Today is the centenary anniversary of the first ever radio broadcast in Ireland. And later this evening, radio stations across Ireland, including Newstalk, are going to reinact the message that was uttered on the airwaves.
100 years ago today, Irish rebels managed to take over the Wireless School of Telegraphy and send out a morse code message on the airwaves to communicate the events of the Easter Rising to the world.
This was carried out less than 200 metres away from the rebels' base in the GPO.
Listen to the morse code message broadcast to the world by radio telling news of the Easter Rising https://t.co/H4kl0GdWF7 #EasterRising
— Easter Rising 1916 (@IrishRepubIic) April 25, 2015
The message, written by James Connolloy and translated into morse code by David Burke read:
"Irish Republic declared in Dublin today. Irish troops have captured city and are in full possession. Enemy cannot move in city. The whole country rising."
To celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the transmission, 37 radio stations across the nation will reproduce the morse code message with battlefield sounds in the background, in an effort to recreate the atmosphere of the historic occasion.
Newstalk aim to broadcast the message at 5.30 during the Right Hook show which is presented today by the station's political editor, Shane Coleman.
History records that the first broadcast was conceived by one of the leaders of the rising, Joseph Mary Plunkett in an effort to bypass British censorship.
We will celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the first radio broadcast at 5.30pm. Tune in at https://t.co/ZzKgKLOnlK
— Newstalk (@NewstalkFM) April 25, 2016
Technical faults would not allow them to directly broadcast the message to a ship or station, meaning they were forced to send it over the commercial wavelength, in the hope that it would picked up and relayed onto America.
It is believed that the transmission was picked up by stations in Germany and other boats in the Atlantic while other reports say that it even reached fishermen in Japan.
The commemoration efforts this evening are part of a joint initiative between RTÉ radio and the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland (IBI).
