Atlantic 252, an obituary or a call to arms?

 

On Friday April 14^th 2023, the transmitter based in County Meath, Ireland on 252khz longwave went silent. Its lifetime was colourful and controversial and while the end was on the agenda for some years, so too was its beginning. As another analogue service disappears from the airwaves, perhaps it’s timely to look back at the beginning.

 

In 1975 RTE, the Irish State broadcaster was awarded the longwave frequency of 254khz by the International Telecommunications Union. The frequency lay dormant for over a decade until 1983 when one pirate radio buccaneer, Chris Cary, the owner of the illegal broadcaster Radio Nova announced that he was about to launch a longwave station on 254khz based in the former holiday camp at Mosney announcing it as Radio Exidy. While that venture never got past a couple of hours of testing, the authorities realised that if a pirate operator, who’s station was hammering the state broadcaster in the rating battle, was talking about longwave, maybe there was something in it.

It was fortuitous that the media giant Radio Luxembourg, who’s powerful 208m frequency struggled during daytime hours, was seeking another avenue to get their product into the important British market. In 1983, discussions began between RTE and Radio Luxembourg exploring the possibility of using 254khz from a powerful transmitter located in Ireland broadcasting into Britain. In August 1986 it was announced that the two media companies were forming a company to broadcast as Radio Tara. The station’s transmitter would be based on lands in County Meath and initially broadcast from 6am to 7pm daily. One hundred thousand pounds was used to purchase the land at Summerhill near Trim in County Meath.

 

In January 1987, the Department of Posts and Telegraphs granted Radio Tara Limited, with offices on Fitzwilliam Square, permission to broadcast without the requirement of new legislation. The opening of the station was part of the Fianna Fail manifesto for the 1987 General election and was championed by the new Minister for Posts and Telegraphs Ray Burke. In July 1987, Radio Tara Limited submitted a planning application for the building of transmitter housing, a 900ft aerial, taller than the Eiffel Tower and associated infrastructure including roads to get the station on the air. On October 5^th 1987 it was announced that the State’s telecom agency Bord Telecom would be lodging an objection as they believed the powerful transmitter would cause problems for the local telephone network. On October 17^th, the State body suddenly without much explanation withdrew their objection, leading to newspaper speculation that Government pressure had been brought to bear to force them to withdraw.

The local community immediately objected fearing health issues from the radiated power of the transmitters. It was a very vocal local protest, which included all sections of the community. In March 1988 after six hours of evidence delivered to the planning applications board An Board Pleanala. In July it was announced that permission had been granted for the erection of the aerial complex. The Mulhuddard based engineering firm of McInerney’s Civil Engineering was appointed to build the transmitter base. In August 1988 as the company began initial construction work, local began protesting at the entrance halting work until the company won a court injunction to prevent the picketing. In September newspapers were reporting that the European Investment Bank was providing Radio Tara Limited with £2.6m in loans to get the station on the air. Radio Tara Limited would be owned 50% by RTE and 50% by Radio Luxembourg’s parent company. According to subsequent RTE financial reporting, the national broadcaster invested ir£1,990,207 in getting the station on the air, with the rest of the estimated ir£8m coming from Luxembourg.

In November 1988 it was announced in London to the media community that the new station was to be known as Radio Five. In December, the station announced that Travis Baxter would be appointed the first director of programming for the station. Up to that point in the UK, there was no national pop station but the UK Minister responsible Douglas Hurd announced that within three years national licences would be awarded but this gave the Meath based station time to get a foothold on both the British listening market and more importantly the advertising market.

Troubles continued in Summerhill as in January 1989, the site was sabotaged when sugar was placed in the water tanks used to cool the 300kw transmitters. Protests continued locally and through the courts with the case going to the High Court and eventually the Supreme Court. It was reported when the local council agreed to grant planning permission that they had ignored the recommendations of their own expert who was against the erection of the facility. It was widely reported that locals believed and some senior opposition politicians that Ray Burke as a government minister had put undue pressure on the local council to allow the station to get on the air. The Minister denied this at the time but he would be involved in a corruption scandal involving the awarding of new Independent commercial licences with the Republic in subsequent years. (See the Flood Tribunal Report)

