Dublin's Millennium Radio 88. 1988-1989

Micheal Varadkar

Would you agree that Millennium was the first and last legal "proper local" radio station that Dublin ever had? I believe that RTE were hoping at the time that they'd be allowed to continue it like RTE Radio cork, should it have been allowed to continue broadcasting ?

TheBMG

That’s a blast from the past. I did love their studio location (in the GPO Arcade, you could see the DJ at work!).

Jingles were from an Alfasound package for Beacon Radio.

Declan Meehans first station after arriving back in Dublin too. I believe he was meant to go back to 2FM after Millenium closed (there’s even a 2FM jingle with his name out there somewhere) but instead he was reunited with the late Bob Gallicoe over at Century Radio.

amlinopta

I see former Millennium and long time RTE presenter Robbie Irwin appearing on the KFM weekend schedule from time to time

Declan A Walsh

Declan Meehan is with East Coast FM these days.

Other people associated with Millennium Radio during its run, at one stage or another, include:

John Clarke - future Head of 2FM and now retired from regular radio but still involved in small radio projects like Charity Radio

Robbie Irwin - former RTE sports presenter and * now retired from regular radio, but turned up on Christmas FM the last few years ... * or so I thought - see post above!

Jimmy Grealey - this was one of many areas of RTE (both tv and radio) that he was involved with. Eventually he left RTE for 98FM as a newsreader, followed by a stint as a presenter and then as a newsreader on 4FM/Classic Hits. AFAIK he is retired now.

Scott Williams - CEO and presenter with Q102

Mark Byrne - turned up on various Dublin stations as well as Century Radio, Atlantic 252 and Radio Ireland/Today FM. He left full-time radio to become a pilot, but kept his hand in over the years. The last station I am aware of is Christmas FM.

Gareth O'Callaghan - he moved to 2FM where he spent many years, mainly in the afternoon. Went on to Galway Bay FM and then 4FM/Classic Hits, which he returned to in the last year or so.

Nails Mahoney - like a few others, he moved to 2FM. He also has done stints with Atlantic 252, Radio Ireland/Today FM and a few Dublin stations. He is a radio coach these days.

icdg

OP, what does “proper local” mean?

Do you mean that the local stations that exist are not really local because they play mainly music. That may be a fair charge in a lot of cases. But if so, what about the original Dublin-only incarnation of Newstalk? Or Dublin City FM, is that not “proper local” because it’s not commercial?

If you’re looking for a Dublin station that exactly reflects the rural ILR format, the fact is that sort of station doesn’t have a market in Dublin. The death notices after the 10am news would be enough to send most Dublin listeners changing the dial straight away.

Nor is there any possiblity that now, at this point, with the demands for cost cutting and retrenchment, that cash-strapped RTE is going to be suddenly funded to open such a station. As it is they are struggling to keep what they have. Even if that wasn’t the case, a lot of rural listeners would lay the charge that RTE already is a Dublin local station. Unfairly in my view, but the perception would be enough to shoot down the proposition immediately.

bureau2009

I think Maxi worked on Millenium Radio also.

Micheal Varadkar

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121277927#Comment_121277927

The simplest way I saw it explained once is that there isn't currently even one big personality on Dublin radio, like there isn't a Dublin equivalent of Keith Finnegan or Neil Prendeville or Gerry Hannan

Hangdogroad

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121281109#Comment_121281109

Thank yourselves lucky you don't have a Neil Prendiville.

TheBMG

Maybe there’s too many stations for one to develop. Even in the 80s Dublin never really had its own “John the Man” type.

The Dubs did have their late night talk show wars though as well as some high profile breakfast shows over the years.

Muller1991

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121281297#Comment_121281297

The late night talk show wars haven't been a thing since Adrian and Jeremy left FM104. Niall Boylan is only on Classic Hits in the evening now and I'd wonder if many listen in to it.

Declan A Walsh

The newsroom included Brian Jennings, Joyce Jackson, Andrew Hanlon and the late Bob Gallicoe.

TheBMG

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121281964#Comment_121281964

Did Bob work there? Don’t remember that at all. Thought he went to Treble TR after the sudden demise of Energy 103

Declan A Walsh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121283891#Comment_121283891

Yes, Bob Gallicoe did go to Treble TR after Energy 103 in 1988. However, it was during the last few months of Millennium Radio in 1989 that he came on board. Quite a number of people turned up on Millennium during its last five months in 1989 - many straight from the pirates.

Infoanon

Millennium licence was extended into '89 to fill the gap left by the closure of the pirates and a number of shows eg BiBop Gold (obviously with a different name ) moved from eg Sunshine to Millennium in the same time slot.

Bob comments that he 'doesn't think he will be here in the next millennium ' on the closedown iirc.

Bobs pirates escapades were Nova / Zoom / Q102 / Energy / Treble TR iirc

TheBMG

Always informative from @Declan A Walsh and @Infoanon

I got to see Nails in studio at Millennium the day after Sunshine closed but never knew about Bob being there too.

Never will understood why RTE didn’t snap Bob up for their national service.

Losty Dublin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121285328#Comment_121285328

I believe he was all set to return to the US after the fall of the super pirates and the two Dublin operators going for a different type of newscaster. He got two years out of Century, which was something I guess.

Declan A Walsh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121287414#Comment_121287414

Just before Bob Gallico landed on Millennium, his voice could be heard being used for a Free Radio Newsheet promo on Radio Dublin! I think he may have turned up on FM104 after Century. I know he did stints on Wicklow's East Coast FM, Radio Ireland (now Today FM) and 106.8 (either as Dublin's Country Mix 106.8 or Sunshine 106.8).

