Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

19th October 202618th October 2026

Northeast series: Mid-morning show on Boyneside Radio

By 1984, the Drogheda station Boyneside Radio was 6 years on air and had grown into a large regional station with offshoot services across the northeast. This recording features the end of Daire Nelson’s breakfast show followed by the mid-morning programme presented by Don (Donagh) McKeown. Donagh would go on to present the first show on border station Zee 103 in 1986 and later worked for Downtown Radio in Belfast. News is read by Shane Harrison, who later had a career with the BBC in Belfast and Dublin.

The airchecked recording was made by Kieran Murray from 98.1 FM between 0930-1103 on Monday 13^th August 1984 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.

16th October 202615th October 2026

Sunday morning oldies on Quincentennial Radio

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Quincentennial Radio was a short-lived Galway pirate that came on air just after the deadline for the unlicensed stations to leave the airwaves at the end of 1988. Named after the city’s 500^th anniversary celebrations in 1984, Quincentennial began broadcasting continuous music on 2^nd January 1989. It was run by ex-Coast 103 people such as Shane Martin, Steve Marshall and Tony Allan (RIP) and promoted itself as the city’s only local station filling the vacuum left by the closure of the pirates. Quincentennial was warned by the authorities in April 1989 and closed down around that time.

This recording features a Sunday morning oldies show presented by Carl Turner (John Steele, RIP), who had broadcast previously on Coast 103 and on his own hobby pirate station, Swinging Radio Impulse. It also includes station liners voiced by Tony Allan, including one stating that Quincentennial Radio was ‘owned and operated by local radio people who prefer not to be unemployed’.

The tape is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection and was made from 98.4 FM on the morning of Sunday, 5^th January 1989. No times are given in the recording.

14th October 202610th October 2026

Radio West Anoraks’ Show (18th May 1986)

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This is part of the weekly Radio West Anoraks’ Show from spring 1986, presented by Phil Hilton and station boss Shaun Coyne. Stations discussed include Centre Radio in Kildare, the new Independent Radio Longford, Big M in Monaghan, Cavan Community Radio and Boyneside Radio. There are letters from people selling AM and FM transmitters and reference to DX programmes broadcast on public broadcasters around Europe.

The recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection and was made from 765 kHz AM between 1136-1200 on Sunday 18^th May 1986.

12th October 202610th October 2026

Andy Rua on Sunshine Radio

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Andy Ruane (Andy Rua, previously Paul Nicholas) worked on various Dublin pirates in the late 1970s and early 1980s before moving on to a career in RTÉ. Here he is in 1983 in the lunchtime slot on Portmarnock station Sunshine Radio. Cathy Cregan reads the main lunchtime news, which includes results from the abortion referendum of the previous day.

The recording was made from 101.5 FM between 1258 and 1343 on 8^th September 1983 and is courtesy of Shay Geoghegan.

9th October 20264th October 2026

Border series: Lunchtime music mix on KLAS Radio

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This recording of border pirate KLAS Radio was made in summer 1992 after the station was well established and apparently doing well from advertising across a wide area. On air is Michael Barry with mostly continuous country and Irish. A Northern number is given out for requests. There are plenty of adverts from Counties Derry, Monaghan, Louth, Antrim and Tyrone and a promo seeking additional sales reps. A céilí house programme, rock and roll show and American country show are also promoted.

The tape was made from 828 kHz between 1200-1333 on Wednesday 22^nd July 1992 and is courtesy of Ian Biggar.