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Short Wave Broadcasting: 1920s-1947
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In the 1920s, the early days of radio broadcasting in Ireland, private broadcasting operators including Marconi Wireless Telegraphy Company had proposed to provide a short wave broadcasting service for commercial reasons, to break the monopoly in transatlantic communications which were controlled by the British Post Office and cable operators.
In 1932, the Broadcast Advisory Committee of the Department of Posts and Telegraphs proposed the introduction of short wave broadcasting for the benefit of "the 4.54 million Irish people living abroad". However, the proposal was rejected due to lack of available funding, nevertheless, an inter-departmental committee was set up in 1937 to study the viability of such a service.
In February 1937, the installation of short wave transmission equipment was completed near the medium-wave transmitter at Athlone and, from St Patrick's Day 1939, trial transmissions took place. The transmission had poor signal strength: the 1.5 kilowatt transmitter was too weak and a well-placed wavelength was not secured- moreover, as the war developed, the airwaves became over-populated. A committee was set up by the Department of Post and Telegraphs in 1940 to improve the quality of the transmission. By 1944, the project was abandoned due the unavailability of equipment during the war but it was revived shortly afterwards. Short-wave transmission was put into use for the re-broadcast, in a French translation, of de Valera's response to Churchill in 1945.
A substantial increase in funding for broadcasting in the estimates of 1947 was intended, in particular, to further the cause of short wave broadcasting. In addition to funding for short wave equipment, investment was made available to improve the general standard of radio content to prepare for broadcast on an international platform: the orchestra was expanded, a second orchestra was formed, Radio Éireann Players was founded, several new positions were created to strengthen news, features and outside broadcasting. Although significant representation on the airwaves would require multiple transmitters and several wavelengths, the government remained committed to this project for its political ambition in creating direct communication lines abroad, to the U.S.A. in particular. The political imperative that drove the project was to "bring the attention of the world to the question of Partition".
However, the new coalition government elected in 1948 chose to suspend investment in the short wave project. Although Fianna Fáil revived the project when they came back to power in 1951, the practical difficulties could not be overcome and a short wave service never came into being. |
