2RN and the Origins of Irish Radio, one of a series of books on "Broadcasting and Irish Society", which was launched last night by the Minister for the Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, Ms de Valera, tells the story of the birth of the State broadcasting service.
The book describes how the Free State government's attempts to establish a radio service were undermined by attempts to influence public policy by the use of political contributions.
"It was a very serious attempt by a businessman to use prominent politicians to gain government contracts," says author Richard Pine, who believes his book is the first to tell the story of the events.
The businessman behind the controversy was Andrew Belton, an English financier who came to Ireland in search of reconstruction contracts in the wake of the Civil War.
His "front man" was Darrell Figgis, a poll-topping TD from South Dublin, who had been a leading figure in the Asgard gun-running in 1914. He was on Belton's pay-roll for a period, and the financier also made contributions to his political expenses, small by today's standards.
The two men had a falling out, however, and when Belton emerged as the man most likely to secure the State's first broadcasting licence, Figgis called for him to be investigated. An inquiry into the affair found Belton unfit to hold a broadcasting licence, whereupon he left Ireland "never to be seen again".
Figgis's wife, Millie, depressed since an attack on both of them by her husband's anti-treaty enemies, committed suicide with a revolver given to her, for her own safety, by Michael Collins.
Figgis moved to London to revive his career as a writer. He took up living with a dancer who died of septicaemia following an abortion. Days later, in October 1925, Figgis gassed himself in his Bloomsbury flat, and 2RN went on the air on January 1st, 1926.
