use.

 

He was transferred to Belfast in 1910, spending two years there, then moving to Dublin and then to Cork in 1919, during which time he was in charge of works and maintenance of telegraphs, telephones, and wireless. In August 1913 he married Winifred Hackett in County Offaly.  At the beginning of the War of Independence in 1919, he was transferred back to the London HQ of the GPO on special wireless work and in 1921 he was appointed as officer-in-charge of the Leafield Wireless Station in Oxfordshire responsible for plant erection and the running of what was then one of the principal wireless stations in the world. Leafield was a powerful wireless station with a 250 KW arc transmitter that was to be part of an Imperial Wireless Chain that would connect the empire. Officially opened by the then British Postmaster General E G Kellaway, it initially connected with a similar station at Abu Zabal in Egypt.

 

 Following the end of the War of Independence and the creation of the Irish Free State he returned to Ireland in 1923 and became a staff engineer at Department of Posts & Telegraphs in Dublin responsible under the engineer-in-chief for a variety of aspects of the work of the department, including the initiation of the Irish broadcasting service. His first big project was all the technical aspects of the arrival of radio in Ireland and the launch of 2RN. He was seconded from the Department to 2RN and in tandem with the building of the transmitting apparatus was on the committee that appointed key personnel including the station director. That was the inspired appointment of Seamus Clandillon but Monaghan had his input on all aspects of the arrival of State sponsored radio in Ireland.

He was the man charged with putting 2RN on the air along with fellow radio engineer William Beatty. They purchased a 1.5kilowatt Marconi transmitter and installed it in a wooden hut on the grounds of McKee Barracks near the Phoenix Park. Aerials were erected and by mid November 1925, the first test transmissions from the station began. The station officially went on the air at 7.45pm on January 1^st 1926. A year later he was involved with installing the transmitter for the second Irish station 6CK in Cork. 6CK was based in the former Women’s Gaol in the city.

In November 1928 he replaced L.J. Kettle as the Chairman of the Trinity College Physical Laboratory. In lecture when he assumed the position, titled ‘Efficient Communications’ he said,

'It would take 100 years of constant human speech to generate enough energy to boil water for a single cup of tea.’

 

Monaghan travelled to the various wavelength conferences that saw the wavelengths of both 2RN and 6CK change regularly. The range of the two stations was limited and the Government decided that a more powerful transmitter would be purchased and installed somewhere in the centre of the country. Monaghan and his team of engineers, including John Lyons, undertook painstaking research testing various locations including Tullamore and Portlaoise before settling on Moydrum outside Athlone.

With the intended launch originally scheduled for 1933, one of the biggest events to be staged in the new Irish Free State was the 1932 Eucharistic Congress of the Catholic Church. Monaghan was put in charge of ‘broadcasting’ the entire event. Installation at Moydrum was sped up and the new transmitter was operating in time for the first blessing in June 1932 and the signal strength meant that all the island was able to tune in. Not only was Monaghan in charge of the radio broadcasting end of the event, but he also increased the capacity of the telephone system and he provided facilities for the overseas Press attending the event to keep in touch with news desks around the world.

 

Another success for Monaghan was the installation of over three hundred loudspeakers wired throughout the city to relay the ecumenical events from the Pro Cathedral, O’Connell Bridge where an altar had been erected and from the Phoenix Park where Mass was celebrated.

 

By the late 1930’s as war loomed, the Irish Government under Fianna Fail and Eamon DeValera wanted to be able to speak to the Irish diaspora abroad. Up to that point they relied on special broadcasts surrounding St Patrick's Day but a new Short Wave service would assist in the dispersing the Irish Governments neutral stance when war did break out. The short wave service achieved limited success and was eventually discontinued. When transmissions were heard abroad and listeners wrote with reception reports, it was Monaghan who would reply with QSL and conformation letters.

 

During World War Two or the Emergency as it was known in Ireland, Monaghan joined the Irish Army and the Signal Corps. He helped set up an emergency broadcasting station in Eamon de Valera’s house should the main studios or aerials be bombed and put out of action. He also, with the help of the BBC, synchronised the frequencies of the Irish stations at Cork, Dublin and Athlone in order to prevent enemy pilots identifying their location from radio broadcasts.

 

But not only was Monaghan looking after radio from his offices in Leitrim House in the offices of Dublin Castle, he was controlling the progress of telephone services in Ireland including the arrival of the automatic telephone exchanges. His remit also had him looking after aeronautical communications and as the result of Ireland’s position at the edge of Europe, closest to continental America’s, aircraft communications was a vital area especially post World War Two.

 

Monaghan represented Ireland at numerous conferences across Europe and the United States. These conferences allocated frequencies for his radio station, now known as Radio Eireann, discussed modernizing Telephone systems and formatting safe flying for the expanding aviation industry.

  

He became engineer-in-chief in 1930 and moved the family to 15 Clarinda Park North, Dun Laoghaire. Monaghan was elected MICEI in December 1929, served on council, was a vice president and served as honorary secretary, becoming president in 1942. He was also a member of the IEE and served as chairman of its Irish branch.

 

During the war he joined the Irish army signal corps and was promoted to the rank of Colonel. In 1951, he was instrumental in forming the Signals Club made up of ex members of the Signal Corps. Monaghan married Winifred in 1909, a daughter Judith was born in .. Judith met her future husband Gatt Westerhout at the radio conference in Dublin in 1955. They married a year later and her Dutch born husband carved out an extraordinary career in astronomy. They couple had 5 children two sons, Gart and Julian Westerhout; two daughters, Magda Westerhout Mobley and Brigit Molony, with her partner of 56 years passing away in 2012.

TJ Monaghan retired in April 1952. In 1958 he was appointed as Chairman of the Institute for Industrial Research and Standards and in May 1958 he joined the board of the National Board and Paper Mills, the Mills located in Granard, Co. Longford. Also appointed to that board at the time was the former Minister for Industry and Commerce, Daniel Morrissey.

T.J. Monaghan died at his home at 18 Summerhill Road, Dun Laoghaire on 10 July 1971.  

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[1] Described by Seamus Hughes, station announcer in the Irish Independent December 16^th 1925, two weeks before the official launch of 2RN on January 1^st 1926.