Episode 4. Local Politics and Commercial Breaks

In episode four of this personal journey through the development of Bray Local Broadcasting, Mark Quinn looks at how, despite the station operating outside the law, local politicians were eager to make appearances on air. The episode also transports us back in time through a collection of radio commercials created for local businesses—many of which have since vanished—providing a rich, nostalgic window into Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland’s vibrant past.

Credits: 

Sound recording by Mike Quinn 

Sound mixing by Luke Conlon 

High Wire Post Production, Dublin, Ireland 

www.highwire.ie  

Artwork by Jody Hogg Design 

www.jodyhogg.com  

Produced and presented by Mark Quinn 

The copyright for this podcast series is owned by Mark Quinn and is hereby reserved.

Bray Talking Heads – Stories from a Seaside Town. A podcast celebrating the stories, history, and people of Bray, past and present. Whether you're a lifelong Brayite or just discovering this special town, join us for conversations that connect, inspire, and bring our community to life - wherever you are in the world. Hosted by Mark Quinn, Leah Kinsella, and Pat Hannon. Connect with us on Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky @braytalkingheads, or email us at braytalkingheads@gmail.com

https://blb.buzzsprout.com

Transcript

A Radiogenic production.



BLB, sounds from the past, memories of pirate radio and stories ofBray Local Broadcasting. Episode 4.



We're on the air now. 

 Bray needs communication, and I think communication

 will open things up for everyone.

 Welcome to another Boghall Community Council programme. There was the Meath Road listeners, there was the Wolf Tone Square listeners, there was the Boghall Road... Hey, you are Glenn Curtin.

 A sad little ditty, a bad salad. Sorry, a sad ballad. Sitting on a dart coming home and someone said "I liked your programme this morning." Oh, what on earth was that rubbish you played?

 It was wonderful. BLB, the magnificent service that it provided at the time, there really was the voice, the glue that made us what we are today. I think the town rediscovered its vibrant identity.



 BLB was a pirate radio station broadcasting illegally. And it was allowed to technically break the law and continue broadcasting for nine years or so, because there were no licenses to apply for, and the law, such as it was, was ambiguous and not vigorously enforced. One enforcement there was of the Flimsy Wireless and Telegraphy Act fell to the Department of Post and Telegraphs, or the PNT as they were known. They occasionally set up surprise raids on some of the many pirate stations operating around Ireland in the 1980s and seized their transmission equipment, rendering the stations inoperable. Bray Local Broadcasting, BLB, was never raided, and perhaps the reason for that was because we were calling ourselves a community radio station. Or maybe it was because we had friends in high places in the local PNT in Bray.

 The more it went on, the more I was convinced that local radio was raced.

 This is Joe Lockman, who was a senior employee of the PNT and manager of Bray Telephone Exchange back in the 1980s. He was also a founding member of several Bray institutions and became a member of BLB. In his work, he championed BLB almost to the detriment of his livelihood. This interview was first broadcast in 1988.

 I had a habit over the years of fighting adversity, and this was a new challenge. And I felt that this has to work, just as Credit Union worked, just as the Wheelers worked, just as various things, the obsession about a museum and all these sort of things beforehand. These were good things. Just being tenacious about it. On my part, in my involvement, I just didn't want to hear anything else. And I felt that local radio was one of these things. It just had to work. And I said, I'm definitely getting involved and be established and can go to hell. And I really stuck my neck out, and I was challenged a few times about my involvement. And I said, well, my attitude now is that I have a few more years left in the job if they want to sack me, let them sack me. I'm getting involved in local radio, and I think the decision was raised because it'd be such a wonderful thing for Bray.

 Well, thankfully, Joe Lockman wasn't dismissed from his job at Bray Telephone Exchange and went on to retire gracefully. This was 1980s Ireland, and of course, as we've said, BLB wasn't the only radio station operating outside the law. Across the country, there were pirate radio stations springing up everywhere. Most of them were simply playing pop music and making money through selling advertising for local businesses. And they nearly all had the same amateurish sound, both in presentation style and technically. That is until the summer of 1981, when capitalizing on the gap between the professional sounding RTE and the mostly shoddy sounding pirates, the slick guys arrived. Chris Carey was a former radio Luxembourg DJ, and he and Robbie Robinson set up Radio Nova and Sunshine Radio, the super pirates. Radio Nova!

 It's 25 past nine.

