VIDEO: Going, going, gone!... Old Atlantic 252 mast in Moynalvey comes down
Transmitter was hugely controversial when proposed almost four decades ago
ANN CASEY
Some 37 years after it was first mooted, the highly controversial 900 foot high longwave mast at Clarkstown, Summerhill, has been taken down.
The erection of the Moynalvey transmitter was fiercely opposed by the local community in the 1980s, who fought a bitter four year battle right up to the Supreme Court.
Located approximately 3.5 kilometres east of the village of Summerhill, at 248 metres high, the mast is more than double the height of the Spire in Dublin.
The proposal to build the mast and transmitter was met with furious opposition in the locality, where the small local community raised €50,000 almost 40 years ago to fight it through the courts.
Earlier this year, RTÉ confirmed that it would stop broadcasting the long wave 252 service for Radio 1 on Friday 14th April due to rising costs.
The analogue service was to be scrapped in 2014, but was given a lifeline after complaints that elderly Irish people living in Britain would no longer be able to access the service. in a recent statement, the broadcaster said that the LW 252 service was no longer sustainable, as the transmitter in Summerhill accounts for around 2.5 per cent of the organisation's energy use.
The facility was costing €250,000 a year to run but RTÉ said this could rise as high as €400,000 next year. Radio is still be accessible in Britain to listeners on Freesat (channel 750, Sky channel 0137 and Virgin Media channel 917. In addition, listeners can access it via RTÉ Radio Player and Irish Radio Player apps.
The site was originally constructed to transmit the commercial radio service, Atlantic 252, which was on air from 1989 to 2001.
Prior to the start of broadcasting, the local community fought proposals for such a gigantic structure in quiet Meath countryside in a battle that lasted over four years.
Councillors had voted for a Section Four motion instructing the county manager to refuse permission for the project. He went against the councillors' instructions, granting permission, which was appealed to An Bord Pleanala who gave the project the green light. This was challenged in the High Court, which came down on the side of the local opponents, but ultimately the Supreme Court paved the way for the project to go ahead.
Hundreds had attended campaign meetings in Moynalvey Community Centre. Concern was expressed about health and physical hazards, visual impact, interference with communications and devaluation of property. The mast would be just 300km from the nearest family home and just 1km from Moynalvey Primary School.
The Community Action Group elected to fight the proposals included Eamonn Burke, Colm Dardis, Catriona Dunne, Michael Durkan, Michael Enright, Mairead Guest, Richard Guest, Colm O'Connor, Jimmy O'Keefe, Martina O'Keefe, Brian O'Sullivan and Fergus Williams.
Ultimately, the local community lost when the Supreme Court overruled the High Court decision. At the time, Cllr Fitzgerald said the decision had "left a community shattered and dismayed. It now appears the ordinary citizens has no real rights against the big powers of state institutions and business who can afford to fight off all opposition with unlimited capital".
Radio Tara, a joint venture between RTÉ and Radio Luxembourg, began transmission in September, 1989 as Atlantic 252 and was widely available in Britain and beyond. Atlantic 252 continued to operate until December 2001.
The station's studios were located 12 km away in Mornington House, Summerhill Road, Trim. Atlantic 252 also had sales offices and studios at 74, Newman Street in London.
At 8am local time on the morning of 1st September, the first ever record played on Atlantic 252 was 'Sowing the Seeds of Love' by Tears for Fears, followed by 'Monkey' by George Michael.
Although the transmitter was in the Republic of Ireland, the signal's reach meant that it was often looked upon as a "UK national station". Reception reports were received from such locations as Berlin, Finland, Ibiza, and Moscow. The signal had even been received in Brazil at night-time.
Atlantic 252 ceased operations on 20th December 2001 and sports radio station TEAMtalk 252 briefly took over the frequency for a few months in 2002. The transmitter was later taken over by RTÉ Networks Limited (now 2RN). On 24th September 2014, RTÉ announced that broadcasting of RTÉ Radio 1 on 252 kHz would cease on 27th October 2014, however following representations from Irish listeners in the UK and others, that date was postponed.
Video: Moynalvey Community FB page.