Air Wars: A History of 20th Century Irish Radio - Paperback

by Gerard John Hannan Ba (Author)

This is the first in a series of dissertations tracing the birth and development of Irish radio in the period 1893 to the present day. I began this research during my undergraduate studies at Mary Immaculate College/University of Limerick in 2010 and continue to work on the project. I am a student of Irish History and Media and have spent many years researching this project because I believe that this necessary Historical research and analysis remained, until now, unfinished. My primary objective is to show how and why the most restrictive Irish Radio broadcasting landscape is, as it is, today. In 1907 as Guglielmo Marconi established the first permanent transatlantic wireless service from Ireland to Nova Scotia he inadvertently secured Ireland's international reputation as the epicentre of the birth of broadcasting in the opening decade of the twentieth Century. Ireland was perfectly located on the north Atlantic of north-west Europe which provided it with an advantage for transatlantic communications at the birth of the communications revolution of the early twentieth century. This continued for two decades and resulted in the arrival of Ireland's first radio broadcasts in 1926 and continues to influence the course of Irish History to present times.

Author Biography

Gerard J. Hannan is a Limerick born Author, Broadcaster, Journalist and Irish Media Historian. He is a graduate of History & Media at Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick, Ireland. He has written numerous plays and published books and papers in local, national and media history. He is a full time teacher of English and Communications and travels the world immersing himself in numerous cultures.