Airchecks Archives - Page 16 of 34 - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

30th June 202130th June 2021

Radio Amore from Portlaoise

Radio Amore was a shortlived station broadcasting from Portlaoise, Co. Laois in 1982 and 1983. It was logged by DX Archive on 1143 kHz (announcing 263 metres) in December 1982 but there is no mention of it in their April 1983 list. The arrival of Laois Community Radio in Mountrath around this time probably contributed to Radio Amore’s demise.

This recording is from 104.5 FM of Francis McNally at 9pm on Saturday 26^th of February 1983, so Radio Amore must have disappeared soon after that date. There are requests from Portlaoise itself and Ballybrophy over 30 km away. Audio quality is poor with variable levels and due to the bad condition of the cassette, it was necessary to aircheck the recording. The incorrect spelling “Radio A’Moore” is on the cassette label, but in fairness to whoever typed it, Radio Amore was a strange choice of name for a station broadcasting from Portlaoise.

This recording is from the Leon Tipler Tapes Collection, donated to us by Steve England.

23rd June 202121st June 2021

Hospital requests on WLR

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This is an airchecked recording of the popular Sunday Hospital Requests show from 12 noon to 2pm on Waterford Local Radio (WLR), reflecting that station’s community focus in contrast with other more commercial rivals. Colin Kennedy is covering for Clodagh Walsh and everyone else seems to be standing in also – the previous show was presented by Michael Forrestal for Tony Weldon and at the last minute, Paul Power is replaced by Eoin Ronayne in the 2-5pm slot.

There are piles of requests for hospital patients and other listeners in Waterford and south Tipperary, reflecting the show’s strong local following. We don’t have an exact date but estimate this to be from February 1983. Sound quality is fair and there is some warble on the music reflecting the cassette’s age. Thanks to Colin Kennedy for donating this recording.

19th May 202114th May 2022

Radio Leinster closes down suddenly

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Radio Leinster closed unexpectedly just after 1pm on the 19th of May 1983, following the raid on Sunshine Radio that morning and on Radio Nova the previous day. Although almost all stations in Dublin switched off their transmitters on the 19th as fears about raids spread, most were back on air within days but Radio Leinster was never to return. Anna Craig (Chisnall) read the lunchtime news at 1pm and said there would be another bulletin at 3pm but within minutes the closure of the station was announced suddenly by managing director Justin James. The station closed with its signature tune, Seán Ó Riada’s ‘Mise Éire’.

Radio Leinster was an innovative and unique station which aimed at the RTÉ Radio 1 listenership with a mixture of musical styles, talk programmes and specialist shows. It broadcast on 738 kHz am (406 metres) and 93 FM, the signal benefiting considerably from a high site in Sandyford overlooking Dublin.

This recording is courtesy of one of the Radio Leinster presenters, Al Dunne who was on air for the closedown.

29th April 202129th April 2021

40 years since the launch of Radio Leinster

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After a fortnight of tests, Radio Leinster launched its new service for Dublin at 7am on Wednesday 29^th April 1981, announcing a frequency of 738 kHz or 406 metres. The first presenter was Eugene Elliott on the breakfast programme who promised competitions, quizzes and a news service in the coming days and weeks. There was easy listening music for the first hour but the style was more varied after 8am. Sports news and a Dublin and European weather forecast also featured. The music policy was fairly mixed in the early days and took a while to settle into the easy listening format for which Radio Leinster became well-known for most of its two-year existence. Formatting was not common in Irish pirate radio at the time but that would soon change with the introduction of strict playlisting by super-pirates such as Sunshine Radio and Radio Nova.

The short airchecked recording above was made in Dublin and includes some of the links in the first show. The longer recording below was made from 0656-0821 but is of poorer quality as it was recorded in Scotland. There is some fading, electrical interference and a heterodyne whistle as the transmitter was slightly off channel in the early days. An FM transmitter on 93 MHz was added at a later stage.

The airchecked recording was made in Dublin by Ger Roe and the longer version was made in Scotland by Ken Baird. Thanks to Ian Biggar for sharing these with us.

21st April 202124th March 2024

Marty Hall (Whelan) on Radio Dublin

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Marty Whelan was one of the many future RTÉ stars who would cut his broadcasting teeth in the late 1970s Dublin pirate scene. Here he is as Marty Hall presenting the Oldies Show on Radio Dublin on Easter Sunday, 26^th March 1978 between 1200-1330.

The programme is interesting in how it uses advertising, as most commercials are read live by Marty. Businesses such as Windsor Rent-a-Car, the Dublin Bazaar, The Sportsman Inn in Mount Merrion and the Rosary Florist are promoted in this way and a segment of the show is sponsored by the Chariot Inn in Ranelagh. There are also letters from listeners with all sorts of requests including one reporting a broken television and another promoting a local sports club. Marty Hall would soon move on to the breakaway station Big D before joining the new RTÉ Radio 2 in 1979.

The recording is partially airchecked and was made by Eddie Caffrey in Co. Louth, so there is some interference in places. Thanks to Eddie and Ian Biggar for sharing with us.