 When Radio Nova came on air long after we'd launched, it had a particularly strong medium wave or AM signal that was very close to BLBs on the radio waveband. So close, in fact, the BLB signal was being blocked out by Nova. So John Murphy and I decided that we needed to go and tell the owner of Nova, Chris Carey, that we were there first and he would just have to move frequency. So we made an appointment and went to the studios of Radio Nova in Herbert Street in Dublin. The meeting went like this. We stated our case and Chris Carey just sat behind his big desk smirking and simply said that he was not moving frequency. End of meeting.



 Within a few weeks, we bought a new crystal for the transmitter and BLB then moved frequency to 456 meters or 657 kilohertz on medium wave.



 The super pirates had proved many things, including that listeners wanted the clear stereo sound of FM.

 FM was getting more popular. John Murphy. Orte had an FM signal as well. So we thought, well, we're going to have to do something about that. One of the pioneers was Frank Duffy up in Brayhead. He built an FM stereo transmitter.



 That transformed us. We now had AM. We now had FM. And FM was the way I think it was going. And FM was so much easier to build in terms of antenna and everything.



 If

 we go right back to the beginning of this radio adventure, you might remember us talking about the 1979 local election and how it not only gave us an interest in making more substantial programming, but also offered local politicians a direct connection to their constituents.



 Back then, with no such thing as the Internet, this potent direct connection was only available on local radio. And we in BLB regularly had local politicians on air. And I think it's fair to say that they very quickly saw the advantages.



 Local radio probably had a more significant impact on local politics than anything else.

 BLB presenter Mark Mortell.

 I ultimately became a member of Bray Urban Council. I was co-opted in I think 1983 and then ran for election 1985 and got elected onto the County Council. The local radio was a medium that now was like manna from heaven to people involved in local politics.

 presenter and producer Pat Hammond.

 Back in 1979 and all those early 80s, nobody ever heard a councillor speak on radio. You had presenters, John Matthews, Mark Quinn, Bray Today, Oliver Dixon, Roundabout. Getting these people in for interviews who were never heard before are never challenged on stuff. So here was BLB holding truth to power in a small local democracy. And I think the people of Bray kind of appreciated that.

 Those of us that listened to Southside subsequently, BLB, you had access to those politicians and some of them got to use it and copped onto this much faster than others. But it brought the whole thing to life and it gave them a platform that hadn't existed before. And it brought that immediacy and that local contact to news and to events and an opportunity to obviously promote yourself. You know, so for God's sake, like it was it was brilliant.

 I think the relationship with local politicians was interesting because on the one hand, you know, it's an illegal pirate radio station, what they were doing, I suppose technically illegal. But they weren't slow about seeing the possibilities that local radio and BLB in particular offered them because we were dead keen to have them involved and to have their voices on air.

 Sally Reynolds, a former station manager.

 It is before social media is before all those things that you take so much for granted now. And so far as that they had not been heard before, because the only time maybe they might get onto RT was around the time of an election or something, or if they did something dramatic. But for the most part, they weren't heard. So suddenly they were heard. I don't remember any of them saying that they wouldn't come on.



 I've taught in towns in various parts of Ireland before I came here 12 years ago. I love this town.

 This is Pat Hunt in 1987. He was then presidentof Bray Chamber of Commerce, speaking on the roundabout program, which was broadcast every Saturday morning.

 There are more big grudgers per square inch in this town than per square mile elsewhere in Ireland. If I had one prayer for Braid in 1988, it would be to develop a better can do attitude.

 And now Pat Hunt today.

 We could switch on our radios particularly on Saturday mornings and discover what else was happening in the town and who our neighbors were. What were they doing? What were their pastimes? What were they interested in? What were the local issues that needed urgent attention in the town?

 This problem came up. It manifested itself. And I think in myself it's blown out of proportion. The fact that we're going to have enormous numbers of people coming out to Braid to gamble, that isn't so at all.

 The prospect of banning the introduction of gaming or slot machines in Braid was the subject of this roundabout discussion in 1987 with councillors Noel Keys and Bridgy Hannon.

 I feel that we did have a chance to do something about it. And unfortunately the rest of the council didn't grasp the chance.

 I think for local politicians it was a particularly good outlet. I mean most local politicians are in the council, the urban or the county council, right? And they might appear in a photograph in the newspaper, but to be able to be asked questions on the air by the protesters phoning in, to be able to put their point of view across. And we were quite scrupulous in those days even to get a balance, to give them a fair amount of time, get every side heard. I think the politicians rose to that. They understood that. Sure they'd ring us and say, "I want to talk about this," but everyone except them would be a balance.

 Now there's a great deal of community effort going to be needed here.

 This roundabout interview is with Owen Dixon and Councillor Michael Ledwich on the raising of funding for a new seawall on Bray Seafront.

