Shaun Coyne at Radio West in 1986 (courtesy Andy Carter).
The weekly Radio West Anoraks’ Show from Mullingar was essential listening for radio enthusiasts far and near. Fronted by station boss Shaun Coyne, it was unscripted and unpredictable and relied heavily on juicy gossip and rumours about the pirate radio scene. Shaun was joined by another presenter each week – including the late Don Allen – but the second person often struggled to get a word in.
This recording contains highlights of the Anoraks’ Show from 1986 and 1987, with a focus on stations outside Dublin, in particular the west and southwest. It captures the rivalry and volatility in the pirate radio world as well as the continued dominance of AM outside Dublin well into the 1980s. The list of snippets is as follows:
2nd November 1986: Limerick information from a contributor.
16th November 1986: Limerick information from William Leahy, who went on to a career in RTÉ radio.
30th November 1986: Galway information from Noel Dooley.
27th November 1986: Raidió Luimní as heard on 1125 kHz when Radio Carousel was temporarily off the air.
7th December 1986: Paul Davidson of Anoraks Ireland with information from Limerick, Tipperary and Cork.
7th December 1986: Sligo information from James Headd.
1st February 1987: Further Limerick information from William Leahy.
1st February 1987: Further Galway information from Noel Dooley.
12th April 1987: Paul Davidson of Anoraks Ireland with information from around the country.
10th May 1987: Information about Tipperary (Nenagh) from a contributor.
10th May 1987: Joe Cashin from Kilkenny with local information.
10th May 1987: Galway and Mayo information from a contributor.
17th May 1987: Promo for interview with Owen Barry (Larkin) from Zee 103, who went on to work in Century Radio and Downtown Radio in Belfast.
24th May 1987: Owen Barry (Larkin) from Zee 103.
24th May 1987: Don Allen jokes about a statute being put up in honour of Heady Eddie (Eddie Caffrey), pioneer of pirate radio in Co. Louth.
24th May 1987: Nigel Gordon with Kildare information (Naas).
Undated 1987: Interview with Scottish anorak Jock Wilson of Radio Stella International who wishes to broadcast on shortwave from the Republic of Ireland.
26th July 1987: Keith York from Galway about Coast 103.
26th July 1987: David Baker from KLAS in Dublin about his recent short stint on offshore station Radio Caroline.
The recordings were made from 702 kHz AM in Scotland by Ian Biggar. DX groundwave reception by day meant variable audio quality due to the distance from Mullingar.
Here we share recordings of vintage Radio Dublin from the days when full-time broadcasting was still a dream. These extracts are from the station’s 36-hour marathon over Saturday and Sunday 17th and 18th September 1977 with DJs John Paul, Alistair Mac, Jimmy St. Leger, Sarge, Sylvie, Kieran Murray and Johnny Day. Transmission quality left a lot to be desired and the cassettes are showing their age, but there’s no doubt that Radio Dublin was the leading station in Dublin at the time. As well as the music, there are community announcements, adverts and a live link-up to the Radio Dublin car at a racing event in the Phoenix Park. One of those interviewed in the park is the late Irish author Lee Dunne, who was at the time writing the popular RTÉ radio series Harbour Hotel.
A second recording below features a Beatles special presented by Alastair Mac from around 1950 on either 17th or 18th September. There are plenty of requests, including one from Lancashire. These tapes were made by Kieran Murray and are part of the Anoraks Ireland Collection.
Beatles special with Alastair Mac
A shorter extract of the weekend below is courtesy of Ian Biggar.
20 minute version of the marathon broadcast
Previously the pirates were sporadic hobby operations, appearing at night or at the weekend. This broadcast was a decisive step in the professionalisation of pirate radio in Dublin and led to full-time broadcasting by Radio Dublin at the beginning of 1978. Other stations soon followed and the rest is history. We’re very grateful to Kieran for sharing his memories of this unique broadcast:
Having listened to this recording that I made way back in 1977, many memories have flooded back! This recording was made at 53 Charleston Road, Ranelagh, Dublin 6, in the flat where I lived with my parents. It was also the address used as the contact details for the Free Radio Campaign – Ireland, the pirate radio club that I ran from April 1976 to March 1981.
First, 1977 was the year that I completed my Leaving Cert and this marathon broadcast occurred just after my 19th birthday! I recorded this broadcast from an old valve radio (you know the ones with the tubes that light up!) and the speaker output was wired to a cassette recorder. The radio was given to me by my maternal grandmother and it was connected to a long wire antenna that went out the bedroom window and ran along the full length of the wall of the long back garden at the rear of the flat in Charleston Road.
