Full recordings Archives - Page 100 of 120 - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

30th October 20207th August 2021

Northeast series: Zee 103 (1986-1988)

Zee 103 was a high-powered FM ‘border blaster’ aiming its signal from Co. Louth into Northern Ireland. This station history has been written by Ian Biggar.

Kiss FM was set up to show that there was a need for local radio in the Craigavon area of Co. Armagh. It commenced daily transmissions on 102.7 MHz from a unit on an industrial estate in Lurgan on 13^th March 1985. The station proved popular with listeners, but not with the authorities. After only a couple of weeks the British Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) raided the station and effectively put it off the air.

Following the DTI raid, the team decided the only way to continue was by setting up across the border and aim the signal northwards. According to Anoraks UK, KISS FM was heard testing from Omeath on 103.5 MHz during November 1985, but then seemed to disappear. Meanwhile, a site was found near Omeath and work was carried out to renovate Ardaghy House, an old schoolhouse located just 3km from the border and some 600 feet above sea level. The location provided stunning views of Carlingford Lough and was of course an excellent site for radio transmission. Two studios were built and a mast erected at the side of the building with eight six-element yagis mounted to boost the signal. A 2.5 KW Italian transmitter was installed. You can hear a test transmission of KISS FM from Omeath here.

KISS FM test transmission on 23rd November 1985 (courtesy of Ian Biggar).

The station was then hit by what seemed to be a combination of political manoeuvrings and a burglary on site with the loss of much equipment. The internal politics caused some of the team to move on and begin planning an even bigger ‘border blaster’, namely 103.7 KISS FM in Monaghan town. All this caused delays in getting the Louth station on air. The late Frank McCarthy eventually succeeded in preparing the new station to go on air, with major financial backing from a Lurgan-based drinks company.

It was early October 1986 when Anoraks UK reported a big signal on 103.3 MHz with non-stop music tests. Output power was estimated in the region of 150 KW and indeed signals were being reported in Blackpool and Ayrshire in Scotland. At one point the frequency was adjusted to 103.25 MHz. Around 15^th October the station began to identify itself, not as KISS FM, but Zee 103.3. A number of long breaks were noted during the tests, believed to be caused by power cuts in the area. Reception reports were requested, firstly to a PO box number in Portadown and then to the station address in Omeath. Testing continued, with Anoraks UK noting that the audio sounded distorted at times.

The station commenced regular programming on 11^th November 1986 at 0700 with Donagh McKeown hosting the opening programme. A 24-hour schedule commenced from day one with a full team of presenters including Owen Barry (Larkin), Kenny Tosh and Andrew Gold. Later an hourly news bulletin was introduced during the daytime. The station provided a good stereo signal into mid-Ulster, easily covering Newry, Portadown, Lurgan, Armagh and the surrounding area. Unlike other border stations, Zee 103 programmed mainly contemporary hits, although there were specialist weekend programmes featuring oldies and a reggae programme hosted by Terri Hooley from Good Vibrations records in Belfast.

In the early days the power seemed to vary considerably and the station still suffered from over-modulation at times. However technical issues were soon resolved and the signal became consistent. During January 1987 the station adjusted its name slightly to Zee 103 and began using jingles produced by Henry Owens. In February a promotions team was on the streets of towns in the coverage area, giving away £5 notes to anyone who said they listened to Zee 103, ‘the sound of tomorrow today’. The station also had a £1,000 cash giveaway during the summer of 1987.

The recording above is of a test tranmission for Zee 103 on 4th November 1986 from 103.25 FM. It was made by Ian Biggar in Scotland. The recording below was made by Rodney Neil in Portadown and is of the station’s official launch on 11th November 1986. It runs from 0730-0900 and features the first breakfast show with Donagh McKeown.

Zee 103 built up a good, solid listening audience, mainly covering the younger demographic who were less likely to want country music as prominently heard on most stations in the area. It continued to broadcast 24 hours a day until finally closing at 2359 on December 31^st 1988, following the introduction of the Wireless Telegraphy Act. However, on seeing that the likes of Radio Star Country continued despite the new law, Zee 103 ventured back on air on 19^th January 1989 and started broadcasting around the clock once again. However following the first raid on Radio Dublin and the uncertainty it brought, station management decided to close and so Zee 103 left the air at 1200 on Tuesday 7^th February.