 Because the approximate cost of restoration is, I believe, in the area of three million. Yes. And it is up to the county as a whole to come up with something like 20% of that. Correct. How are we going to do this?

 The money from the...

 We would talk about the different areas in the tone.



 John J. J. Matthews was the presenter of a current affairs series on BLB called Saturday Soapbox.

 I can remember debates between local politicians, say, like Dick Roach, a Fianna Fáil politician. And we had Liz McManus, who lived literally across the road from the station. They would always be prepared to debate. Even though the station was illegal,



 politicians were quite happy to get on air. For instance, we had people like Gemma Hussey, who would... no problem in giving an interview. So they seemed to think that it was important to be involved in it. They felt it had a local clout.

 It was a common voice. They were of the people, from the people, and they spoke for the people. And they picked on issues that all of us could easily identify with, in which, in fact, we're outside our own front doors.

 So who got the tender then?

 Well, the tender for this area went to Noble Brothers.



 This is from another 1987 roundabout program, and this time I'm asking Wicklow County Councillor Johnny Fox about the recent privatisation of refuse collection in the county.

 Newton and Kennedy, almost to Newcastle, and into the urban area of Bray.

 Even political parties became more alive. It was a better representation of people in the town. And

 we were very concerned and disappointed that the same attitude wasn't taken in Bray.

 Councillor Liz MacManus this time on roundabout as part of that discussion on gaming or slot machines.

 Because the long-term effects would be, in our view, that the same operators that were operating in Dublin would move out to Bray, and Bray would become a gambling town.



 Bray Local Broadcasting Community Radio on 657 Kilo Hart sits just after 3 o'clock.

 A regular feature of BLB's output was the voice of the people, or the Vox Pop. Our presenters would wander the streets of Bray, asking members of the public all sorts of questions, and then, because it was such a novelty for people to hear their names on the radio, they would usually end up asking for a request. Here's Joe Bollard on the main street of Bray in 1986, and first Mick Curtis of the roundabout team in 1981.



 Is it giving you what you want? Would you like to see more programmes of programming? No, it's a great variety of music on it, that you like. What do you like? Being an old-mired mother. Is there any particular programme you like yourself, one in particular? No, I can say I like them all. The nice variety there is. Would you like to make a dedication? I would. For my husband, he's at home now, and my family on the harvest road.

 And who are you?

 Beatrice Vane is my name.

 I've got a lady with me. Hello, can I have your name lovely? Nancy McQuaid. Nancy from where? Glasgow. Are you a reason to leave Bray? A reason to leave Bray. Nancy McQuaid, you're not wearing the kilt this morning. No, no.

 How long have you been home? I've been home there since the beginning of August. And how are you keeping? Very good, thank you. Are you enjoying yourself? Of course, I am. I was enjoying myself on a month of Bray. Yeah, good. Is there anyone you'd like to say hello to? I'd like to say hello to my son John, who's home on holiday. He's wife, Mags, and my little grandson, Ryan John McQuaid.

 Joe Bullard was a particularly skilled interviewer of people on the streets, but even he was thrown when he attempted a chat with Bray's famous street newspaper seller, Chicken Riley. Now unfortunately, we don't have a recording of the incident, but we do have it on good authority that when out broadcasting live from Bray's main street, Joe quizzed the seasoned street vendor Chicken about his nickname, and he replied, "Well, me f**king father was called Chicken, so this is probably a good time to take a commercial break."



 The station obviously had utility bills and other running costs to meet, and these were funded by the ads. Our first ad salesman was John Tuff, and some of the clients that he secured in the first year of operation in 1979, like Cyril Dunn of the fashion salon on Bray's main street, remained loyal to the station and ran their ads on BLB for many years afterwards. Here's John Murphy on the early recording techniques we employed producing those ads.

 We used to make 30 second ads, and 30 seconds was the length of my living room in Bray. So we cut a piece of tape from the front window to the back window, and that was approximately 30 seconds, and roll it up, and they were the ads.

 Local radio had a fantastic opportunity.

 Freddie Morahan was not only a presenter on the station, but also as a retailer, he was an advertiser.

 Because everybody who listened to the radio was a potential customer.

 Once by a time, there was a very special bookshop on Queensborough Road.

 The only way we could raise money was to sell advertising, but the advertising money went into a deposit account, and it was for running the station.

 Carmels had long to read to suit all ages, and an hour open all day Wednesday. Carmels, one sequence for a road break.