The studios would be located in a former doctor’s house named Mornington House in Trim, County Meath. The station also opened a sales office at 74 Newman Street in London. The RTE broadcaster at the time Pat Kenny was appointed chairman of Radio Tara Limited. In June 1988 it was announced that the new stations name, after extensive and expensive market research, would be Atlantic 252. This was despite the initial frequency being 254khz, but the station were aware that in February 1990, the new frequency allocation to Ireland would alter from 254 to 252khz. At 8am on Friday September 1^st 1989, Gary King was the first voice heard on the new station.  The station beat the first nationally licensed independent commercial station in the Republic under the new IRTC, Century Radio, by three days. The difference in the markets try were aiming at is illustrated by the advertising rates charged by the two stations. On Atlantic 252 a 30sec commercial cost the advertisers ir£500 (with no regulations on the amount of minutes per hour) while Century were charging ir£50 for 30sec.  Initially the station was on air from 6am to 7pm and listeners were then invited to tune into Radio Luxembourg on 208 medium wave. In January 1990 as the station gained a bigger audience, broadcasting hours were extended to 2am and by the end of 1991, Atlantic 252 was broadcasting 24hours per day.

 

In its initial years Atlantic 252 struggled to make a profit and financial pressures on RTE meant that in May 1992, the station sold 30% of their holding in Radio Tara to RTL for ir£3.85m, making them a 20% minority shareholder. With RTE’s shareholding significantly reduced the Board Chairman Pat Kenny was replaced by former Luxembourg Prime Minister Gaston Thorn. By 1995, despite the arrival of national commercial stations in the UK, Atlantic was winning the ratings battle. 5.8m listening to Atlantic, 4m listening to Virgin 1215 and 3.73m to Capital Radio. RTE may have regretted selling its shareholding as in 1995, Atlantic 252 was making a profit, reported in the trade newspapers as $2m in the first six months of 1995. The Manchester Evening News once said that,

‘For a while no car ride was complete without hearing it.’

Atlantic 252 was one of the first champions of an up and coming band in the late 1990’s, Take That. Despite reaching the heights of over 6m listeners, the expanding competition on the British mainland from local and national commercial stations and a reinvigorated BBC, Atlantic’s numbers began to plateau and then decline. In November 1999 with John O’Hara now at the helm, the station was relaunched as ‘The New Atlantic 252’ but the slide continued.

October 2001 RTL sold its 80% stake to Teamtalk Radio for €8m. Teamtalk was based in Leeds but broadcast throughout the UK on 252 from the Clarkstown transmitter. The final broadcast of Atlantic 252 was on December 20^th 2001 and hosted by Enda Cauldwell which celebrated the station’s twelve year history. Teamtalk 252 was officially opened on March 11^th 2002 after testing from late January and was an all sport radio station. The station struggled without live rights which were sealed by TalkSport and the BBC and were relegated to discussion programming and low level live sports coverage. On July 31^st 2002 Teamtalk suddenly closed as its parent company was sold to a UK betting firm. The result of the sudden demise of the 252 frequency was that RTE’s bought back the 80% for €630,000

RTE then began rebroadcasting RTE Radio 1 on 252khz aimed at the Irish diaspora living in the UK estimated at almost six million. The station briefly broadcast as Charity 252 to coincide with a competition for the 2004 telethon event ‘People in Need’. According to the Irish Film and Television Network press release at the time,

This year's 'RTE People in Need Telethon' has a new element. This year mixes radio and television and will feature seven Irish celebrities locked away in RTE, operating their own radio station. 'RTE Charity 252' is the radio station that will commence broadcasting on Friday 14^th  May, with daily evictions voted for by the Irish public until the final broadcast on 21 May. Typically, as more celebrities are evicted, it's up to the remaining DJ's to ensure that the station continues to transmit.

The radio broadcasts will be available on the old Atlantic 252 channel, with plenty of penalties for dead air time, etc. Each evening (9.30-10.30pm), Gerry Ryan will host a TV eviction programme highlighting the day's events, talking to contestants, and evicting one celebrity

The show is being produced by RTE - Niamh Farren is producing the tv show, Alice O'Sullivan is producing the radio show, and independent production company Another Avenue (The Restaurant reality TV series) is controlling the house, providing the edited reality elements for the daily eviction show from the studio for RTE. Simon Gibney is director.

Philip Kampff is the overall Executive Producer for RTE People in Need; Patrick Cowap is on board as the multi-cam director. The seven women chosen to participate were Sorcha Furlong, Eileen Reid, Amanda Brunker, Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh, Fiona McShane, Emma O'Driscoll and Claire McKeon. The last two were Eileen Reid and Fiona McShane are the remaining contestants. Dublin born showband singer Eileen Reid was the winner of the show. She ended up getting her own show on RTE Radio 1 as a result of the win and reaction to her performance on Charity 252.

