Dublin Archives - Page 4 of 69 - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

26th January 202421st January 2024

Gareth O’Callaghan on Q102

Q102 logo from 1987 (Alan MacSimoin Collection).

Gareth O’Callaghan broadcast on various 1980s pirates stations including Radio Nova, Energy 103 and Q102. In this recording, he is heard presenting the afternoon show on Q102 in the autumn of 1987. There’s the usual upbeat mixture of music, chat, comedy, a newspaper review and traffic news along with adverts for local businesses and larger companies or brands. The ’10 in a row’ feature consists of 10 songs without adverts from 1700-1730. News at half-past the hour is read by Anne Cassin, who would go on to work for RTÉ. Gareth O’Callaghan continues to broadcast today on Classic Hits Radio.

Gareth O'Callaghan on Q102 — Original inset from Anoraks Ireland Collection.

Audio quality on this tape is fair as there is distortion throughout, most likely due to an issue with the recording device as Q102 had a highly professional signal. The recording was made from 101.9 FM from 1620-1752 on Thursday 1^st October 1987 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

12th January 20247th January 2024

CAU FM moves frequency

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

CAU FM broadcast from the southside of Dublin for about 9 months between November 1987 and July 1988. Its origins were in a series of hobby stations in the Foxrock area set up by Locky Butler, which later became Phoenix FM. CAU was supposed to stand for ‘clutterfree and you’, reflecting the continuous music style pioneered by Radio Nova. Other Nova influences can be heard in this recording, including an echo on the DJ’s voice and a holiday giveaway virtually identical in style to a similar promotion used by Nova and KISS FM earlier in the decade. CAU had a professional signal across the city and used a slick jingle package. It was sold to the religious station Hope FM in the summer of 1988.

CAU FM moves frequency — Original cassette label from Anoraks Ireland Collection.

CAU began broadcasting on 103.5 FM but moved up to 104.2 during this recording. DJ Tom Browne announces the change, which is designed to improve the station’s signal. At about 15 minutes in, the transmitter leaves the air and another station, Liberty 104 is heard – it would take over the 103.5 FM slot. Competition for frequencies was fierce in the unregulated pirate scene of the 1980s and smaller stations often had to move position if bigger players claimed more advantageous slots on the dial.

The tape was made on 26^th March 1988 from 1149-1326 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

8th January 20247th January 2024

Sunday sounds on Ranelagh Community Radio

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Ranelagh Community Radio (RCR) was a low-powered part-time station broadcasting to suburban areas in the Dublin 6 and 6W postal districts between 1986 and 1988. It was a successor to Charisma FM, which operated sporadically from locations including Ranelagh in 1985 and 1986. RCR replaced Charisma in the autumn of 1986 and was noted on 98 FM in an October log by Anoraks UK. It claimed to cover the suburbs of Ranelagh, Rathmines, Rathgar and Terenure and broadcasting hours were noted as 1900-0000. RCR continued to appear in logs up to the summer of 1988 but closed at some stage between then and the end of the year. Both Charisma and RCR carried syndicated American religious programming at times and probably relied on such material for income.

This recording of RCR was made from 98 FM on Sunday 12^th October 1986 between 1705-1835 and features mostly continuous music with short links and occasional jingles but no adverts. The DJ is Colin Russell but no phone number is announced for requests. The tape is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

25th December 202330th December 2023

Christmas Day on Dublin Community Radio

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Dublin Community Radio (DCR) was an FM-only station set up in 1984. It was based in North Frederick Street in the city centre before moving to Foley Street. It later became KISS FM (1985-1986), which was located at the same address. This recording was made on Christmas Day 1984 and features Paul Martin followed by Fintan O’Hare. Interestingly, there are no Christmas tunes and the music consists mostly of oldies. Only a few adverts are heard but there is heavy promotion of an entertainment company specialising in DJs, discos and dancers.

The recording was made from 104.35 FM, announced as 105 between 1913-2053 on 25th December 1984. It is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

15th November 202315th November 2023

Radio Nova as heard in English midlands

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

By the summer of 1984, Radio Nova was riding the crest of a wave. Having endured the storm of the RTÉ jamming, the station was now broadcasting a massive 50kW of power on AM, allowing it greater penetration of the northwest of Britain. After using various FM and AM frequencies to avoid the jamming, in May 1984 Nova switched to 738 kHz and 102.7 FM only, opened an advertising office in Liverpool and began including references to England in news, weather and traffic reports.

This recording was made in the English midlands near Birmingham, south of the area being targetted by Nova in the northwest of England, southern Scotland and the Isle of Man. There is plenty of co-channel interference from the Spanish broadcaster on the same frequency of 738 kHz and deep fading consistent with night-time propagation. Transmitter power would also have been turned down to 10kW at night to minimise interference. On air is Chris Barry, a well-known DJ from the pirate era and later licensed independent radio. News on the hour is read by another familiar Nova voice, Sybil Fennell.

The recording was made on 6^th July 1984 from 2137 to 2307 and is from the Leon Tipler Tapes Collection, donated to us by Steve England.