 I think one of the interesting things about BLB was that despite all of its lofty feelings, you know, that we were above commercial life, we also needed advertising. Sally Reynolds. And we had just the best salesman, Liam DeShoon, that you could possibly imagine.

 Haven't you always wanted a sit-room car, but were worried about its cost?

 Because we were much cheaper than other stations, it was easy to get people, okay, we'll give you a try, we'll give you a try.

 Liam DeShoon was employed on a full-time basis selling advertising space on the station, and he secured many new clients.

 And they did get results. They had people coming, "Oh, I heard you on the radio, I thought I'd drop in." So it did work.

 Eugene McGee Travel, 4 South Down Street Dublin, and 115 Main Street Brae.

 You showed them the value of it, you showed them how cheap it is, you showed them what great service to the community we are doing.

 Allens have been serving Brae for over 70 years.

 Because it was local, people would hear, and it would mean something, particularly if there was sales coming up or whatever it is.

 It's the sale you've been waiting for at BraeWare, with from 25% and more reductions. Jovis Coates, jackets and stuff.

 I always remember going into maybe Allens or something, and the first thing you would do when you went to the shop was, you'd say, "Oh, the hell, B.L.B. on."

 Quinsborough Road, Brae. There was no doubt that Liam was a superb salesman, and his hard work not only helped businesses in the Brae area, but their support was a great endorsement of B.L.B.

 with the business life of Brae. He was our connection. And so he didn't influence, it didn't influence what we did. Okay, now and again, there would be, "Well, how do we get the right ads into the right programs and stuff like that?" I know Joe Bollard's program was always the place where people wanted their ads to be placed because that's where a lot of the listeners were.

 I'd sell the ads, I'd have an idea for how the ad would go, I'd get all the information, and then I'd go to Mark Quinn, who produced all the ads.

 I did indeed produce the ads for B.L.B. for a few years, which involved writing the scripts, choosing the music and sound effects, contacting voiceover personnel to come to the studio, and of course, recording and mixing the ads. Here's Doug McGuire.

 I often used to go up and work with Mark, recording and preparing ads, and they were so much fun. There were so many outtakes and so many fluffs.



 Their exclusive collections are greatly reduced in their summer sale. Big names at low prices at Brayware. Fuck it.



 Sorry, I lost.



 Thinking of buying a camera?

 Then you must see the selection of the products. Sorry, I'm sorry.



 East to heart. I just ate the Iron Man.



 Shop tonight at Mr. T and leave your Saturday free. Yes, Mr. T is open every... Ah, shite. Sorry.



 New list, Forrest. Castle Street, Bray. Opposite Super Quinn. Phone 867 632. It sounds like the fucking death march, that thing.



 Oh, and don't forget, you can get the ideal sporting gift or voucher for Christmas at Field and Leisure Sports. Phone 867 450. The... The... Balls.



 Darling, we must do something about the kitchen. Why don't you call to Dunkern Kitchen? Yes, they called him. Sorry.



 Pick up a piece of jewellery for our pick up of lead and penguin.



 Black and white pudding? You could tell the butcher by the taste. Well, don't let Hamilton vivi-road Bray.



 I

 can't say that.



 Now, it sounds like great fun and for the most part it was. But at times it was challenging trying to appease a prospective advertiser. Here's JJ again.

 I can remember being with one particular guy who ran a hairdressing shop. And he'd be there till two o'clock in the morning and he'd still say do it one more time. He could be there for hours making and writing and scripting the ads.

 Thankfully, some advertisers were happy to let us be creative in the studio. And no one was more creative in the voiceover booth than my old friend Shay Byrne. Here he is in various guises.

 Hey you cats, heard about cats? It's the coolest place in town. Imbre town for the first time. Cats have cocktails and continental canned beers. Cats is where it's at, a cocktail bar with music. Cats on the main street. Imbre...



 ...opens Friday.

 Ah yes, Nigel. This is the radio commercial for Crescent Cleaners. The people who clean everything? Yes, that's right. Right, well, here we go then. Crescent Cleaners will clean everything from duvets to curtains and...



 Nigel, I'm sorry but where's the music? Well, there isn't any. I see. Right, okay. Crescent Cleaners will clean suede's leathers first so... Nigel, shouldn't that be soaks?

 No, silk.

 Oh, okay, right. Right, Nigel, good lad. Nigel, wouldn't it be easier to say Crescent Cleaners clean just about everything at Ray's Shopping Centre?

