Ronan O'Rahilly

Who is Ronan O'Rahilly?

Ronan O'Rahilly is an Irish businessman best known for the creation of the offshore radio station, Radio Caroline, and the man who convinced George Lazenby to give up the role of British Agent James Bond after only one film.

O'Rahilly's parents owned the private port of Greenore in Carlingford Lough, County Louth. His grandfather Michael O'Rahilly was an important figure in the quest for the independence of Ireland, a leader in the Easter Rising, who died in the fighting in Dublin in April 1916.

Prior to his involvement with Radio Caroline, O'Rahilly ran the Scene club in London's Soho district and managed a number of pop music artists, including Georgie Fame and Alexis Korner. He recorded a Georgie Fame record on his own independent label, unheard of at the time. He took the record to the BBC to try to get it played. He discovered that the record industry was dominated by EMI and Decca. He then tried to get it played on Radio Luxembourg and again found that the shows were 'owned' by EMI, Decca, Pye and Philips. They were essentially 'payola' shows, and featured only music from the paying label.