Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive
Open Free Radio Archive
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This recording of Donegal pirate Radio North features former station manager Paul Burbank (Paul Barnett, RIP) with an edition of his popular daily oldies show from 2005. Copious adverts for small businesses in Counties Antrim and Derry are voiced by Paul who also reads news at the top of the hour.
The tape was made from 1050-1135 on Tuesday 15th February 2005 from 846 kHz AM and is donated by Ian Biggar.
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This recording of Cork pirate Radio City was made on a Saturday in the winter of 1980 and gives a flavour of weekend programmes at the station. Kicking off is Ed Harris with the end of his Saturday breakfast show, who is followed by John Ashford (John Buckley, RIP) with Morning Beat. Next up are Pete Andrews (O’Neill) and Karl Johnson (Dan Noonan) with horoscopes to wind up Saturday Club at 1300, followed by Noel Evans (Welch) with the Saturday Sports Report. The last section is of an unidentified DJ presenting disco music.
The recording was made from 1512 kHz, announcing 199 metres on 1st November 1980 and is courtesy of Lilian O’Donoghue.
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This recording of long-running Donegal pirate Radio North was made at the end of 2002. On air is Caroline McDermott with country and Irish music and some oldies. She also shares information about local music and gigs for New Year’s Eve. Adverts are for Northern businesses only. There’s a technical problem with the news at the top of the hour, presumably due to an issue with the link to a syndicated service. A listeners’ quiz with a £500 prize is sponsored by a car business in Derry and Tyrone.
The tape was made in Scotland from 846 kHz AM on 30th December 2002 between 1345-1515 and is courtesy of Ian Biggar.
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Tony Dixon (RIP) presented the long-running Soul Special show on Saturday evenings on Dublin pirate Sunshine Radio in the 1980s, gaining a loyal following around the city and further afield. This short recording of the popular show is undated but we estimate it to be from October 1982. There are no adverts but some of the iconic Sunshine jingles are heard. The transmitter seems to go off the air at the end although it is possible that the dial of the receiver was adjusted suddenly. After a successful career in radio, Tony died prematurely in 2010.
The tape was recorded from 100.5 FM between 2003-2027 and was kindly donated by Shay Geoghegan.
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This recording of Radio City gives a flavour of the variety of shows on the Cork station as it began to find its feet in the autumn of 1980. First up is Pat O’Rourke (Smurf) with Sounds around Midnight, which includes mention of the upcoming Cork Jazz Festival. This is followed by Tony Allen (Walsh) with his new daily show, Mid-Morning Madness. Adverts are heard for businesses around Cork as Radio City was beginning to generate income in its second month on air. There’s also a request by letter from number one fan Lilian McCarthy (O’Donoghue). News at 1200 is read by Pete Andrews (O’Neill), who takes over with his lunchtime show at 1230.
The recording was made from 1512 kHz, announcing 199 metres, between 20th and 27th October 1980 although exact dates are unclear. Audio quality is poor for the first half-hour due to rudimentary recording equipment but improves later despite cassette degradation. Thanks to Lilian O’Donoghue for the donation.