 

Initially RTE made a decision to close the frequency in 2014 as a cost saving exercise, but this postponed following an outcry in Britain from the Irish listening there. Their ability to listen to RTE had been diminished once RTE had closed their last medium wave outlet in Tullamore. RTE said that the cost of running the powerful transmitters was unsustainable that it was accounting for 2.5% of RTE’s energy bill. It was announced again that the station would close in 2017 but it was again delayed. Another deadline was set for 2019 but again delayed as a campaign led by Enda O’Kane, an ex RTE employee, gained momentum. Some of the issues for the retention of longwave RTE broadcasts was that manufacturers whether radio or car radio, were not including longwave as an option anymore. From 2019 there were extended periods of 252 being off the air for ‘maintenance’ but this was also prepping listeners to find alternative ways to listen to RTE in the UK.

 

The Closure came on Friday April 14^th 2023, forty years after Chris Cary of Radio Nova floated the idea of broadcasting from Ireland into Britain on Longwave.

 

Personal

For me I miss the original Atlantic 252, I loved listening to the station in my green Mazda as I travelled to work in Arklow, for others like Enda O’Kane it’s the severing of their connection to Ireland as they make their way through life in Britain but the unifying fact is that we miss 252. I miss Charlie Wolf, the Pizzaman[1], Enda Cauldwell, Robin Banks et all. If we can build toll roads and bridges as a public/private partnership. surely there should be a partnership between public and private enterprise to make all sides happy and bring 252 back to life.

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[1] Pizzaman real name Gary Wilkinson died aged 50 In October 2022

Sources

The Irish Newspaper Archives

World Radio History

The Irish Broadcasting Hall of Fame

Enda Caudwell

Enda O'Kane

RTE Archives

Atlantic 252 Tribute Site

 

The Beginning, the Middle and the End of Monaghan’s Radio Caroline North

 The Beginning, the Middle and the End of Monaghan’s Radio Caroline North

 

For numerous weekends throughout the year, a piece of pirate radio nostalgia wafts it way over the airwaves courtesy of Manx Radio on the Isle of Man. Manx Radio transforms into Radio Caroline North which was once an offshore pirate radio station on board the MV Caroline[1] ship. The ship was anchored off the Manx coast from July 1964 until March 1968[2] following the introduction of the new Marine Offences Act aimed at the closing the growing number of offshore pirate radio stations bombarding UK and Irish listeners. Radio Caroline North quickly grew a large following across Ireland. While offshore pirate Radio Caroline North closed in 1968, onshore pirate station Radio Caroline North met a swift end outside the small County Monaghan village of Scotshouse in November 1975. This is their story.

It starts back in 1971 with Sean McQuillan from Clones and another station Radio 99. It opened in April 1971 broadcasting on 199m Medium wave and set up by four friends to broadcast a non-political content with a diet of country and western music. The station was originally located in a spare bedroom in McQuillan’s house. The station later moved to a disused house just inside the County Fermanagh border and was on air three hours Saturday and Sunday nights from 9.30pm opening each night with their signature tune Slim Whitman’s ‘What’s the World a Coming To’.

The station provided a postal address for requests of 6, Millbrook, Clones, County Monaghan but after just a couple of months on air the station was closed by loyalist paramilitaries who intimated the young broadcasters forcing them to close and move their transmitter south of the nearby border in the middle of the night using a boat on the River Finn which was the border.

The station operators moved to Dunsrim near Scotshouse in County Monaghan with studios now housed in a caravan. The transmitter was built by Clones man Sean McQuillan using an ex-US army transmitter. The station actually had three small transmitters two located south of the border and one north of the border across the River Finn. In an interview with the Meath Chronicle^[3], McQuillan revealed that in order to stay one step of the authorities the station moved locations ‘3 or 4 times’ and that they used old shirts and ladies knickers to disguise the ‘60ft aerial from detection by army helicopters that flew passed every morning’.

 

In September 1971 the station went off the air, bemoaned by many letter writers to local newspapers. One month later Radio 99 was back on the air with a better transmitter and signal. The station closed in June 1973 when the Gardai traced the caravan used by the station to a mountain side where they had moved to get their signal out to a wider audience. It would return a year later as Radio Caroline North. The station was now broadcasting on 266m and newspaper reports stated that the DJ’s, all using pseudonyms, were ‘Jim West, Brian Barry and Alan Gordon’. The station was broadcasting live on Sunday’s from 2pm to 5.30pm with a mixture of ‘pop, top twenty and international, hard rock, Irish and American country music and all the latest Irish showband releases.’ The station broadcast on Wednesday nights from 10pm to midnight.

