Illegal community radio togo on the air

April 1982

Community Radio Wexford (CRW) will go on the air this Friday morning despite reservations by community leaders and accusations by a local priest that the organisers are ‘ blatantly flouting the law and inviting others in the community to do the same’.

CRW replaces the pirate station WCLR, which stopped broadcasting two weeks ago. It plans to broadcast in a twelve-mile radius of Wexford town at first, and intends to go countywide when planning permission is obtained for a 100-foot mast at Forth Mountain.

But, despite the fact that the new station is affiliated to and advised by the National Association for Community Radio (part of the Co- Operative Movement), its operations are illegal and are openly admitted to be so by its three directors: Dominic Kiernan, Pat Murphy, and Alan Corcoran, three men who were also involved in the WCLR broadcasts.

There was criticism of the development too by Fr Michael Funge and Fr John Jordan.

Fr Jordan said RTE would be applying for a franchise to organise community radio in twelve centres. Pirate radio would be closed down and anyone involved would be prosecuted. ‘Do you want to get people involved in something like this?’ he asked.

‘I have information which I cannot disclose. Another interest may come in and close down the illegal station, and the people from the community involved would be left high and dry,’ Fr Jordan added.

Fr Funge went further. He said the new station would blatantly be flouting the law and asking the community to do the same.

And there was a thumbs down sign too from local newspapers interests, when ‘People’ Managing Director, Austin Channing, said he agreed with the concept of community broadcasting but this newspaper group could not be involved in an illegal operation ‘or anything with a taint of dishonesty.’

But despite the criticism, CRW is going ahead with its planned broadcasts, which start on medium wave at 9 a.m. on Friday.