Those of us 'of a certain age' may recall nights spent listening to the pirate radio station 'Radio Caroline' – usually clutching a cheap transistor radio (did we call them wirelesses in those days?) under the bedsheets after lights out.
Radio Caroline came to my mind again following a posting on another site and because I obviously have so much time on my hands I quickly googled the name to see when it stopped transmitting.
I found my information all right (Caroline started in 1964 and closed in 1980, although it is in effect still in operation today) – but what really caught my eye was that the station was started by Ronan O'Rahilly, who was the grandson of Michael O'Rahilly aka 'The O'Rahilly' of Easter Week fame.
The O'Rahilly
Michael Joseph O'Rahilly was a founder member of the Irish Volunteers, born in Ballylongford, Co. Kerry. A strong republican, it was he who organised the landing of arms at Howth in 1914, He fought in the GPO during the Easter Rising and was killed just outside, whilst leading a party up Moore Street.
A completely useless fact maybe. But I wonder if The O'Rahilly ever thought, whilst he was fighting amidst the ruins of Dublin in 1916, that a descendant of his would one day be running a pirate radio ship off 'the shores of the grey North Sea'.