He help with the costs of running the station, the station organised a gala night of music in the Bunnoe Hall, Cavan in February 1975. The music was supplied by the showband Gay Mac and The Seasons. The end however for Monaghan’s Radio Caroline North in November 1975. Gardai led by Garda Sergeant William Weldon[4] visited the suspected site of the station on Friday November 21^st 1975. They discovered the caravan in a field in the Dunsrim area near Scotshouse. On Sunday, with the station on the air and using their Garda car to identify the station, they visited the station and closed it down, seizing all the equipment including the homemade transmitter that had been built by Sean McQuillan. They also arrested three men, brothers Owen Smyth, aged 24, Charlie Smyth, aged 23 both from Scotshouse and Andrew Slowey aged 22 from Enagh, Lisnageer.

 

The following September, the three pirate broadcasters were in Clones district court where they pleaded guilty to breaking the 1926 Wireless Telegraphy Act. In the caravan Garda Sergeant Weldon said in court that they seized a transmitter, tape recorder, record player and records. Garda Weldon told the court the Gardai were satisfied there was nothing sinister or subversive in the broadcasts. All the defendants came from highly respectable families.

 

For the defendants, solicitor Mr. J.P. Black said that the station was a hobby. The defendants had gathered up the equipment and used it to play this country and western music on Sunday evenings. He told the presiding Judge that the equipment was worth about £200 and would be forfeited unless the Judge ordered otherwise. In response to the defence solicitor said that,

‘the very possession of such equipment in these times is very serious as it could get into the wrong hands. There must be forfeiture of the equipment.’

There was a plea for the Probation act to be applied to the defendants but they were convicted and fined £10 each and the equipment confiscated.

It may not have helped the station’s ability to avoid interest from the authorities that the two Smyth brothers were members of the local Sinn Fein Cumman. The authorities were cognisant of the fact that just across the border the Troubles were intense and the use of the airwaves for illegal propaganda broadcasts had been an issue.

Because the station was providing airplay to the many Showbands who had recorded singles, in November the Sunday Independent reported that Showband manager were bemoaning the loss of this valuable outlet for their artists.

‘Showband managers are making a bid to get a pirate radio station back "on air" despite the fact that a powerful radio transmitter and other broadcasting equipment was seized by the gardai near the Border. The seizure meant that ‘Radio Caroline North’ which had been broadcasting for the past two years on 266 metres medium wave over a fifty-mile radius of the Monaghan Fermanagh border was silenced. The pirate station received an average of a hundred requests weekly from listeners all over the area. “Several of the top names in Irish showbands have also recorded special spots for our shows”, the spokesman said. Mr. Tony Loughman, who is head of Top Rank Promotions, said: "We think it’s a pity to see this station being put off the air.’

Sean McQuillan would maintain an interest in pirate radio and would assist writer Pat McCabe to set up Radio Butty in 2006 for the local Flatlake festival with that station located in a VW van and later a caravan.

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[1] The Mi Amigo remained off the Essex coast and broadcast as Radio Caroline South

[2] The vessel was seized in a financial dispute and a tug towed it to Amsterdam

[3] October 6^th 2016

[4] Later a Garda instructor

Donegal's Unique 1980's Festival Radio Experiment

It was the closure of the pirate radio station Radio Donegal in 1981 after eighteen months on the air that created one of the most unique pirate radio experiments in the country[1]. Don Clark who worked for Radio Donegal saw an opportunity to help publicise the various festivals around the country by creating a mobile service in a caravan travelling from town in town.

For many listeners to the radio in Donegal, the national station RTE Radio was Dublin based and had little influence on the events of Donegal. In the 1970’s, in an attempt to generate business in small towns, committees formed to create unique festivals. To help to generate publicity, to inform visitors and provide local businesses with advertising opportunities, a radio station was operated but rather than traditional AM or FM transmissions, these station operated on a wired loudspeaker system, sometimes referred to as ‘lamppost radio stations’. Some of the tons to adopt this system included Letterkenny for the Folk Festival and in Ballyshannon. This created a local attachment to the familiar nature of their own radio station. Radio Ramelton was another station that ‘broadcast’ via a wired system. The Donegal News reported,

‘This year again ‘Radio Ramelton’ will be in operation, when the whole town is " Wired up ". to receive local programmes. Mr. Mervyn Corry will be in charge of the " mike," but special programmes have been set aside for the children and the ladies.’

The station, set to promote the ‘Lennon Festival’, was initially fronted by Jim Birney, known on air as ‘Slim Jim’ and later by Mervyn Corry.

In 1976, a new radio station arrived courtesy of the State broadcaster RTE, when their mobile community radio station and transmitter arrived in Donegal. With a medium transmitter on 202m and a low powered FM transmitter, RTE’s service, under the then direction of Pauric O’Neill, covered three areas over six days. The local organisers in Fintown, Downings and Dungloe would see the broadcast unit spend two days in each town. 