Other people who came directly from the pirates to Millennium: Gareth O'Callaghan, Nails Mahoney and Scott Williams. In the case of Mark Byrne, it was his first Irish licensed station but he had been with Riviera Radio just before, which is probably why that he arrived towards the end of its run.

Others who turned up on Century Radio subsequently: Robbie Irwin, Declan Meehan, Scott Williams and Mark Byrne.

Others who turned up on Radio Ireland/Today FM subsequently: Robbie Irwin, Declan Meehan, Nails Mahoney and Mark Byrne.

Declan A Walsh

Another person who came straight from the pirates to Millennium Radio was Kieran Murray, who worked there as a general assistant. After that, he went to Capital Radio doing sports news and presentation. A few years later he reinvented himself there as Stereo Steve on its rebrand as FM104.

Enda Caldwell

Listened in that gap period of Jan '89 until its close. Have to say what a cracking station that was one of the best things that RTE ever did! Was always fun to listen to for the last few months as top jocks like Mark Byrne began to appear on the schedule. It had some of the spirit of Nova and Sunshine about it.

See! I CAN say nice things about RTE!!!

ford fiesta

I didn't realise that Al Dunne was on Millennium

ford fiesta

3 EMT 948 turntables in studio and as well as the Sonifex cart machines, the public can see these up close in action by just standing at the GPO arcade studio window !!! - anorak heaven !!

I wonder how much RTE spent on these turntables at the time for Millennium - only as a temp station for 1 year, or had they already the 3 of them "in stock/spare" ?

How much would the EMTs be worth now? Probably around €8,000 each. RTE must have had loads of them for Radio 1, Radio 2, R Na G, FM3, Radio and TV Presentation studios, Production studios etc - were they dumped or sold on ?

Millennium Radio Closedown 30-04-89 (youtube.com)

Enda Caldwell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121605611#Comment_121605611

And what was his first record?

ZZ Top - Gimme All Your Lovin'

ford fiesta

Found some of Al Dunne on Millennium:

Mixcloud

Enda Caldwell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121609525#Comment_121609525

Awesome! That will make for good listening on a car journey of the future.

https://www.mixcloud.com/Energy80s/millennium-radio-dublin-1278-am-15-04-89-mark-byrne-bob-gallico/

May as well post this too.

It does sound like listening to Sunshine in about 85 with Mark on there playing Clannad...

Had forgotten how Superpirate it had sounded with ads for The Gap... and Xtravision. That news jingle was dramatic but you need a good news jingle to intro Bob!

I will always credit Millennium as "one of RTE's finest moments" - *ironically it was almost completely ran by former Superpirate key people!

It should have remained on as a local service.

ford fiesta

Schedule from January 1989

TheBMG

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121653213#Comment_121653213

Not a bad lineup in fairness!

Tax The Farmers

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058319396/dublins-millennium-radio-88-1988-1989

They may arguably have been the last but not the first. There was:

The RTE Liberties community station (c. 1975) the original 2RN or its predecessor 2BP IIRC there was an experiment with an RTE sponsored student station from Trinity college sometime in the 1970's as well ?

"But they were all temporary licences" you say ? Err so was Millennium !

Another anorak trivia question. What's the oldest "licenced" local station still operating in Dublin ? I'll give you a clue. They're not (and IIRC never have been) on 104.4 MHz

TheBMG

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121681443#Comment_121681443

they don’t officially fit the definition of ‘local radio’ but either St Itas Hospital Radio or Dublin City FM (Anna Livia).

St Itas was in Ray Burkes constituency back in the day!

Tax The Farmers

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121681653#Comment_121681653

St Itas/Radio Portrane and Mater Hospital radio were "licenced" prior to the establishment of the IRTC. The question of whether the documents in question had any legal validity was rendered moot by the IRTC deciding to issue "institutional" licences in the late 1990's but prior to that they occupied a very interesting legal grey area. They are as much "local" stations as any others using the official term (arguably moreso).

Another local station RTE operated in Dublin for a spell was "Carnival radio 2"

Speaking of Radio 2 RTE had been lobbying the government for years to let them set up local stations in Dublin and Limerick (and extend hours on the Cork station) The Limerick station never saw the light of day (unless one counts Lyric) but having dragged their heels for years on the Dublin station the Government suddenly ordered RTE at short notice to set up a National service in its place -the station now known as 2FM.

During the 1980's there was further foot dragging on the question of 24 hour broadcasting.

In many respects the sluggish response to the rise of pirate radio in the 1970's and 80's can be blamed on successive P&T ministers rather than RTE themselves or (the other common scapegoat for all the ills of the period) the Unions.

TheBMG

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121681801#Comment_121681801

Are you sure that Mater were also on as a not quite pirate/quasi legal? I’ve no recollection of them being an FM station until way into the 1990s.

Tax The Farmers

I remember seeing them mentioned in a newspaper article on the 1988 closedowns and they were definitely around in the mid 1990's. They didn't seem to have as much power/coverage than the other hospital stations though.

Anna Livia didnt come on until late 1990 Or 91 IIRC. They had an initial spell on a temp licence as well.

Anyway back to Millennium Radio. They got a five month extension to fill the seven month gap between the super pirates and first ILR stations but this was shag all use to the Culchies.

TheBMG

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121683085#Comment_121683085

I’ll wager you a shiny dollar that Mater didn’t start FM until the 90s 😜

Anna Livia did a trial run in 1991 then came on as a fulltime service in Autumn 1992. I joined them for a brief spell helping out as a tech op/engineer but they quickly realised I knew nothing about engineering!