Tuning in: The day Ireland got its own radio station

A century ago, Ireland lay at the cutting edge of radio technology. Yet, it was one of the last countries in Western Europe to set up a domestic service, says Robert Hume

Guglielmo Marconi with his apparatus, including (right) 10-inch induction coil spark transmitter and (centre) morse inker and grasshopper (Getty Images)

Shortly after 11 a.m. on Tuesday 14 August 1923, a voice, “clear and distinct”, greeted listeners: “2BP speaking”. 

With those words from Louis Wilson of the Marconi Company, the Royal Marine Hotel, Dún Laoghaire, booked its place in broadcasting history.