The days in Dungloe coincided with the most popular and famous festival in Donegal the Mary from Dungloe Festival. As the mobile unit continued to tour Ireland introducing towns and villages to community radio, towns in Donegal reverted to the lamppost radio services. The RTE service did travel at various times to The Glenties, Letterkenny, Ardara and Bundoran.

In 1981, RTE announced that the mobile unit would visit Dungloe for the entire now expanded festival. Advertisements appeared in the newspapers informing listeners how to tune into Community Radio Dungloe. At the last minute the visit was cancelled by RTE. 

This provided an opportunity for some ex staff of the pirate station Radio Donegal that had closed in April after eighteen months on air. With a standby transmitter built by Paul Millar and broadcasting on 257m, Radio Dungloe took to the airwaves for the festival. The newspapers reported,

‘Operating for most of the Festival was Radio Dungloe in association with Radio Donegal on 257m. with the studio based at the Festival caravan on Upper Main Street and making its own contribution to the spirit of the event.’

The station was operated by Don Clark with former Radio Donegal DJ Tommy Rosney assisting. Their numbers augmented by local DJ’s. Rosney told me in an interview[2] that at that time he was working at Dunnes Stores in Letterkenny and that he would take two weeks holidays around the Mary from Dungloe festival so that he could work on air. He also said that while there was not too much financial reward, the on air personalities were looked after with a quid pro quo advertising deals with restaurants that would deliver to the DJ’s meals. According to Rosney, he and his colleagues would stay in the mobile home while it was in operation with the transmitter housed in one of the utility rooms. Once the festival was finished, a tractor hitched up the mobile home and moved it to the next town or village.

With the success of Radio Dungloe in 1981, Clark saw an opportunity to take his station mobile and operate for various festivals around the county.  The next visit for their mobile home was Radio Downings with the station now broadcasting on a regular 192m MW. This was followed by Radio Ceilteach (Celtic Radio) for the Ceilteach festival held in Falcarragh opening at midday on Saturday July 11^th 1981 and then broadcasting each evening for the next five days from seven in the evening.

In 1982 the small village of Bonagee hosted Radio Bonagee for the local spring show in May. The Donegal Democrat reported,

‘Radio Bonagee, which will be under the supervision of the very popular ex-Radio Donegal D. J., Don Clarke, will be on the air on 192 mts. medium wave, which is beside Radio Luxemburg. Don will be on the air on Wednesday and Thursday between 2 and 5 p.m. and he will be on the air all day Friday, Saturday and Sunday. His many fans will surely be phoning in requests to his popular show.’

Meanwhile when the station, now based in the mobile home, arrived back in Dungloe, it was based in the carpark of the Ostan na Rosann Hotel.

In 1983 the mobile home was back at Radio Dungloe, followed by Radio Lifford which operated just for a weekend. Radio Twin Towns was on air for the festival that connected the two ‘twin’ towns of Ballybofey and Stranolar. Radio Letterkenny was on the air once again for the Folk Festival, not as a loudspeaker station but with a medium transmitter, while in 1985 the mobile station was known as Radio Cunamh was based in Stranolar with Pat Reid and Kevin Duffy assisting Clarke and Rosney. Also, in May 1983 Radio Bonagee was back on the air with the Donegal Democrat once again reporting,

The station continued to travel to various towns across Donegal, always revisiting Dungloe. In 1985, they visited as Radio Killybegs based next to the Artic Fish Company near the quays. Radio Killybegs was back once more in 1986, this time moving frequency slightly to 205m MW. The mobile station also visited another Donegal fishing port transforming into Radio Burtonport, which according to Tommy Rosney was located next to the co-op in the town.

 

The experiment came to an end when the new 1988 legislation came into force, forcing the end of the pirate era.

My thanks to Tommy Rosney, Russ Padmore, John Breslin at Highland Radio, Ocean FM, Donegal Live and the Donegal Democrat

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[1] In Dublin a similar operation was operated by the Community Broadcasting Cooperative which broadcast from various suburb festivals including Radio Glasnevin, Radio Sandymount and Radio Ringsend.

[2] Interviewed in Letterkenny February 16^th 2023

The History of Radio In Donegal, Legal, Pirate, Festival and Local.

 

Radio in Donegal has had a colourful and diverse past. Like many counties across Ireland and especially in the 1970’s, town and villages organised festivals to attract visitors and improve local footfall to businesses. Of course, one of the most famous festivals is the annual Mary From Dungloe but as the world moved on a pace a new medium was used to promote these festivals, radio.

