History
Dame Court is one of four sites within the Irish Republic but which appear on Post Office/BT microwave site lists. They formed a link from Belfast to Dublin which was subsequently extended from Dublin to Holyhead. It is likely all sites were operated by the Irish telecommunications service with the detailed design and siting being the responsibility of the Irish authorities.
Dame Court is understood to have been a main exchange for Dublin. A substantial tower remained on the roof as of 2014 but there have been press reports that Eircom is considering sale of the property. It is not known whether the SHF facility at Dame Court was built specifically for the Belfast to Dublin link - it seems SHF links were used within the Republic - but it appears the route was in service by around 1970. Traffic may have included the EBU ("Eurovision") link which was routed from France via the UK vision network to Belfast.
A new route from Dublin via Holyhead, joined to the UK trunk network at Manchester, was planned in the mid-1970s. This is assumed to have run via Three Rock Mountain rather than direct from the centre of Dublin. During the late 1970s there was criticism that "internal" UK traffic, including that related to military and security services in Northern Ireland was being routed via Dublin due to capacity problems over the direct route from Belfast (Ballygomartin) to Scotland (Enoch Hill). A further route from Belfast via the Isle of Man was added in the 1980s.
Any information or photos of the sites in the Irish Republic would be welcome. There is more general information about the Belfast to Dublin link in the entry for Standing Stones.