Full recordings Archives - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

28th August 202625th August 2026

Radio Dublin farewell broadcast following 1977 raid

This recording is of what was billed as the final broadcast by Radio Dublin following a raid in February 1977 that led to most of the station’s equipment being confiscated. In a publicity stunt that would be repeated by future pirate stations, Radio Dublin returned to the air with a fanfare in order to sign off for the last time. Paul Downey is at the helm and says that they are using borrowed equipment to bid farewell to listeners because ‘the powers that be’ want them silenced. He also urges people to write to the Department of Posts and Telegraphs to demand that Radio Dublin be licensed.

February 1977 was by no means the end of Radio Dublin, which had its equipment returned in June 1977 after a court case found a flaw in the 1926 act. The station in fact extended its hours over the summer and in September held a marathon 36-hour broadcast that broke the mould for pirate radio in Dublin, leading to a shift from hobby operators to full-time broadcasters. Dr Don would leave Radio Dublin in June 1977 to set up his own station ARD.

This recording was made by Kieran Murray from 1187 kHz AM, announcing 253 metres, on 27^th February 1977 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection. Audio quality is mixed given the rudimentary technical set-up and passage of time since the cassette was recorded.

26th August 202623rd August 2026

Listeners’ Top 100 on Energy 103

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Energy logo from a newspaper advert in 1986 (Anoraks Ireland Collection).

On the August bank holiday weekend 1986, Dublin pirate Energy 103 broadcast the Listeners’ Top 100. Presented by Gareth O’Callaghan, the marathon broadcast lasted the entire day and was based on phone votes from listeners. News on the hour is read by Cathy Kelly.

The tape was made from 103 FM between From 1540-1628 and 1636-1724 on Monday 4^th August 1986 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.

19th August 202618th August 2026

Border series: Earth Sound Radio from border region

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Earth South Radio was a short-lived pirate station broadcasting from Co. Tyrone in the early 1990s. It was re-named many time over a number of years and changed its location to south of the border. Earth Sound Radio was started by Timothy Sloan and Basil Gilroy with a small transmitter at the back of a house in Fivemiletown, east of Enniskillen. It changed its name to Starlight Radio and in mid-1993, Rodney Neill’s newsletter Newsline Ireland reported a Starlight Radio operating from Fivemiletown. A list from 1993 noted Starlight Radio on 105.9 MHz and 1413 kHz AM.

The station was re-named again in 1993, this time as Music City Radio, with its mast in Co. Monaghan. The KISS FM Anoraks Show review of 1993 reported that on 4^th June that year, a new station was heard from Clones called Music City Radio. It was reported as a 250 watt CTE transmitter installed by Gerry Reilly on 100.5 MHz FM in mono, with medium wave also planned. The Anoraks Show on 4^th July 1993 reported Music City Radio on 100.5 MHz with continuous test tapes of country music and poor audio. It appeared on Friday 20^th August on 1251 kHz, but as there was no studio available, it would simply relay Downtown, RTÉ etc. The station then disappeared but it was reported it could re-appear in early 1994 as new funding had been found.

In issue 2 of the pirate magazine Playback (March 1994), it was noted that on 14^th January, Music City Radio appeared on 105.4 MHz playing a diet of country music. On 20^th February 1995, a station list produced by Dublin pirate Coast FM noted Music City Radio on 105.4 MHz and 1404 kHz. Later logs by Coast FM that summer also reported Music City Radio on 1413 kHz. There was no mention of Music City Radio in station lists from 1996, so it may have been finished by that time.

This recording of Earth Sound Radio was made between 2034-2120 from 101.9 FM on 15^th December 1991. The DJ announces himself as Tony Walker. There is plenty of FM fading, reference to a barking dog outside and an advert for a carpet business in Fivemiletown at the very end. The recording was made in Portadown by Rodney Neill and was donated by Ian Biggar. Thanks to Ralph Barry for background information about Earth Sound Radio and successor stations and to Ian for assistance with the text.

17th August 202616th August 2026

Early evening show on Radio Caroline Dublin

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This recording of Radio Caroline Dublin was made towards the end of the station’s 11-year run in 2000. Travis and Tony are in the early evening slot with mostly current tunes and a few from the 1970s-1990s. There are plenty of requests for listeners and in-jokes between the two presenters. Reflecting changing technology, a mobile number is given out for requests and a station promo contains an email address. There is some interference in places so the recording may have been made outside Caroline’s core reception area.

The tape was made from 102.5 FM between 1625-1810 on 17^th May 2000 and is courtesy of Ian Biggar. Radio Caroline Dublin was based in Sutton in northeast Dublin and broadcast occasionally from 1989 and daily from 1992-2000.

14th August 202613th August 2026

Sunshine Radio during jamming campaign

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This short recording of Sunshine Radio was made during a night-time slot in the spring of 1984, when RTÉ was relentlessly jamming the station’s signal as part of its campaign against the pirate. First up is the end of the Radio Romance slot with David Dennehy. News at midnight is presented by Justin McKenna and includes reference to the jamming, which was causing serious problems for Sunshine by this time. The iconic Desiderata, which used to be played before closedown of Sunshine every night, is heard before the midnight news as the station had long since moved to round-the-clock broadcasting. After news is Paul Vincent with the overnight show.

The recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection and was made from 100.5 FM between 2352-0015 on Thursday 22^nd into Friday 23^rd March 1984.