Deryck Fay - For St Patricks Day - we celebrate Deryck’s amazing book ”Connecting a Nation” - 150 years of Irish Telecoms

We have a very interesting guest on the Podcast this week.  Deryck Fay has written a fascinating book about the history of Telecoms in Ireland called “Connecting a Nation” and it’s a very surprising history.  Its starts in the 1850s, yes, when the first sub-sea cables were being laid and Ireland was the natural hub for the first Transatlantic cables.  Later its proximity to Nova Scotia made it the natural hub for the first Marconi radio services.

We then talk about the state of Telecoms during the rise of the new, and in fairness not well off, Irish state.

Finally, we get on to the last decades when there was huge investment in Telecoms and there was the tremendous growth of Mobile and the Internet and Ireland became a leader in many ways.

Deryck is a great raconteur and he tells the story with clarity and insight that I found fascinating.

I couldn’t quite find the music that Deryck wanted but you’ll see I got a close second with a famous clip of Albert Reynolds talking about a plane hijacking.  The other voice briefly in the background is the late great Charlie Bird, journalist.

Enjoy