Interview with pirate radio pioneer Tony Boylan

Interview with pirate radio pioneer Tony Boylan
Tony Boylan in the Radio Galaxy studio on 28th August 1986 (Anoraks Ireland Collection).

Tony Boylan (RIP) was one of the pioneers of free radio in Ireland, operating one of the country’s first pirate stations in 1945. Set up in his bedroom in Rathmines in Dublin, the Killeen Home Service broadcast on Sunday mornings on 196 metres with a 4-mile radius. The weekly broadcasts continued until 1951 when the family moved to Ballymun, where the station was renamed as Radio 200. There was another move to Santry in 1955, where the station was renamed as Radio Galaxy and a stronger power output and better aerial gave coverage of most of the city. Radio Galaxy continued until 1965 but following pressure from the Department of Posts and Telegraphs, the station changed to Saturdays, moved frequency and was renamed Radio Laxey. Radio Galaxy resumed from the late 1960s until 1986, when Tony retired to the Isle of Man. A feature across Tony’s long broadcasting career was his love of 78s vinyl, making his programmes a unique offering in the pirate era. He died in 2010 in the Isle of Man.

Interview with pirate radio pioneer Tony Boylan
Original cassette inlay from Anoraks Ireland Collection.

This recording features an interview with Tony on Alternative Radio Dublin (ARD) in 1980, where he was presenting a 78s show at the time. The first part of the interview covers his early involvement in pirate radio up to Radio Galaxy and ARD. The second part deals with his extensive 78s collection – then about 6,500 vinyl records – and his love of the popular music of the first part of the 20th Century. The interviewer is Eric Peters and the recording was made at the Crofton Hotel on 15th March 1980. No times or frequency are given but it appears the tape was made from medium wave due to the heterodyne whistle. Audio quality is fair at best and there are a number of edits in the recording, which is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.

Tony Dixon on early Sunshine Radio

Tony Dixon on early Sunshine Radio
Feature on Tony Dixon from the 1985 Sunshine Review (courtesy DX Archive).

Tony Dixon (RIP) was one of the popular DJs on Sunshine Radio, a large and successful pirate that broke the mould in Irish local radio when it came on the air in September 1980. In this short recording from the station’s early days, he is heard on a Sunday night programme that includes the tagline ‘Dance Radio – Sunshine 539’, highlighting the station’s emphasis on that genre of music after its launch. There’s also mention of Tamango’s nightclub that advertised heavily on Sunshine and was based next door at the Sands Hotel in Portmarnock. The tape ends with the iconic Desiderata that closed down Sunshine every night, followed by the station’s theme song ‘You are my sunshine’. Tony Dixon went on to have a career on licensed radio but died prematurely in 2010.

The airchecked recording was made from between 2000 and 2100 on 12th January 1981 from 531 kHz AM, announced as 539 metres, and is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection.

Morning shows on Echo Community Radio

Morning shows on Echo Community Radio
Anoraks Ireland card and compliments slip

Echo Community Radio was a shortlived station broadcasting from west Dublin in the second half of 1985. First up in this recording is Dave Canning with the final part of his breakfast programme. He is followed by Workers’ Playtime presented by Gerry Marsden, a familiar name on 1980s pirates including Radio Dublin, which he went on to manage. Adverts are heard for local businesses, many in the Centrepoint Shopping Centre in Blanchardstown where Echo was located. There’s also a promo seeking DJs, newsreaders and sales representatives for the station.

Both 280 metres (1071 kHz) and 105.5 FM are announced by the DJs. The recording was made from 1071 kHz from 0918-1049 on Wednesday 7th August 1985 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection. Audio quality is fair, with some distortion.

DJ Lee on Echo Community Radio

DJ Lee on Echo Community Radio

Echo Community Radio was one of several small Dublin stations that came and went during the 1980s. It broadcast from Blanchardstown in west Dublin and was first logged by DX Archive in July 1985. The station broadcast on AM only initially and was located in the Centrepoint Shopping Centre. According to Anoraks UK Weekly Report, it closed down by January 1986. There is no known connection to the earlier Echo Radio based in Clontarf in 1982.

This recording of Echo Community Radio features DJ Lee, a familiar voice from the 1980s pirates, presenting an afternoon slot. There’s a listeners’ competition for cinema tickets but tellingly, no adverts are heard over 90 minutes of primetime radio listening. The station claimed to broadcast to the Greater Dublin Area but clearly power was low as there is co-channel intereference, likely from Radio Carousel North on the same frequency of 1071 kHz (announced by Echo as 280 metres).

The tape was made from 1555-1737 on Wednesday 26th June 1985 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection.

Northeast series: Radio Carousel Navan as heard in Donegal

Northeast series: Radio Carousel Navan as heard in Donegal
Christine Reilly and Kieran Murray in the Radio Carousel Navan studio in 1982 (courtesy Kieran Murray).

Radio Carousel Navan was one of four stations in the Carousel network at its height in the early 1980s. The original Dundalk operation was set up by the late Hugh Hardy in 1978 and later expanded to satellite stations for Drogheda (Co. Louth), Navan (Co. Meath) and Newry (Co. Armagh and Co. Down), with a short-lived experiment in Castleblayney (Co. Monaghan). The Navan station had a high-profile location in the middle of the town’s shopping centre. Hugh Hardy began winding down the Carousel network from late 1987 and the Navan station was the last to close in June 1988.

This recording of Radio Carousel Navan was made by from 1386 kHz by station manager Kieran Murray while on holidays in Carrick, Co. Donegal, about 170km to the northwest. As expected, the signal is weak but is nonetheless an interesting example of daytime groundwave reception on a busy pirate frequency, shared with Kilkenny Community Radio and North Cork Community Radio. The Carousel AM transmiter was situated in the Navan shopping centre and ran about 400 watts. On air is Tina Anderson (Christine Reilly) with a requests programme and the voices of Kieran Murray and another DJ Mike Ahern (Richard McCullen) are heard on adverts.

The tape was made from about 1100 on 3rd July 1984 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.