In the early seventies newspapers in Donegal were promoting Radio Ramelton, Radio Ballyshannon and Radio Letterkenny, which operated for the popular Letterkenny Folk Festival but while these activities had all the hallmarks of radio, they did not broadcast by traditional transmitter and aerial but were rather carried throughout their towns on a wired public address system.

In 1976 a new innovation led to an explosion of traditional analogue radio in Donegal thanks to the State broadcaster RTE. For that years ‘Mary from Dungloe’ festival RTE’s mobile radio station visited the town and broadcast as Community Radio Dungloe for the duration of the festival on 202m medium wave. The broadcasts were seen as a massive success but for RTE they were travelling around the country and could not commit to return annually to Dungloe. They did however visit other festivals in Donegal over the following years including Glenties, in Letterkenny and Ardara.

In 1981, RTE’s mobile service was advertised to return to Dungloe but just days before the festival launch, RTE said they would be unable to attend. This opened up the opportunity for a new form of broadcaster, the pirate station, to fill the void left by RTE. Radio Donegal had been operating from Letterkenny since April 1980. Using a standby transmitter, Radio Donegal headed to Dungloe and broadcast for the duration of the festival on 257m Medium wave.

 

Pirate radio by 1980 was booming across the country in every city, town and village. Donegal was no exception. While Radio Donegal in 1980 were announced as the first Donegal pirate, there had been a station on air towards the end of the second World War. Known as Radio Nuala, the station was located above the Beehive pub in Ardara. The operator broadcast propaganda on medium wave of a Republican nature aimed at a cross border audience.

Once Radio Donegal began the trend of illegal broadcasting, demonstrating both a need and as a revenue creator for the station operators, more pirates came on the air. This golden era of illegal broadcasting in Ireland lasted from 1978-1988 when new legislation with severely increased penalties for illegal broadcasting and a new legal framework for independent commercial and community radio came into being. Some of the stations heard on the airwaves in Donegal were,

Radio Donegal - 186mMW

A Letterkenny based station that initially opened in 1979 as Radio North-West. Radio Donegal was officially launched on Wednesday April 22nd 1980. The station stayed on air until September 1981 when transmitter issues and the loss of their audience to another Letterkenny pirate forced its closure.

 

Donegal Community Radio - 212mMW

Based in Mountcharles, this short lived station broadcast from June 1980 until early 1981. The station was set up by the local ‘radio committee’ who had successfully brought the RTE mobile station to the area in 1978 but when RTE stated that they could not visit again due to a packed schedule, they decided to set up a pirate operation.

 

Donegal Community Radio - 323mMW & 97.9mhzFM

This second incarnation of DCR was based in a room above the old ‘Funland’ building in Letterkenny. DCR opened in 1986 and closed in December 1988 when new legislation was enacted. The station was started by Paddy Simpson with Bobby McDaid later taking over the running of DCR. ^[1]

Glencoagh Radio - 262mMW & 97.8mhzFM

Originally called Westside Radio in 1987 and broadcasting initially on 266m, the station’s name clashed with a nearby station broadcasting in County Sligo. The station became Glencoagh Radio originally broadcasting from the village of Mountcharles and later from a cinema on the Main Street of Donegal town. Some of those involved in the station included Brian Curriston, Charlie Cannon and Jack Ramsey. The station closed in December 1988 after just over eighteen months on the air.

 

KTOK - 192mMW & 102.9mhzFM

KTOK was launched by Russ Padmore broadcasting from Donegal Town with studios located in the Castle Shopping Centre. The station began broadcasting on January 1^st 1987 and closed in accordance with the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1988 at 4p.m. December 31st 1988. In the studio that day were Russ Padmore, Gene Wilson, Tara Brady, David James and Hugo Boyce. On behalf of KTOK Media Services they thanked their sponsors, advertisers and listeners and played ‘Good-night Sweetheart’. Following that track they told their listeners that it was not Goodbye but just Goodnight and they played themselves off air with the theme from the television show Miami Vice.

Letterkenny Community Radio – 252m MW

LCR opened and closed 1983 and was based in Letterkenny.

                                   

Letterkenny Local Radio – 187m MW & 89.5mhzFM

Following the departure Simon O’Dwyer and Paul Millar from Radio Donegal, LLR went on the air in November 1980 broadcasting initially from 9am to 6pm. The Station closed in 1981.