29th October 20206th June 2022

Northeast series: East Coast Radio (1986)

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East Coast Radio broadcast for a little over six months from the town of Ardee between Drogheda and Dundalk. According to the Anoraks UK Weekly Report of the 15^th of June 1986, an unidentified transmission with a strong signal on 1044 kHz AM was logged 75km away in Dungannon, Co. Tyrone. It was also said to be strong in Dundalk and was picked up without an aerial in Blackpool on the west coast of England. During the test period, RTÉ Radio 2 and BBC Radio 2 were relayed at different times. The station was to be called East Coast Radio and presenters were sought. The station was set up by local promoter Jim McQuillan in partnership with a local DJ. Jim is still promoting and currently manages the band Bagatelle. Former Boyneside Radio presenter Daire Nelson was among those involved. The studio was based in McCabe’s Motors, Main Street, Ardee.

In August 1986, Anoraks UK reported that East Coast was putting out an excellent signal on AM and that its studios were impressively laid out. It was also reported to be broadcasting on 97.7 MHz FM. The AM transmitter was located at a place called Hacklim Funshog just outside Ardee and had been used originally by Radio Meath in Trim and was also tried by Royal County Radio in Navan in 1982. It was on the air for just a week or two before being stolen but was later found in a yard in Kells, Co. Meath. Eddie Caffrey of Boyneside Radio built a 500-watt transmitter for East Coast at the time which ended up being used by a station in Carlow after East Coast’s short life. The AM site was high up which boosted the signal and was used for FM by Big M Radio from Monaghan at the end of the pirate era.

East Coast Radio closed down on the 24^th of January 1987. A lack of advertising revenue was suggested but one of its main competitors, Radio Carousel in Dundalk, had gone off the air earlier that month after a complaint of interference by the Department of Communications. This recording was made by Gary Hogg in Blackpool from 1044 kHz from 1125-1225 on 7^th July 1986 and some splatter from neighbouring channels can be heard. Chris Clarke is on air with Daire reading news on the half-hour. Thanks to Ian Biggar for sharing this with us and to Eddie Caffrey for additional background information.

28th October 20207th August 2021

Northeast series: Radio Rainbow International (1987-1988)

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Today we bring you more recordings from Radio Rainbow International, Eddie Caffrey’s high-powered shortwave pirate which broadcast from the Drogheda area on Sunday mornings from 1985-1988. Radio Rainbow could also be heard on 1521 kHz AM and on FM locally. There was no mast at the house, so the antenna cable was extended by attaching a stone to it and throwing it up over a power line at the bottom of the garden. Sometimes the transmission arrangements of the pirates were not for the faint-hearted!

One of those involved in Radio Rainbow was Kieran Murray who also worked in Boyneside Radio along with Eddie and had been with Radio Carousel previously. Kieran presented a weekly FRC show on Rainbow with news and information about the exciting world of pirate radio in Ireland and abroad. The recording above is an extract from one such programme in April 1987. The second recording below is from January 1988 and features a relay of John Dean (aka Colin Strong) presenting his own free radio show on the Scottish pirate WLR (no connection with the Waterford station).

In its later years, Radio Rainbow regularly relayed UK pirate stations which were facing harassment by the authorities. We thank Eddie Caffrey for sharing these recordings.

24th October 202024th February 2022

Northeast series: Telstar Community Radio (1980-1988)

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Today we bring you the history of Telstar Community Radio from the Dundalk area. Thanks to Ian Biggar for the text, and to Eddie Caffrey and John Gartlan for additional information.

After the sudden closure of North East Radio (NER), it is not surprising that another radio station was being planned in Dundalk. The station was pretty much ready by mid-September 1980, although due to circumstances did not come on air until 1^st November. Telstar Radio began daily transmissions announcing 250 metres, which was an actual frequency of 1197 kHz. Programmes were broadcast from 0700-0000 with several of the full-time staff of seven coming from NER. The station broadcast seven daily news bulletins, including a late round-up at 2330. The music featured was varied including pop with a fair smattering of country. There were specialist programmes in the evening covering genres like rock and traditional.

The station was located above The Wine Tavern on Park Street where two studios were located. The station’s first transmitter was a 500-watt unit built by Eddie Caffrey. This, along with a 100-foot tower, was located on the Blackrock Road. Coverage was stated as ranging from Drogheda to Newry, taking in towns such as Carrickmacross, Ardee and Armagh City although the range was compromised by the presence of BBC Radio 3 on 1197 kHz from Enniskillen. Later Telstar’s transmitter was replaced by a commercial Eddystone 1kW unit.

