Morning Ireland

Memorable moments: Shock and Awe, the beginning of the Iraq War

by Richard Downes

It’s strange to think how close the line is between success and failure in broadcasting. As the war in Iraq started, I was stationed in Baghdad covering events for RTÉ but, of course, Morning Ireland was my home programme and there would always be a special effort to do pieces for the country’s biggest radio programme.

However, I had a problem. My satellite system was state of the art, but a few days before, an Iraqi colleague had tried to cut through the cable which connected the satellite dish to my studio. It wasn’t a malicious act, just stupidity. I had stopped him in time, but was left with a badly frayed wire. If anyone touched it the dish just died.

And so in the middle of a war I spent much of my broadcast time worried about a cable!

The night of “shock and awe” in March 2003 was one of those unforgettable and terrifying periods that stays with a reporter for a long time. Bombs came crashing down all over the city and the chaos of the new Iraq was becoming evident all over: people were fleeing the city looking for safe haven; the army was ineffectually defending the country; families were trying to look after their vulnerable members; hospitals were filling up with casualties.

It was difficult to get through to Dublin from Baghdad because the Americans suppressed the satellite signals from the city in an attempt to stop Saddam Hussein from communicating with his generals. In addition I had my wire problem.

After the bombs had stopped falling on the first night of the war, I attempted to get through to Dublin. After what seemed like hours, I finally heard a whirring noise and a series of clicks and then, miraculously it seemed to me, I heard Aine’s voice. Authoritative, informed and warm, it was like a breath of fresh air.

For the first time I had the opportunity to relay the events of the previous night; the bombings, the exodus of people from the city, the families buying sleeping tablets for their children so they could get through the bombing, the growing sense of fear and chaos.

I spoke quickly and urgently, partly because of the adrenaline that courses through the veins on occasions like this. But there was another factor. At any moment I thought someone would stand on my cable and crash the precious line to Dublin.

It went on like that for weeks, literally hanging by a thread.

Because of the current difficult financial situation, we are not doing as much foreign reporting as we used to. Hopefully that will improve along with the recovery of the economy. We are very dependent on international events and Morning Ireland should be at the heart of bringing them to our listeners. That’s one thing to look forward to.