A news crew from HTV (the Welsh version of ITV) interviewing Billy Kirwan and his sons Raymond and Dermot from Mahon Bridge – members of the South East Community Deflector Association for the ‘Wales Tonight’ programme in the spring of 1997.

During the eighties and nineties, the family operated a multi-channel service in the Comeragh Mountains, diverting the signal from Britain and beaming channels to Waterford households via rooftop aerials for a small annual fee.

There was a clampdown on these operators due to pressure on government from cable providers and “the deflectors” switched off their transmitters pending a ministerial decision on granting them a temporary licence.

Public meetings were held in Kilmacthomas and other parts of the country as people faced losing what many referred to as “the BBCs” (1 and 2, plus HTV, Channel 4/S4C and Eurosport).

Dermot even ran as a candidate in that year’s general election, garnering 3,000 first preferences.

• Photo by the late John Kiely, Kilmacthomas.