Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

16th February 202616th February 2026

Border series: Evening shows on KISS FM Monaghan

KISS FM from Monaghan Town was a short-lived but highly successful and professional pirate station that broadcast for only 9 months in 1988. Although many border pirates relied on Northern listeners and advertisers, few were professional or powerful enough to make inroads into Belfast. Work began in 1987 on establishing a professional commercial station whose signal would be viable to capture the Belfast market. Test transmissions began at the end of that year and after technical problems, KISS FM eventually launched officially on 27^th March 1988 and began broadcasting full-time a few days later. Powerful signals on AM and FM reached to Belfast and beyond, making KISS FM a serious player in the Northern radio market during its short time on air.

This recording is of various evening shows from a Wednesday not long after KISS FM went on the air. First up is the end of the long afternoon shift with Owen Barry (Larkin), who is followed by John Friday (Lawrence John). Formatting is slick, with minimal talk, music sweeps and station jingles and liners. There’s also a promo for the US syndicated radio show, Gary Owens Music Weekend, and a small number of adverts for larger businesses and brands.

The recording was made from 103.7 between 1840-1928 on 6^th April 1988 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection. KISS FM also broadcast on 1008 kHz AM at this time.

11th February 20268th February 2026

Early Cork series: lunchtime to drivetime on Radio City

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These recordings of Radio City from 1981 include excerpts spanning lunchtime, afternoon and early evening programmes. First up is Carl Johnson (Dan Noonan) with various examples of the 3-in-a-row feature from his daily lunchtime show. We also hear a new DJ in the Afternoon Delights slot, Jamie Roberts, who is clearly still learning the ropes. He is followed by Noel Evans (Welch), with part of the Homerun drivetime show.

Dates of these recordings are uncertain but the cassette label mentions 11^th May 1981. They were made from 95.5 FM and are courtesy of Lilian O’Donoghue.

9th February 20269th February 2026

Northeast series: Boyneside Radio North at Easter

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Boyneside Radio North was one of several satellite services of the main Drogheda station, aimed at listeners north of the border as far as Belfast. This was the most successful of the offshoot stations, broadcasting continuously from late summer 1982 to 31^st December 1988. The studios of Boyneside Radio North were located at Killeen, just south of the border, and AM and FM transmitters were situated on the border itself. There were local programmes from Killeen for long parts of the day, with the remainder of material relayed from Drogheda.

This recording of Boyneside Radio North was made on Easter Sunday 1988 and features an unidentified DJ with a mixture of pop and oldies. Requests are mostly from the Northern counties of Down and Armagh. Adverts feature businesses around the Newry area and an advertising promo contains Northern phone numbers. News at 1500 is read by Gerry Malone from Drogheda.

The tape is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection and was made from 1419-1508 on 3^rd April 1988 from the 106.1 FM transmitter located at Edentubber, just on the border. Boyneside Radio North also broadcast on 1233 kHz (244 metres) to Newry.

6th February 202631st January 2026

Solid Gold Sunday on Q102

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Solid Gold Sunday was a weekly show presented by popular DJ Jason Maine on Dublin station Q102 in the 1980s. This recording of the programme was made between Christmas and New Year 1987 and includes the usual mix of oldies along with Jason’s characteristic relaxed style. There’s also a promo for a show featuring the Top 40 of 1987, that will air during the festive season.

The tape is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection and was made from 102 FM between 1203-1249 on Sunday 27^th December 1987.

4th February 202631st January 2026

Early Cork series: Saturday evening on Radio City

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This is another edition of the Saturday early evening show on Cork pirate Radio City in spring 1981. On air is Alan Edwards with a mixture of contemporary hits and oldies. Alan shares requests and an announcement from a listener who wants to sell a flight from Cork to London, a sign of the times when air travel was less restricted than now. There are more adverts than in other recordings from around this time, one of which is voiced by Eric Hansen (the well-known RTÉ presenter John Creedon).

The tape was made from 95.5 FM from 1700-1900 on Saturday 11^th April 1981 and is courtesy of Lilian O’Donoghue.