Pete Andrews (O’Neill) at Radio City in 1980 (courtesy Lilian O’Donoghue).
Pete Andrews (O’Neill) was a familiar voice on Cork pirate radio, and was heard on the early stations of the late 1970s before setting up Radio City in 1980 with Dan Noonan. Here he is on the Lunchtime Special from spring 1981 with a mixture of chart, classics and a bit of country. Features include the Golden Year, for sale slot, featured album, record of the week, weather forecast and the Top 10 from the Radio City Top 50. Many of the adverts are voiced by Pete, who also reads news headlines on the hour. Such was the multi-tasking of pirate radio!
The recording was made from 95.7 FM between 1202-1403 on 23rd March 1981 and is courtesy of Lilian O’Donoghue.
West National Radio 3 notepaper (courtesy DX Archive).
The Anoraks’ Show on Radio West, later West National Radio 3, was a weekly review of the Irish pirate radio scene. It was presented by station boss Shaun Coyne and was renowned for being unpredictable and heavy on gossip and rumour. This edition of the Anoraks’ Show from spring 1988 includes news about the closure of Radio Carousel in Dundalk and Drogheda, the new KISS FM in Monaghan, Longford Community Radio, Breffni Radio and Northern Star. Shaun also recounts how West National Radio 3 was considering buying Hits 954 in Limerick, but that station was recently acquired by Coast 103 in Galway. There is also reference to revisions of the impending legislation to silence the pirates and introduce licensed local radio. Shaun is joined in studio by Willie Harte, who can barely get a word in!
The tape was made from 702 kHz AM between 1057-1131 on Sunday, 24th April 1988 and is partially airchecked. It is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.
Magic 103 was launched by Radio Nova on April 29th 1985, promoting itself as an easy-listening and information service for Dublin. This placed the station more in competition with RTÉ Radio 1 than Radio 2, but it never really found its feet and presentation and production standards were mixed during its short period on air. Magic 103 closed on 22nd September and the laying off of staff worsened a dispute with the National Union of Journalists, which would ultimately contribute to the demise of Radio Nova.
The tape begins with the end of the afternoon show with Mark Weller (Costigan) and Linda Conway, which includes an interview related to one of the day’s news stories. ABC Network News on the hour is broadcast on both Magic 103 and Radio Nova. Shane Mac Gabhann and Dave Johnson (Andrew Hanlon) follow the 1700 news with a drivetime news and music show, including a newspaper review, sports news, community information, a book feature and an entertainment guide.
The recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection and was made from 103.5 FM between 1645-1818 on Wednesday 17th July 1985.
L-R Luke Ward and Alan Edwards at Radio City in 1981 (courtesy Lilian O’Donoghue).
This is another example of Saturday evening shows on Cork pirate Radio City from spring 1981. First up is the final part of Alan Edwards’ programme with a mixture of chart music and classics. He is followed by Luke Ward with his Rock City Interviews show. There are also adverts for local businesses and station jingles. Audio quality is generally good, but there is some wobble towards the end due to cassette degradation.
The recording was made from 95.5 FM between 1808-1905 on 21st March 1981 and is courtesy of Lilian O’Donoghue. At this time Radio City also broadcast on 1512 kHz, announcing 199 metres. Thanks to Lilian O’Donoghue for the donation.
Margaretta D’Arcy on Radio Pirate Woman in her home in 1991 (courtesy Stan Shields, Galway City Tribune).
Radio Pirate Woman was one of Ireland’s unique pirate radio stations, run by activist and dramatist Margaretta D’Arcy (RIP) from her home in Galway. It began as Women’s Scéal Radio in 1987 but changed its name to Radio Pirate Woman in 1989 to underline its illegal status in the new era after the introduction of new broadcasting legislation. The technical set-up was very basic and there was no studio as such, with women sitting around Margaretta’s table and discussing the news of the day. The low-powered FM transmitter covered only the city centre, but although Radio Pirate Woman’s geographical reach was limited, it was known in feminist and activist circles way beyond Galway.
Radio Pirate Woman poster from the 1990s (courtesy Eddie Bohan).
In this recording, Margaretta is heard presenting a late-night programme with esoteric music and news items about women’s issues and human rights. She calls it ‘a bit of a random radio’ as she attempts to fix technical problems and rewinds cassettes on the air. Due to interference caused to her neighbour’s television, Margaretta announces that she is changing her broadcasting times to avoid upset. The recording ends with part of a cassette from WINGS (Women’s International News Gathering Service) based in Austin, Texas, a common feature on the station.
The tape was made from 102 FM on 26th November 1999 between 0015-0100 and is courtesy of John Breslin. Radio Pirate Woman continued intermittently until about 2010 and Margaretta D’Arcy died in 2025 at the age of 91.
