Sunday morning on Waterford Local Radio

Sunday morning on Waterford Local Radio
Poster at WLR studios in 1986 (courtesy DX Archive).

By the mid-1980s, Waterford Local Radio (WLR) was well established as one of the most popular and successful local stations in Ireland. This recording gives a flavour of Sunday programming on the station from the summer of 1986. Of note is the large number of adverts, including one for Ryanair flights from Waterford Airport to London. The first part features the Sunday breakfast show with Paul Power between 0800-0848. He is followed by Tony Weldon from 1012-1100. Community notices are read by Tommy O’Keeffe.

Sunday morning on Waterford Local Radio

The tape was made from 88.9 FM on 13th July 1986 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson. WLR also broadcast on 1197 kHz (252 metres) and stayed on air until the end of 1988.

Sunday night oldies on Waterford Local Radio

Sunday night oldies on Waterford Local Radio
Early WLR logo (courtesy Colin Kennedy).

This recording is of John O’Shea with a Sunday night oldies show on the popular southeast station Waterford Local Radio (WLR), which broadcast from 1978-1988. The programme includes requests from listeners, lost and found notices, a competition and a featured artist. Plenty of adverts are aired for businesses in Waterford and surrounding towns. Sound quality is generally good but there is some variation in audio levels, especially during commercial breaks. John O’Shea continues to broadcast on the licensed WLR FM today. In this recording, he is followed by Conor Halpin with the Guilty but Insane show.

Sunday night oldies on Waterford Local Radio
Original cassette label from Anoraks Ireland Collection.

The tape was recorded from 99.9 FM between 2044 and 2216 on 8th August 1982. WLR also broadcast on 88.8 FM and 1197 kHz (252 metres). The recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

Waterford Local Radio prepares for closedown

Waterford Local Radio prepares for closedown
WLR compliments slip (courtesy Andy Carter).

Waterford Local Radio (WLR) was one of Ireland’s most successful and long-running pirates, broadcasting from 1978 to 1988, and it was one of the few pirates to be licensed in 1989. This recording was made 48 hours before the pirate station closed down in line with new broadcasting legislation. On air is Seán Organ, formerly of Suirside Radio, who continues to broadcast on the licensed WLR FM today. News is read by Clodagh Walsh, who went on to work as a journalist in the new independent radio sector and RTÉ. Station idents cover Counties Waterford, Wexford and Kilkenny, reflecting WLR’s coverage area. There are references to the impending station closedown at 6pm on 30th December 1988 and a reminder to listeners to support WLR’s licence application, which had already been endorsed by over 100 community groups.

Waterford Local Radio prepares for closedown
Original cassette inlay from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.

The tape was made from 88.9 FM on Wednesday, 28th December 1988 from 1348-1433. There is some wobble in the recording due to cassette degradation in places. It is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

Rick Whelan on Waterford Local Radio

Rick Whelan on Waterford Local Radio
Undated photo of Rick Whelan during WLR’s pirate days (Anoraks Ireland Collection).

Waterford Local Radio (WLR) was one of the longest running pirate stations of its era, broadcasting from 23rd June 1978 to 31st December 1988. It was founded by Rick Whelan in his garage in Butlerstown west of Waterford City and was managed for 10 years by Rick’s brother Des until the pirate closedowns. The station was one of a handful pirates to be licensed and returned to the air as WLR FM on 8th September 1989. Des Whelan is still managing director and Rick continues to present on the station.

This recording features Rick Whelan on his morning show in the weeks before Christmas 1986. News on the half-hour is read by Denise Wall and there are also sports results and a community noticeboard. Adverts cover Counties Waterford, Wexford and Tipperary and the station tagline is WLR – South East Radio. The name of the company behind WLR was and continues to be the South East Broadcasting Company. This is separate from South East Radio, the licensed station for Wexford.

Rick Whelan on Waterford Local Radio
Original cassette inlay from Anoraks Ireland Collection.

The tape was made on 3rd December 1986 from 100 FM and runs from 0906-1042. It is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson. WLR also broadcast on 88.8 FM and 1197 kHz (252 metres) medium wave.

Pirate.ie proudly supports An Cailín Ciúin

Pirate.ie proudly supports An Cailín Ciúin
An Stoirm Chiúin, adapted from Q102 advert in 1985

In February 2021, the director and writer of an Irish language film to be known as Fanacht contacted Pirate.ie about using clips from our archive as ‘radio filler’. Colm Bairéad told us that the film was based on Claire Keegan’s novel Foster and set in Louth and Waterford over the summer of 1981. In order to give a flavour of local radio from that era, he said that they would like to use audio of DJs and adverts on Radio Carousel and ABC Radio from the early 1980s. We were more than happy to support this and wrote back to Colm in Irish and English with information about using or adapting the clips.

Two years later and what is now known as An Cailín Ciúin (The Quiet Girl) has become a huge hit in Ireland and across the world and is the most successful Irish language film ever. It received numerous awards and was nominated for the 95th Academy Awards in the ‘International Feature Film’ category of the Oscars. An Cailín Ciúin is supported by TG4’s Cine4 scheme, an exciting initiative that has boosted several new films in Irish in recent years. Screen Ireland and the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland also provided assistance. Pirate.is is proud to have contributed to the film’s success in a small way and we are delighted that Irish pirate radio audio from our archive has been heard at film festivals and cinemas throughout the world as an authentic representation of the cultural and audio history of Ireland in the 1980s.

Pirate.ie proudly supports An Cailín Ciúin

To mark the occasion, we have adapted a 1985 poster by the then new Dublin pirate station Q102, which used the tagline ‘the Quiet Storm’ in its early months on air. Q102 was the newest ‘super-pirate’ in the city, a large and professional operation that went on to enjoy commercial success until it closed down at the end of 1988 in line with new broadcasting legislation. An Cailín Ciúin is also ‘an stoirm chiúin’ – the quiet storm – that has taken the cinema world by storm and made (radio) waves in Ireland and abroad.

Déanaimid comhghairdeas ó chroí le Colm Bairéad, an léiritheoir Cleona Ní Chrualaoich agus aisteoirí agus criú uile an tsárscannáin An Cailín Ciúin. Tá ‘stoirm chiúin’ spreagtha agaibh i saol na scannánaíochta agus na Gaeilge in Éirinn agus ar fud na cruinne agus táimid fíorbhródúil asaibh.