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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.  

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Eddie Coady on Crystal City Sound

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Eddie Coady on Crystal City Sound
Profile of Eddie Coady from Waterford Magazine, 1986 (Anoraks Ireland Collection).

Crystal City Sound broadcast from Waterford city from 1985-1988, replacing an earlier station, Suirside Radio. Crystal City Sound retained the AM frequency of 1332 kHz and also broadcast on FM. It changed its name to NCR in April 1988, closing down at the deadline of 31st December. The station claimed to offer a broader range of programmes than other Waterford pirates WLR and ABC. In this recording from its early days in 1985, the final few minutes of Kevin McCarthy’s show are heard before station manager Sandra Penkert reads lunchtime news.

Eddie Coady on Crystal City Sound
Crystal City Sound car stickers (Anoraks Ireland Collection).

Sandra is followed by Eddie Coady (RIP) with his Saturday sports show, featuring plenty of racing results. Some adverts for local businesses are heard but Crystal City Sound clearly had yet to establish a stronger commercial base in the city. Eddie was a popular local DJ and huge Elvis fan who also ran a chip shop and he was well known in the city. He died tragically in a car crash in 1994.

Eddie Coady on Crystal City Sound
Original cassette label from Anoraks Ireland Collection.

The recording was made on 9th November 1985 from 97.8 FM between 1300-1347. It is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

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Sunday afternoon on Waterford’s ABC

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Sunday afternoon on Waterford's ABC
Selection of ABC car stickers (Anoraks Ireland Collection).

Although largely playing chart music, this recording gives a sense of some of the diversity of weekend programming on Waterford station ABC. It includes Russ Padmore presenting the American Top 40 and Billy Power with a country music programme. News at 6pm is also read by Russ Padmore and there are plenty of adverts for local businesses and national brands. Russ is clearly burning the candle at both ends because he is to return at 1am for the night shift. He is now a journalist with BBC World Service. Billy Power went on to present a country show on rival Waterford station Crystal City Sound.

Sunday afternoon on Waterford's ABC
Original label from Anoraks Ireland Collection – note incorrect times and wrong name of country presenter.

Our tape was made from 1026 kHz AM from 1735-1820 on Sunday 5th May 1985 and was recorded in Kilkenny, some distance from the transmitter. It is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

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Breakfast on Waterford’s ABC

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Breakfast on Waterford's ABC
Richard Staines (aka Steve Silby) at another Waterford station Suirside Radio (courtesy DX Archive).

By the mid 1980s ABC was well established as one of the leading stations in Waterford and covered the southeast on a network of transmitters on AM and FM. This recording is of the breakfast show hosted by Richard Staines (aka Steve Silby), one of the many English DJs involved in the station. The programme includes the ‘Bits and Pieces’ competition to guess clips from chart hits, the ‘Memory Module’ oldies section and a quiz featuring software transmission sounds made by an early generation of home computers. Among the many adverts is a promotion for the ABC 3rd birthday party and outside broadcast coming up the following weekend. News on the hour is read by Steve himself.

Breakfast on Waterford's ABC
Original cassette label from Anoraks Ireland Collection.

Our tape was made from 101 FM on Wednesday 6th March 1985. Part 1 above runs from 0748-0836 and Part 2 below from 0836-0924.

Part 2 from 0836.

The recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

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Interview about ABC Power 104

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Interview about ABC Power 104
ABC Power 104 letterhead from c. 2000 (courtesy Ian Biggar)

ABC Power 104 was a Waterford station broadcasting between 1992 to 2001, one of the significant stations from the second wave of pirates following legalisation of independent radio. Its roots were in ABC, a professional pirate that broadcast from Tramore and then Waterford City from 1982 to 1988. The station returned under a new name in 1992, stating that it wanted to provide an alternative to local licensed service WLR. Full-time broadcasting began at Christmas 1993 and ABC Power 104 began campaigning for an expansion of local radio in the Waterford area. According to a station leaflet from c. 2000, ‘although Waterford already enjoys one excellent local radio service, one station cannot be all things to all people. The trade off is that the young people of Waterford are poorly catered for when it comes to programming as the existing local services target the older and traditionally safer demographic … without us there is no choice in local radio’.

In 1999, ABC Power 104 was invited by the Independent Radio and Television Commission (IRTC, the predecessor to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland) to prepare an expression of interest in operating a full-time station. The licence for a regional youth service for the southeast was eventually awarded to Beat 102 103, which was linked to ABC’s old rival WLR. Beat came on air in 2003.

This recording is of an interview from 1998 by Pete Reid (Simon Maher) and Gerard Roe with Andy Ellis of ABC Power 104, broadcast on Dublin pirate Phantom FM. Andy was one of the founders of the original ABC in 1982. Thanks to Gerard Roe for the donation and to Ian Biggar for background.