Pirate radio in Ireland

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Pirate radio in Ireland has had a long history, with hundreds of pirate radio stations having operated within the country.

Due to past lax enforcement of the rules, the lack of commercial radio until 1989, and the small physical size of the country, pirate radio stations proliferated for a number of years.^{[citation needed]}

They were tolerated to a point by the government which only occasionally raided them in an effort to show compliance with Irish law. However, the national broadcaster, RTÉ, took a harsher approach, including radio jamming.