^[2]

Northwest Community Radio - 269mMW & 103.5mhzFM

Northwest was launched by Jackie Crossan and Hugo Boyce in September 1984 with a one-kilowatt transmitter on medium wave and a 25-watt transmitter for their 103.5mhz FM transmitter. The station was located in Buncrana, County Donegal. Northwest closed with the introduction of the new laws in December 1988 with Jackie Crossan by that time had bought out of the station. Humorously the locals called the station because of its poor on air timekeeping as ‘No Watches or Clocks Radio’.^[3]

 

Radio 4U – 97.4mhz FM (later 96.6 & 100mhzFM)

The brainchild of Patrick Garten who had arrived from England to take advantage of the lax broadcasting laws and to broadcast primarily into Derry City, the station was initially located on the Southern side of the border in a cottage owned by Tom Brolly which had previously used as the location for City Sound Radio in County Donegal. After some test transmissions in early June 1987, the station officially went in air on Saturday June 6^th 1987.  In April 1988. The stations transmitters and equipment were sold to fellow Donegal station WABC and Radio 4U disappeared from the airwaves in May 1988.

Radio Jackie - 193mMW

An early 1980’s pirate station that broadcast in Donegal.

 

Radio North - 846khzAM & 103mhzFM

Radio North began broadcasting on November 18^th 1986 from studios located at Carndonagh, County Donegal. With a number of transmitter locations around the Foyle Peninsula the station aimed much of its broadcasts into Northern Ireland. The station was operated by Frank Callaghan. The station closed in December 1988 in accordance with the new Broadcasting legislation. In January 1989, Northside Radio came back on the air and continued for two years. Meanwhile Tommy Cunningham had opened North Atlantic Radio broadcasting on 954khz. In 1992 North moved from Carndonagh to Redcastle but their transmitters were causing interference to legal operators within Northern Ireland and moved again to Muff in Donegal. North disappeared from the airwaves but North Atlantic was rebranded as Radio North now broadcasting on 846khzAM.

 

In 2002 Paul Bentley took over the running of Radio North whose powerful transmitter could be heard in Dublin in 2011. Radio North promoted themselves as a C&W and Irish music station with family values and at weekends their airtime was sold to gospel and Christian broadcasters with the station announced as Gospel 846. Their own website states that,

‘Gospel 846 promotes family values through religious programming and family centred music programs.’

A quarter of a century after Radio North’s first broadcasts the station now broadcasts from studios at Shroove and transmitters located on the Moville Road. The station in various incarnations has been known as Northside Radio, Radio North County, Christian Radio 846, North 2000 and FM103.^[4]

 

Radio North Atlantic – 266m & 98mhzFM

Based near Carndonagh on the Inishowen peninsula, this station opened after the introduction of the new legislation in 1988. The brainchild of Tommy Cunningham who opened the station in competition with Radio North. The station was prosecuted in February 1993 following raids a number on the pirate stations located in Donegal.

 

Radio Nova - 233mMW & 97.9mhzFM

This version of Radio Nova began life as City Sound Radio broadcasting from a transmitter site in Donegal aimed into Derry City in 1985. The station moved to the small border village of Fahan in 1986 and was renamed Radio Nova 2 (to be different from the Dublin version). In April 1987 the ‘2’ was dropped and the station continued to broadcast until midnight December 31^st 1988 when it closed after a live broadcast from a pub in Buncrana.

 

WABC - 241mMW & 101.7mhzFM

Located at Greencastle, County Donegal WABC aimed its broadcasts at Northern Ireland especially the town of Coleraine. WABC at one time operated two stations WABC Hot Hits on 101.7mhz and WABC Gold on 101.2mhzFM. The stations closed in December 1988 only to return on the air in early 1989. The station finally closed when the station manager Paul Bentley departed for the UK.

 

Gospel 98 – 98mhz FM

Opened in 1989 by Angela Evans, this religious pirate broadcast a mixture of American preachers, rock music and bible quotations. The station was located on the Inishowen Peninsula in Donegal and broadcast into Northern Ireland. In February, their aerial was vandalised but it was quickly repaired only for that aerial to come crashing down during an Atlantic storm in March 1990. The insurance would not cover the damage as it ‘was an act of God’ and while with the help of fellow Donegal pirate, Radio North, the station opened an aerial fund, the station failed to get back on the air on its own but its programming was carried for four hours per day by Radio North from 3pm.

 

Tyrone Community Radio – 1512khz AM & 106.8mhzFM

TCR opened in May 1996, broadcasting from Strabane in County Tyrone but following raids by the British authorities that station relocated south of the border in the house at Castlefin near Lifford, Co. Donegal. With increased pressure from the authorities south of the border to discourage advertisers on the station, TCR began fundraising by holding dances and party themed events n and around Strabane. In August 2001, the station was raided but was back on the air within ten days. On November 24^th 2004, the station was raided again by the Gardai and officers from ComReg. Following that raid, the Donegal Democrat reported that,

‘A Castlefin farmer who allowed a pirate radio station to broadcast from his land was fined €100 and ordered to pay €1,500 in costs at a special sitting of Letterkenny District Court. Noel Burns, Ballylast, Castlefin, pleaded guilty to the charge which related to November 24, 2004. Mr Philip Rahan, BL, representing the Office of the Commission for Communications Regulator, prosecuted.

