1993
Disco & karaoke
Colin begins providing discos and karaoke, learning what real audiences enjoy and how to keep a room entertained.
The Waterfront • The radio • The cameras
Our Ramsgate story
Colin and Karen O'Reilly built one community experience from a harbour-side pub, a lifetime of music and a simple wish: let people take a little piece of Ramsgate home.
Where it began
First the pub. Then the radio. Then the cameras.
Colin had already spent decades entertaining people when he and Karen became landlord and landlady of The Waterfront Pub on 9 July 2019. Guests loved the music Colin chose. They regularly asked who the DJ was and whether he could download tracks for them.
He could not make a personal collection for everyone, so Royal Harbour Radio became the answer. The live cameras followed, giving holidaymakers, former residents and harbour lovers a way to hear and see Ramsgate from anywhere in the world.
The real chronology
More than three decades in the making
Royal Harbour Radio did not appear from a marketing plan. It grew naturally from Colin's work, Colin and Karen's pub and the people around them.
9 July 2019
The Waterfront
Colin and Karen begin their chapter at 88 Harbour Parade, beside Ramsgate's Royal Harbour.
The next chapter
Royal Harbour Radio
Listeners can finally take Colin's soundtrack beyond the pub and enjoy it at home, on holiday or around the world.
27 July 2026
YouTube milestone
The Royal Harbour live-camera project is accepted into the YouTube Partner Programme, helping support its future.
One community hub
Three experiences that strengthen one another
The pub gives the project a real home. The radio gives it a soundtrack. The cameras give it a view. Colin's songs make the whole story personal.
The Waterfront Pub
The social heart of the project and the place where guests first asked to take Colin's music home.
Plan a visitRoyal Harbour Radio
Colin's hand-picked mix, broadcasting the Waterfront atmosphere throughout the day and night.
Listen liveRoyal Harbour Live
Two continuous views of the marina, East Pier, lighthouse and changing Kent coast.
Watch liveColin's music
Original songs about Karen, the O'Reilly family, Irish roots and life beside the harbour.
Explore the songsFamily at the centre
Colin and Karen O'Reilly
Karen is Colin's wife, partner and the inspiration for “Babe Since Greenwich” and “Karen in the Harbour Light.” Together they run the Waterfront and support the radio and camera projects around it.
The wider O'Reilly family also lives inside Colin's catalogue: Babydoll and Terry-Oke are his mum and dad; Leeroy, Mandy and Kelly are his brother and sisters; “Raise a Pint for the O'Reillys” brings everyone together.
Come to the place behind the story
The Waterfront, Ramsgate
The Waterfront
88 Harbour Parade
Ramsgate, Kent CT11 8LP
United Kingdom
88 Harbour Parade
Ramsgate, Kent CT11 8LP
United Kingdom
Stay connected
Listen to the station in the pub or around the world, watch the live cameras and follow the project through YouTube and social media.
Visit Royal Harbour Live on YouTubeChoose your way in