Drive 105 advertising flyer (courtesy Ian Biggar).
This is another recording of the Derry/Donegal station Drive 105 from 2000. The station had studios in Derry City but broadcast from just across the border in Donegal, beaming its signal back into the North. The recording features Pierse McCallion in a lunchtime slot, playing mostly oldies. There are adverts from Derry and Donegal but no requests from listeners. Pierse is followed by Paul Anthony with the drivetime show.
The recording was made on from 105.3 FM on Sunday 23rd July 2000 between 1315-1505, with a break in the middle. Thanks to Ian Biggar for the donation.
Drive 105 poster from c2000 (courtesy Ian Biggar).
Drive 105 began transmissions to Derry and surrounding area on 105.3 MHz in 1999. Originally the station was located in a property just over the border in Muff, County Donegal, near the Rock Bar. The station broadcast a mainly pop music format and featured some staff who had worked on other pirates like Radio North and Riverside 101. As far as we are aware Drive 105 was never raided but did have to temporarily close in August 2001 when officials from the Department were operating in the area. At some point the station moved its studio to Shipquay Street in Derry, linking from there to the transmitter site just over the border in Donegal.
Ian Biggar recalls: I remember hearing Drive 105 in Portpatrick, Scotland on December 30th 2004 clearly having technical issues with very low audio.
Whether it was due to technical problems or not, Drive 105 left the air in January 2005 seemingly with the intention of applying for a licence. After some time off the air, they received a community licence in 2012 to broadcast to Derry, which they still do to this day. This recording was made from 105.3 FM on 26th April 2000 between 1315-1445. Plenty of entries into a listeners’ quiz and adverts from Derry and Donegal. The DJ is Brian Magoo. Many thanks to Ian for the donation and background text.
The Victor Hotel in Dún Laoghaire, home to Southside from 1980 (courtesy DX Archive).
An early pioneer in news for radio anoraks was the weekly Free Radio Campaign (FRC) show on Southside Radio from Dún Laoghaire in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Presented by Marc Boland, it was often relayed on shortwave pirate Westside Radio International. This short recording of the end of one edition of the FRC from 1981 includes correspondence from a listener in Leeds who wants to swap recordings of pirate stations from both sides of the Irish Sea.
The tape was made from 999 kHz AM (300 metres) on Sunday 29th March 1981 between 1248-1930 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.
Radio Dublin poster from 1983 (courtesy DX Archive).
This recording of the Free Radio Campaign (FRC) show on Radio Dublin Channel 2 dates from summer 1983. It is presented by Tony Healy, who is filling in for Gerard Roe and making his first appearance on the station. The FRC features a Christmas recording from Radio Snowflake on 99.9 FM from December 1982, operating from Dollymount. There are medium wave, FM and shortwave bandscans and a recording of British pirate Radio Veronica recorded in Liverpool. The edition also features an Anoraks UK tape of interviews with Bob Gallico, Declan Meehan and Mike Moran.
The tape was made from 98.7 FM between 1958-2105 on Wednesday 6th July 1983 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.
Sunshine Radio sticker from mid-1980s (Anoraks Ireland Collection).
Before it was relaunched in 1986, the large Dublin pirate Sunshine Radio broadcast specialist programmes at the weekends, sometimes offering a choice of services on AM and FM. This recording from a Sunday evening in 1984 gives a sense of some of that variety. First up is Greg Merriman with a mixture of new and old tunes including the Famous Five slot featuring five tracks by Steely Dan. He is followed by Colin Russell who is standing in for Bill McLaughlin with Sunshine Country. News is read by Caroline Callaghan and an advert for Tamango’s nightclub next door to Sunshine is heard during a commercial break.
Colin replaces Bill in the recording and Caroline reads news (Sunshine Review 4, courtesy DX Archive).
The recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection and was made from 101.5 FM. Part 1 was recorded from 1949-2038 and part 2 from 2103-2152 on 22nd April 1984.