Evidence was heard from Mr Ivan Kiely, an official with the Commission, who said that he first picked up the frequency in the Lifford and Castlefin area in October 2004. On investigation he found that Tyrone Community Radio was operating from the defendant’s lands.

“They offer easy listening and main stream country music together with commercial advertising,” Mr Kiely said. The broadcast was traced to a pre-fab at Ballylast, Castlefin. On November 24, 2004, Mr Kiely arrived at the premises to execute a warrant. Mr Rahan explained that a DJ was broadcasting at the time the Commission officials arrived on site. An inventory was made of the radio equipment which was subsequently seized.’

On December 12^th 2007, TCR was raided again. John Barron of Drumdoit, Castlefin pleaded guilty to supplying electricity for broadcasting and two counts of supplying premises for broadcasting. William Baird with an address at Tirkeeran, Lifford also pleaded guilty to two charges of supplying electricity for broadcasting and one count of supplying premises for broadcasting. Judge Kilrane fined 68-year-old Barron €50 along with €750 costs for supplying electricity for broadcasting. Two charges of providing premises for broadcasting were taken into consideration.

 

Mr Tom Boyce, an inspector with ComReg told the court he had been monitoring radio signals from the TCR radio station on December 12, 2007 which in turn lead him to a prefabricated building at a premises in the Castlefin area. He reported that a man was seen running from the premises across a field but was quickly detained by a garda who had accompanied the inspection team. The prefabricated building contained the radio studio including computers, mixing desk, microphones and CD players. The electricity supply to the prefab was disconnected, he said, and a cable from a transmitter lead to another single story dwelling on the property. Boyce said he interviewed Baird who identified himself as the owner of the premises. He admitted disconnecting the electricity supply to the prefabricated building adding he believed the prefab was to be used for a taxi business and he would get help with paying the electricity bills.

 

Mr Boyce explained to the court that TCR played country music and advertisements for local businesses, adding the defendant was not at the core of running the station. William Baird was also fined €450 for supplying electricity plus €750 costs.

 

In August 2008, TCR was raided yet again but this time they were located north of the border and the warrants were executed by Ofcom and the Northern Ireland authorities. This was the sixteenth raid on the station. In 2013 the station went off the air in the hope of applying for an RSL.

 

But it was the closure of Radio Donegal after eighteen months on the air that created one of the most unique pirate radio experiments in the county. Don Clark who worked for Radio Donegal saw an opportunity to help publicise the various festivals around the country by creating a mobile service in a caravan travelling from town in town.

Radio Dungloe                        257m MW                  1981

Radio Downings                     192m MW                  1981

Radio Ceilteach                      192m MW                  1981    (Falcarragh)   

Radio Dungloe                        192m MW                  1983

Radio Lifford                          192m MW                  1983

Radio Twin Towns                 192m MW                  1983    (Ballybofey and Stranolar)

Radio Dungloe                        198m MW                  1985

Radio Cunamh                        187m MW & 96FM    1985    Letterkenny

Radio Killybegs                      192m MW                  1985

Radio Killybegs                      205m MW                  1986

The legal stations have included these stations including today’s leading local station, Highland Radio based in Letterkenny. Highland began broadcasting on March 15th 1990 having been awarded the new licence from the IRTC. The southern part of the county along with Sligo and Leitrim was covered initially by North West Radio but they lost their licence in 2004 to be replaced by Ocean FM. Community in the county in the past has included Inishowen Community Radio and Donegal Bay FM and today is served by temporary licences awarded to Owenea FM, Finn Valley FM and Rosses Radio. 

Today (February 2023) there is one pirate still operating in the county, Radio North.

https://www.facebook.com/DublinsPirateDays/videos/5878453322204545/

There are other non-licenced stations operating on FM across Donegal as various Catholic and Protestant churches broadcast Mass and services mostly on Sundays but also for funeral services.

Sources

The DX Archive

Radiowaves.fm

Pirate.ie

The Irish Pirate Radio Archive

The Anoraks Ireland Collection at DCU

The Irish Newspaper Archives

The British Newspaper Archives

Tommy Rosney

Russ Padmore   

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[1] Donegal Democrat

[2] The Donegal Democrat

[3] Gerry O’Reilly

[4] As of January 31^st 2023, the station was still on the air broadcasting illegally