Eamonn Andrews Studios was founded by broadcaster Eamonn Andrews, famous for being the presenter with the big red book of '' This Is Your Life,'' a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

television programme A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming platf ...

. In the 1960s, the launch of television in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

led him to become the

Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the RTÉ Authority. He set up a

media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...

production company in Ireland, the Eamonn Andrews Studios, which ran a

dance hall Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for Dance, dancing, but usually refers to a specific type of twentieth-century venue, with dance clubs (nightclubs) becoming more popular towards the end of the century. The palais de danse was a term ap ...

called The Television Club in Harcourt Street in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

and took on the lease of the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin. Eamonn Andrews Studios were originally located at 40 Henry Street. In the 1960s the company bought the TV Club building on Harcourt Street. It was located directly opposite, what was then, the Old Harcourt Street Station. It housed two distinctly different studios. A radio studio which recorded sponsored programmes for Radio Éireann, and commercials, and a band studio down stairs. It used the dance hall during the day to record all the main bands of the Showband era. At nighttime, the bands were showcased live on stage in what the company called ''The Mecca of Irish Nightlife''. The company bought number 45, the adjoining Georgian Building, and moved the band recording operation to the 2nd floor. The studio was equipped with a 1-inch, 8-track Ampex recorder, and mastered down onto a Studer quarter-inch machine. It boasted Fairchild limiters, Dolby noise reduction, JBL Monitors, and the second mixing desk ever made by Neve. Mics were

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, and AKG. It also had a Bechstein grand piano, and a mini-Moog synthesiser. It was Ireland's first multitrack studio. The band studio burned down in the late 1970s, and never reopened in the face of the stiff competition that had arisen in Dublin. Some bands, notably U2, used the small radio studio to record demos for some time afterwards. The company directors were Fred O'Donovan, Dermot Cafferky, Lorcan Burke, and Eamonn Andrews. General manager was Tom Walsh. Studio manager was Jimmy Potter. Notable Sound Engineers across both studios were Darby Carroll, Conor O'Loughlin, Pat Morley, Philip Begley, Brian Masterson, Finín O Ceallachain, Trevor Clynch, and David Freeley, Dave Meegan

References

Television production companies of Ireland {{Media-company-stub