ARLA/CLUSTER: Faleceu o carismático fundador da Radio Caroline, Ronan O'Rahilly

[João Costa > CT1FBF]

Ronan O'Rahilly, founder of Radio Caroline, dies

There is a recorded tribute now on the station website, its 38 minutes and
available online now:
http://www.radiocaroline.co.uk (click the tab - Ronan O'Rahilly)

*"Ronan will always be the man who changed radio in this country - I am one
of so many who owe him so much.*
*"Eccentric of course, sometimes unscrupulous, but suddenly kind and warm
hearted.*

*A rogue maybe, but a charismatic and loveable rogue. He will be missed." *

*Peter Moore*
------------------------------

The son of 1916 Rising hero The O'Rahilly, he revolutionised both Irish and
British broadcasting.

The extremely sad news tonight is that *Ronan O'Rahilly*, the founder of
Radio Caroline, has passed away near Greenore in County Louth where the
station's original boat was kitted out in 1963, eventually going on to
launch from the North Sea at Easter 1964.

Having merged with a rival pirate Atlanta Radio, a second ship, Radio
Caroline North, dropped anchor off the Isle of Man with the signal thumping
into Ireland. Both the South and North ships continued broadcasting until
1968 when they were forcibly towed away by a Dutch maritime supply company
who claimed that Ronan owed them a considerable sum of money.

The station returned from one of the original ships in 1972, but closed in
1980 when the MV Mi Amigo sank during heavy North Sea storms.

Against all the odds, Ronan masterminded another watery comeback in 1983
aboard the MV Ross Revenge.

Caroline's 27 year unlicensed career ended in 1991 following a sustained
campaign against it by the British, Belgian and Dutch authorities, which
culminated in the former Icelandic trawler being raided and equipment
removed.

It now operates as a legal medium-wave and online station featuring several
of its old North Sea staff. Read the tribute to their founder at
http://radiocaroline.co.uk/#home.html

A flamboyant fixture on London’s King Road for many decades – in addition
to his broadcasting interests he managed James Bond star George Lazenby and
executive produced Marianne Faithful’s Girl On A Motorbike film – the
79-year-old was brought back to Ireland by his family several years ago
when he was diagnosed as suffering from vascular dementia.

Ronan had rebel blood, with his grandfather, Michael O'Reilly, AKA The
O'Reilly, a leader in the Easter Rising who died in Dublin in April 1916.

His 1960s business partner, Phil Solomon, ran Major Minor Records who,
courtesy of judicious Caroline plugging, scored major hits with Tommy James
& The Shondells’ ‘Mony Mony’, ‘The Days Of Pearly Spencer’ by Belfast’s
David McWilliams and The Dubliners’ ‘Seven Drunken Nights’.

Former Phantom 105.2 man Steve Conway, Gareth O’Callaghan (then Tony
Gareth), former Nova boss Chris Cary, Sunshine Radio founder Robbie Dale,
ex-Today FM lynchpin Tom Hardy and our man Stuart Clark are just a handful
of the thousands of people who worked on the seafaring Caroline.

“It’s really sad," Stuart reflects. "Ronan was the proverbial larger than
life character; always scheming and planning his next move. He
revolutionised commercial radio in Europe with Caroline; gave Stax and
Motown some of their first plays on this side of the Atlantic; and in the
early '70s formed the Loving Awareness Band who morphed into Ian Dury's
Blockheads."

Adds Steve Conway: "Ronan was not just the man who founded the most famous
offshore pirate station, he was the man brave enough to use that station to
promote and talk about love, understanding and positivity instead of using
it to make money. A wonderful leader, and a charismatic human being, I
learned many things from him, and owe him big time for five wonderful years
of my life. Rest in peace Ronan."

More to follow...
https://www.hotpress.com/music/newsflash-radio-caroline-founder-ronan-orahilly-passed-away-22812793

*•* Our thanks to *Mike Terry* for the above information
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