Transmissions continued with a 50-watt FM transmitter added on 88.5 MHz and Telstar built a good following, even luring the well-known Ray Stone away from Radio Carousel. Ray went on to take up the position of station manager. However, Telstar Radio was delivered a blow just before Christmas 1981 when it was issued with an order to close by Dundalk Urban Council. The main problem was the lack of planning permission for the 100-foot mast on the Blackrock Road. The station had also moved its studios to this location earlier in the year. Ray Stone told a local newspaper that 19 full- and part-time staff would be out of work.

It may have seemed that the station was finished, but with sheer determination they returned to the air in February 1982, now with studios located above the Brake Pub in Blackrock near Dundalk. A new AM tower was erected on land on the Ardee Road between Dundalk and Knockbridge.

The station was back to a regular service and regaining its listener base. However, in early 1986 it became known that Telstar was for sale. A buyer was found and by May 1^st the sale was complete and the station moved back into Dundalk town to purpose-built studios on Earl Street. Staff like Ray Stone and Alec Fennell remained with the station. Around this time, Anoraks UK monitored the station for a day, but unfortunately described the programming as bland. In August 1987, Telstar appeared on a second medium wave frequency of 1170 kHz from a site in Castlebellingham. This was short-lived as the coverage was not great and by the end of September the transmitter had been switched off.

In April 1987 a new FM frequency of 89.8 MHz was tried with a high-powered FM transmitter running 150 watts. However, interference was caused in the local area meaning the rig had to be switched off and did not return. The link transmitter to the AM site was moved from 88.5 to 88.3 as the former channel suffered interference from an RTE transmitter on Three Rock Mountain. Telstar continued broadcasting right through until an emotional closedown at 1pm on Saturday 31^st December 1988.

Above you can hear the Telstar Alfasound jingles package from January 1987. We thank John Gartlan for sharing this. The two recordings below are from the early and final days of Telstar and are courtesy of Ian Biggar. The first is from 1350-1448 on 13^th August 1981 and features Mark Sommers followed by Shane Mullen. The second is from 0915-1230 on 17^th December 1988 and features Eamonn Duffy followed by the late Alec Evans (Fennell).

Telstar Community Radio audio from August 1981.

Telstar Community Radio audio from December 1988.

19th October 20207th August 2021

Northeast series: Boyneside Radio raid (1987)

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After the merger things ran pretty smoothly for Boyneside Radio. The advertising log was healthy and the station was really establishing itself as one of the leading regional radio stations in Ireland. However, like a bolt from the blue all that changed. On the afternoon of Monday 13^th April 1987 an official from the Department of Communications, along with three Gardaí, entered the station premises on Mill Lane. The staff were told to close all transmitters, cease broadcasting at once and never return to the air. The official said that interference was being caused, but refused to elaborate further.

The only transmitter that was thought might have caused the alleged interference was the FM link on 99.1 MHz, as this was the only transmitter located in a built-up area. This was taken out of service and replaced with a known and tested clean transmitter. In the meantime, unofficial contact had been made between a station representative and a head official in the Department. It was arranged that the official would check on the morning of Wednesday 15^th if there was still interference. However, on that day at 1407 the raiding party arrived consisting of six Gardaí, one detective, and two Department officials. During the raid a local newspaper photographer had his camera snatched by a Department official. This was covered in the next issue of the paper (see above).

The officials then proceeded to remove all equipment from the studios as well as the FM transmitter and compressor. They used cutters rather than disconnecting the equipment. The station was instructed to switch off all transmitters and never return or another raid would take place.

The officials left and headed back to Dublin. Meantime Boyneside Radio was back on the air by 1730 from a secret location. Programmes were pretty much as normal, although initially some technical breaks were experienced. By the end of April 1987 the station was back in the usual studios on Mill Lane and things returned to normal.

The recording above is of an interview with Eddie Caffrey about the incident on the Radio West Anorak Hour on the following Sunday, 19^th April 1987. The recording below is of Boyneside shortly after the raid on 23^rd April 1987, featuring automatic music from 0620-0700 and Mike Ahern (Richard McCullen) on the breakfast show from 0700-0936. It was made in Blackpool by Gary Hogg and the station’s output sounds perfectly normal. Of interest to DXers is the skywave propagation in the first hour when ERI in Cork, also on 1305 kHz, can be heard clearly at times. Many thanks to Ian Biggar for these recordings and for the research.

Boyneside Radio, 0620-0757, 23.04.87

Boyneside Radio, 0757-0936, 23.04.87

Boyneside Radio continued to provide a service to the people of the north east until finally closing at just after 3pm on Saturday 31^st December 1988.