Does anyone know why stations were so scared by this? i've watched the Irish era a few times, sad when Kiss 103.7 closes down, I can't understand in away. Thought listening to Energy i've become interested, do know a lot stations afterwards were really professional high power, obviously it didn't have the effect they thought as there wouldn't of been stations like Energy around the boarder. Kiss had an office in Dublin there was some objection, one of things about the boarder stations, there were aiming their signals away from Ireland so were left alone thats what i'm learned

Station owners were conned with the promise of licences if they agreed to quietly disappear and scared off by newspaper headlines/Government bluff of IR£20,000 fines and jail time and the full rigors of the law (TM).

In reality while a handful of pre-1988 pirates did obtain licences (as part of consortia where they were quickly sidelined) the overwhelming majority didn't have a snowballs chance. (Some smaller operators were pinning their hopes on the hundreds of "Town" and "Neighbourhood" licences which to all intents never materialised)

Had there been a mass non-compliance or reemergence (threatening noises were made on this score on a couple of occasions in early 1989 but very little came of it) its quite conceivable that the governments plans for licenced radio could have been thrown into disarray. The Departments investigation branch at the time was hopelessly understaffed/underfunded and the whole business of getting telephone and electricity companies to enforce the closures were if anything an admission of weakness on the governments part (The gradual reemergence of the Dublin pirate scene in the 1990's and the whole TV deflector debacle bears this out).

On the other hand had station owners opted to defy the legislation there was the threat to advertisers which while largely toothless the problem was convincing said advertisers this was the case. A lot of stations were fairly dependent on national "agency advertisers" who would likely have been reluctant to get involved in anything illegal.

ah! yes the 1988 wireless telegraphy act that killed exciting radio in ireland, radio in dublin is boring now, no real Competition, nice safe stations...