To be fair, the actual broadcast quality was a bit better than my recording here displays. Recording the entire weekend was a challenge for me, because I had never done an ‘aircheck’ recording before. Plus, I was constrained in the amount of cassette tape that I had to hand at that time and it was over an entire weekend, so I took a sample of each show.
Firstly, I was aware at this time that this was completely new territory for pirate radio. Previous to this, pirate radio stations were limited to broadcasting for short periods, mostly at weekend and at night time, as it was thought that you would be less likely to be raided by the dreaded Posts and Telegraphs and Gardaí. Secondly, because a pirate radio station had never before attempted a marathon broadcast like this, I was aware that Radio Dublin could have been raided at any time – and my hope was that if it were raided, I could possibly catch this event on tape. As it transpired, the broadcast went on uninterrupted and I’m sure that is what emboldened future pirate radio stations from then on.
The contract address used for Radio Dublin during this broadcast was 90 Ranelagh, Dublin 6 (I think Don Moore lived at that address). This was also the very first time that commercials had been broadcast on pirate radio. Featured on this recording is a commercial for the Band Centre, Harcourt Road, Dublin. They had a special offer that you could hire your complete Christmas disco for just £12! Another commercial featured was for Casanova’s Unisex Hair Stylist in 15 North Earl Street, Dublin. The commercial you hear for Sounds Alternative magazine, from Free Radio Campaign – Ireland (the radio club I ran), was on a pre-recorded cassette. In fact, it was one of the first commercials that was pre-recorded on Radio Dublin up to that point. All of the commercials at that time were all read live, over an instrumental bed.
The Alistair Mac show at 6pm was ground-breaking, because it was the first to feature music that was non-commercial and also album tracks. I think it pre-dates Dave Fanning for this type of show. Also featured was a link-up by telephone to a motor racing event that was being held in the Phoenix Park, Dublin. The Radio Dublin outside broadcast unit was a white Jaguar car owned by Eamonn Cooke, with the name Radio Dublin along the side. Again, another first for Irish pirate radio.
The presenters you hear on this recording are: John Paul, Jimmy St Leger, DJ Sylvie, Johnny Day, Alistair Mac, Sarge, Johnny Day and Kenneth Murphy (yes, that’s me using the DJ name that I had used previously on Capitol Radio (August – December 1975).Each show featured a stream of requests and the landline telephone was ringing constantly. Up to this point, it was unheard of that you could just call up a radio station and get your request read out and your favourite song played within 30 minutes or so. This was quite revolutionary at the time and went down very well, particularly with younger listeners. I often imagine that if Radio Dublin had been raided immediately during that marathon broadcast, then the course of radio here in Ireland may have taken a completely different turn.
The small Dublin pirate ABC Radio was one of a handful to stay on the air after the raids on the bigger station Radio Nova and Sunshine Radio on 18th and 19th May 1983. This short recording of ABC was made before 2300 on the evening of 19th May and includes a call from a listener who says she finds RTÉ Radio 1 and Radio 2 depressing and will miss pirate radio. The DJ is Jimmy Williams and the recording was made from 963 kHz, 312 metres. It is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.
New headed notepaper for Radio with with the 240 wavelength (courtesy DX Archive).
Radio City changed AM frequencies in summer 1981, moving from 1512 kHz (announcing 199 metres) to the slightly off-channel 1243 kHz (announcing 240 metres). This recording begins at the end of Seán Collins’s Saturday afternoon show with laid-back tunes and a listeners’ competition. He is followed by Alan Edwards who is running late for his weekly slot. Alan plays chart hits with some oldies and there are requests from listeners and plenty of adverts but also a break in transmission for a few minutes.
The tape was made from 95.5 FM from 1655-1852 (with an edit in the middle) on 18th July 1981 and is courtesy of Lilian O’Donoghue. Audio quality is fair to good, with some wobble on the cassette in places due to the passage of time.
John Ashford at Radio City in 1980 or 1981 (courtesy Lilian O’Donoghue).
This recording features weekend shows on Cork pirate Radio City in summer 1981. Up first is John Ashford (RIP) with the final part of his Saturday Nightbeat show. He is followed by Jamie Roberts, who takes a call from fellow DJ Pat O’Rourke who is in hospital! Of interest is the advert for Fianna Fáil in advance of the election the following week. The final section is part of a chart show.
The tape begins at around 2200 on Saturday 6th June 1981 but is partially airchecked. The chart show is probably from the following day, 7th June. Thanks to Lilian O’Donoghue for the donation.
