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Early Cork series: Pat O’Rourke on Radio City

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Early Cork series: Pat O'Rourke on Radio City
Pat O’Rourke at Radio City in 1981 (courtesy Lilian O’Donoghue).

Pat O’Rourke (aka The Smurf) was a popular DJ on the early Cork pirate radio stations. This recording features his late-night show on Radio City and includes a preview of weekend programmes on the station. The first section is of the final half-hour of Pat’s romantic music slot from 2334-0000 on Friday 16th January 1981, ending with the national anthem to close down Radio City for the night. This is followed by part of another late-night show presented by Pat, apparently from 18th January.

The tape was made from 95.7 FM but there is distortion on the links possibly due to a microphone issue. Thanks to Lilian O’Donoghue for the donation.

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Sunday afternoon on Community Radio Youghal

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Sunday afternoon on Community Radio Youghal
Unidentified DJ in the CRY studio, undated (Anoraks Ireland Collection).

Community Radio Youghal (in its unlicensed form on air from 1979-1988) was one of several pirate stations espousing a community radio ethos. This short airchecked recording features programming from a Sunday afternoon in 1983 and gives a sense of some of the variety on the station. It begins with the end of the the CRY On Tour slot, an example of the station travelling around east Cork to make programmes. This is followed by Programme Signpost and community notices for east Cork and west Waterford. There are also sung jingles and a bilingual station ident, following by John Roche with the Good News Programme.

The recording was made from 1485 kHz, announcing 202 metres, from around 1300 on Sunday 20th March 1983. It is from the Leon Tipler Collection, donated to us by Steve England. Community Radio Youghal returned as a licensed station in 1995 and continues to broadcast to east Cork on FM and online.

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Early Cork series: Night and day on Radio City

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Early Cork series: Night and day on Radio City
Pat O’Rourke with Lilian McCarthy in Radio City in 1981 (photo courtesy of Lilian)

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.

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Early Cork series: evening shows on Radio City

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Early Cork series: evening shows on Radio City
Paul Cassidy at Radio City in September 1980 (courtesy Lilian O’Donoghue).

This is another recording of Cork pirate Radio City in the early months of its existence in autumn 1980. Most of the recording consists of Monday evening shows: Paul Cassidy with Travelling Through the 70s including a listeners’ quiz and Tony Allen (Walsh) with Jukebox Jive. These are followed by short snippets of daytime programmes: Pete Andrews (O’Neill) at lunchtime, Carl Johnson (Dan Noonan) with Afternoon Delights and Noel Evans (Welch) with Home Run.

The tape of Radio City was made on 6th and 7th October 1980 from 1512 kHz, announcing 199 metres. Audio quality is poor throughout due to rudimentary recording equipment. Thanks to Lilian O’Donoghue for the donation.

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Early Cork series: Radio City enters its second month on air

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Early Cork series: Radio City enters its second month on air
The late Henry Condon (Alan Reid on air) at Radio City in 1980 (courtesy Lilian O’Donoghue).

In October 1980, the new Cork pirate station Radio City entered its second month on air, offering a variety of programmes from 0700-0200 each day presented by many of the DJs who had cut their teeth on the emerging Cork scene since the late 1970s.

The first part of this recording was made on 1st October 1980 and features Noel Evans (Welch), Alan Reid (the late Henry Condon, known later as Henry Owens on other pirates) and Tony Allen (Walsh). The second part was made on 10th October and features Tony Allen, Luke Ward and Pete Andrews (O’Neill). Adverts are sparse after a month on air, underlining the financial challenges involved in sustaining a full-time pirate station at the time.

Audio quality is poor as most of the recording was made by placing a tape recorder against a radio. It was recorded from 1512 kHz AM, announcing 199 metres, and is courtesy of Lilian O’Donoghue.