Radio Milinda

Radio Milinda
Broadcast areaDublin, Ireland[1]
Frequency300 metres / 1000 kHz[2]
Programming
FormatPop to oldies [1]
Ownership
OwnerNo longer transmitting on air.
Technical information
Power100 watts[2]
Links
Websitewww.radiomilinda.com

Radio Milinda was the first[2] pirate radio station in Ireland to be raided by Gardaí and prosecuted.[3] On Sunday, 17 December 1972[2][4] almost 100 Gardaí raided the station at 5 North Gloucester Place, Dublin (better known as The Diamond). Seven people were arrested and taken to Store Street police station, where they were later fined £2. The equipment and all records and tapes were confiscated.[1]

History

Radio Milinda was originally the brain-child of Jimmy McCabe who built the guts of the transmitter. The Name "Milinda" which should have been "Melinda", was taken from the 1967 song "Come Away Melinda" as sung by Tim Rose.

The station first began test transmissions early on in 1972 from the upstairs of a youth club in Dublin 1. with a very small transmitter. Ger Wallace designed the Big Transmitter. Jimmy McCabe constructed it in a biscuit tin and the chassis of a broken E.C.G. machine. The aerial was strung from the roof of the tenements in Summerhill to the roof of the tenements in Sean Mc Dermott Street "No Mean Feat" (5 Stories High). It was 300 metres (1000') long with a tap at 100 metres (300'). It came into the station via the roof of 5 North Gloucester Place.

The station was set up in two rooms in the basement. These rooms had been unused since the Second World War and were used without alteration other than the cable run for power. There were no windows and the studio per se was built of bits of orange boxes and whatever else came to hand. The first DJs were Jimmy Lynch, Jimmy McCabe (McCabe's Country) and Richie Kearns. They were later joined by Michael Lynch, Declan Meehan and Mark Storey and on one or two occasions by Fran Gleeson. Although it has been stated that the power output was of 50 Watts, Radio Milinda had QSLs from Wales, Brighton and other locations in the United Kingdom. Radio Milinda became a member of B.I.R.M. Brighton Independent Radio Movement, an organisation who tried to legalise the then pirate radio scene.

References and sources

Notes
  1. ^ a b c "Radio Milinda". Archived from the original on 12 April 2008. Retrieved 16 March 2008.
  2. ^ a b c d "Radio Milinda". SIRA Magazine. Autumn 1973. Retrieved 16 March 2008.[permanent dead link‍]
  3. ^ Irish Media: A Critical History Since 1922 By John Horgan - Page 125 (Google Books)
  4. ^ "History of Irish Public Service Broadcasting - Timeline". Retrieved 16 March 2008.
Bibliography