 Hello my little feral ads. It's Christmas again, Roy Duff is in his way. And Brey Garden Centre have just the thing for your living room. A Christmas tree of course. Oh yes, they have non-shredding Christmas trees. They are called Norway Spruce and Noble Fear. Brey Garden Centre have Eat Logs and Coal and Boyheads. To keep your nice and cosy and warm on these desperately cold nights. And they have the excellent presents, like your houseplants. In fact, I shall be buying a plant for all of my friends at the Brey Garden Centre. Front Road Brey of course. Bonneuille!

 Bonneuille yourself. Shay Byrne there and Shay also have the honour of voicing the longest running ad on B.O.B.



 Ah, sure there's no place like Ledwich Brothers. For just about all you need in hardware from hammers, holes, hatchets and hacksaws to mops, mats, milk jugs and mugs. Ledwich Brothers have been serving Brey for years and they'd be delighted to serve you at Main Street Brey.

 Fortuitously I kept tapes of all of the Admasters from my time producing them in the 1980s. And as we listen back to them now, they serve as a reminder of the many businesses that still thrive in Brey. And of course, of the many others that are long gone. See how many you remember from this montage and watch out for three-piece suits at £69.50. Ben Fox, the fiddler leprechaun, and a four-course lunch for £4.50.

 For a right royal place to grab a takeaway, try Regal Fair and Buckhole Shopping Centre.

 Your life, your wife, your future, isn't it worth protecting them? Find out how. From Eugene Corrigan Insurances Ltd. 68 Main Street Brey. You can call for a free trial visit to Brey's

 gym at the rear of Dawson's Amusements Ltd. Strand Road Brey.

 Rory Sheehy Footwear, three guys shopping centre Brey.

 These and hundreds more gift ideas, now at Mr. T,Quinsborough Road Bray.








 O'Kelly's Jewelers, established for years onQuinsborough Road Bray.








 A four-course lunch is only £4.50 plus service. Hunt's Main Street Bray.






 Michael John Men's Wear, the out-of-town shop for the man about town. Michael John Men's Wear in the Brey Shopping Centre.

 The local store that offers you more is Grove Stores. Cyril Dunne has the biggest and best selection of outsizes inBray. A full figure fashion and that's Mark Younglok. Go no further than Cyril Dunn Fashion's 99 Main Street Brey, opposite Woolworth's.

 There's one name that stands out in motor accessories. B&R Auto Factors are just open in Lower Dargle Road, Brey.

 The Brey Snooker Centre, 75 Strand Road, is the place for snooker in Brey.

 After a brisk walk along the seafront, why not stroll into the comfort of the lounge with its log fire at the Breyhead Hotel? At the foot of Breyhead on seafront Brey, the Breyhead Hotel.



 Music and dancing with Ernie Pickett playing some of your favourite songs of the 60s.

 Entertainment for this week at the Sunnybank Inn Brey.

 See you there. The Royal Hotel Brey present their new 1983 Christmas Spectacular, Ring Out the Bells with Cabrion Dancing starring Chris Casey, Edmund Brown, Jacinta White, Ben Fox, the Fiddler Leprechaun, Len Daniels and your host and compare, Joe Cattle.

 Three-piece suits are on special offer from £69.50. All at McKeown's 29 Main Street Brey.

 Contact Martin Byrne Motors at Unit 3, Industrial Yarn, Stublin Road, Brey. Flood engineering carry out all types of welding and offer factory maintenance. Call to Flood Engineering, rear of 90 Main Street Brey.



 For courtesy, service and

 personal attention, call to John Formey, Queensborough, Brey. They've fought your art.



 Spring is here, lads, so put on the plume each and attract the birds with the softest of summer cotton trousers by Avanti, GB and others. Not to mention t-shirts, knitwear and baggy jeans. Strut down and spring into style with the latest gear at Allen's Main Street Brey.



 Well, how many of those Brey businesses do you remember? And I forgot to mention that some of those ads were, shall we say, of their time. Coming up in our next episode, we hear about how the monthly meetings of BLB members created some memorable moments.

 Out of this smokefield room, up pops Nick Eogan and Nick said that he had discovered on the holy ground of BLB, and he held up a condom.

 And we hear about when Hurricane Charlie struck Brey in 1986, BLB stepped up and became an essential lifeline.

 The fact that we had a local radio station running that noise was a tremendous help to the town, and particularly to the people of Little Brey who were involved in the flooding.

 My sincere thanks to all of the participants in this series. Sound recording was by Mike Quinn and sound mixing by Luke Conlon, both ofHigh Wire post-production Dublin. BLB, Sounds from the Past, Memories of Pirate Radio and Stories of Bralock Broadcasting was produced and presented by me, Mark Quinn, and is a radiogenic production.