Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

13th November 20268th November 2026

Q102 breakfast with Scott Williams and Bob Gallico

By 1987, Q102 was well-established as one of the leading pirates in Dublin due to its professional and polished sound. This edition of the breakfast show with Scott Williams was recorded in spring that year. Headlines are read by Bob Gallico (RIP) just before the top of the hour, meaning that its news was aired before other stations. Bob also joins Scott in studio during the show and there is the daily Eye in the Sky traffic report from Mike Hogan in a helicopter above Dublin.

The recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection and was made from from 102.1 FM between 0753-0840 on Friday 24^th April 1987.

11th November 20268th November 2026

Overnight show on Galway’s WLS

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WLS broadcast from Galway City between March 1985 and June 1987. It was set up by Steve Marshall, Keith York (RIP) and Don Stevens after they left Atlantic Sound, another Galway station that they took over in mid-1984. WLS established a professional and slick sound and quickly became the city’s leading pirate station, but it closed suddenly in suspicious circumstances after just over two years. WLS was soon replaced by another pirate, Coast 103, which was set up by Marshall and York and continued to broadcast until the end of 1988.

This airchecked recording of WLS was made by Kieran Murray from 101 FM in the early hours of a Saturday morning sometime in May 1985 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection. The DJ is unidentified.

9th November 20268th November 2026

Late night on Galway’s Atlantic Sound

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Atlantic Sound was a Galway pirate station that broadcast from December 1983 until June 1985. It was set up by journalist Alan Russell who had run Capitol Radio in Dublin in the late 1970s. Initially Atlantic Sound had a broad format including news and specialist speech programmes. The station was taken over by Keith York (RIP), Steve Marshall and and Don Stevens from Cork pirates South Coast Radio and WKLR in summer 1984 and changed to a pop music format. The three left Atlantic Sound in March 1985 to set up a rival station, WLS Music Radio, which had better studio and broadcast facilities. As a result, Atlantic Radio closed down suddenly in June 1985.

This recording of Atlantic Sound was made around the beginning of May 1985 around midnight on a Friday night and Saturday morning. Steve Shannon is in the late-night slot. The frequency is unknown but was either 95.4 or 99.2 FM. The airchecked recording was made by Kieran Murray and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.

6th November 20264th November 2026

Radio West Anoraks’ Show (6th July 1986)

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This recording of the weekly Radio West Anoraks’ Show from summer 1986 includes legendary broadcaster Bob Gallico (RIP) as a guest in studio with station boss Shaun Coyne and Phil Hilton. Bob talks about his love for radio since his youth in the US and explains how he landed a job reading news with Radio Nova in Dublin. The panel discusses the evolution of the pirate scene in recent years and speculates about its future. There is also discussion of Dublin station Q102, to which Bob has recently moved. Other stations mentioned are WLCB in Wicklow, new Dundalk station CLR, ERI and WBEN in Cork, Capitol-Nitesky 96, Liberties Radio, KISS FM and Energy 103 in Dublin, Zee 104 in Kildare, Kandy Radio in Ballinasloe and Radio Rainbow International in Louth.

The tape was made from 765 kHz between 1122-1200 (with a few edits) on Sunday 6^th July 1986 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.

4th November 20263rd November 2026

Northeast series: Afternoon Delight on Boyneside Radio from 1984

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Eddie Caffrey is one of Ireland’s longest-serving broadcasters, having spent a decade with the Drogheda pirate, Boyneside Radio, before moving to licensed local station LMFM. This recording is of his daily Afternoon Delight programme from summer 1984. It includes the Golden Hour, news on the hour with Shane Harrison (who went on to a career with the BBC), the tea break feature with three songs by Queen, racing results and the birthday spot. The large number of requests reflects the popularity of Eddie’s programme with listeners. Also of interest is an advert for a Drogheda venue hosting the Radio Nova Night Out, a popular club arranged by the Dublin pirate.

The airchecked recording runs from 1400-1620 on Thursday 16^th August 1984 from 98.1 FM. It was made originally by Kieran Murray and is part of the Anoraks Ireland Collection.