Overview
In 1914 a Marine Radio Station was established at Wireless Point, Valentia Island and has continued to provide uninterrupted service to shipping from this location right up to the present day. The primary function of a coast guard radio station is the safety of life at sea.
The records will show that Valentia Radio handled more traffic than any other UK Radio Station during the mid1920’s. This was during the days of the big trans-Atlantic liners when Radio signals were limited to a range of a few hundred miles via Morse Code.
During the Second World War, Valentia Island received a faint message from a civilian liner way out in the Atlantic. Even though the message was faint Valentia Radio coordinated the rescue operation and a great many lives were saved, thanks to the signal of Morse Code. Valentia Radio Station tapped its last Morse message on Monday 1st February 1999, one of the last stations to do so.
The real purpose of the Radio Station is to monitor emergency frequencies in the maritime bands and respond to calls for assistance from vessels getting into difficulties or where medical problems arise. The appropriate emergency services are then activated to deal with the problem.
