2RN
Encyclopedia
2RN was the first radio broadcasting station in the Irish Free State
. It began broadcasting on 1 January 1926 and continued until 1933, when it was succeeded by Radio Athlone (later Radio Éireann). The station was run by the Irish Post Office, under the Department of Posts and Telegraphs
.
building in 1928.
The 1.5 Kilowatt Marconi
transmitter was located at McKee Barracks, near the Phoenix Park
.
The station initially broadcast on 380 metres (790 KHz), although the choice of this wavelength led to complaints from members of the public as, due to the limitations of the receiver technology of the time, transmissions led to interference to and by other stations, especially 6BM in Bournemouth and the Hamburg radio station.
Reception of the station for many Irish listeners outside Dublin was problematic, although even at the time of the inception of the station, there were plans for a high-power transmitter to serve the whole country. In 1927 the Cork broadcasting station 6CK
was established, which relayed many of 2RN's programmes, as well as contributing programmes to the network.
Initially the station broadcast three hours a night, from 19:30 to 22:30, with only a two hour broadcast on Sunday nights.
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...
. It began broadcasting on 1 January 1926 and continued until 1933, when it was succeeded by Radio Athlone (later Radio Éireann). The station was run by the Irish Post Office, under the Department of Posts and Telegraphs
Minister for Posts and Telegraphs (Ireland)
The Minister for Posts and Telegraphs was a senior post in the government of the Irish Free State and the Republic of Ireland from 1924 to 1984, when the post and the department was abolished....
.
Studios and wavelengths
The studio for 2RN was originally located at Little Denmark Street, off Henry Street in Dublin, moving to the nearby GPOGeneral Post Office (Dublin)
The General Post Office ' in Dublin is the headquarters of the Irish postal service, An Post, and Dublin's principal post office...
building in 1928.
The 1.5 Kilowatt Marconi
Marconi Company
The Marconi Company Ltd. was founded by Guglielmo Marconi in 1897 as The Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company...
transmitter was located at McKee Barracks, near the Phoenix Park
Phoenix Park
Phoenix Park is an urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying 2–4 km west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its 16 km perimeter wall encloses , one of the largest walled city parks in Europe. It includes large areas of grassland and tree-lined avenues, and since the seventeenth...
.
The station initially broadcast on 380 metres (790 KHz), although the choice of this wavelength led to complaints from members of the public as, due to the limitations of the receiver technology of the time, transmissions led to interference to and by other stations, especially 6BM in Bournemouth and the Hamburg radio station.
Reception of the station for many Irish listeners outside Dublin was problematic, although even at the time of the inception of the station, there were plans for a high-power transmitter to serve the whole country. In 1927 the Cork broadcasting station 6CK
6CK
6CK was the first official radio station in Cork, Ireland and formed part of the national radio service of the Irish Free State. The station was set up in 1927 as an expansion of 2RN, the national station established in Dublin the previous year....
was established, which relayed many of 2RN's programmes, as well as contributing programmes to the network.
Initially the station broadcast three hours a night, from 19:30 to 22:30, with only a two hour broadcast on Sunday nights.