Twiggs FM 1988 calendar (Anoraks Ireland Collection).
Twiggs FM was a short-lived pirate station from Galway broadcasting for about six months at the end of 1987 and beginning of 1988. Called after a nightclub of the same name in Salthill, it was set up by local man Shane Martin and Alan Russell from Dublin who had established another Galway station, Atlantic Sound, in 1984. Alan was also a founder of Dublin station Capitol Radio (1975 and 1978-1981). When Twiggs FM was wound down, DJs either moved to other Galway stations such as County Sound and Coast 103, returned to Dublin or emigrated.
Handwritten cassette label from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.
This recording from 11th November 1987 is of a morning show presented by Mike Richardson, apparently in the middle of a storm (Twiggs FM was located on the promenade facing the Atlantic Ocean). A founder of Big L Radio in Limerick, Mike provided the transmitter and studio equipment for Twiggs FM and did shows when he was in Galway. The recording was made from 98.2 FM in stereo from 0912-0937 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson. Thanks to Alan Russell and Shane Martin for background information.
Q102 was one of the largest and most successful 1980s ‘super-pirates’ in Dublin. Priding itself as Irish-owned in contrast with other big stations Radio Nova and Sunshine Radio, it launched on January 23rd 1985 and quickly established a foothold in the Dublin market. In March 1988, Q102 took over the transmitters and equipment of Energy 103 after its sudden closure, given it a range of AM and FM frequencies in the capital. It was relaunched as ‘Super Q 102’ in summer 1988 and closed down on December 30th in line with new broadcasting legislation.
Original cassette label from Anoraks Ireland Collection.
This recording was made on Easter Monday, 8th April 1985 and features Dublin’s Favourite 50 with Scott Williams, still a familiar name on the Dublin radio scene. News on the hour is read by Gary Hamill. Part 1 above runs from 1238-1326 and Part 2 below from 1326-1414.
Part 2 from 1326
The recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.
Nick Richards at South Coast in 1982 (courtesy Lillian O’Donoghue).
Nick Richards was born in London and worked in land-based UK pirates and the offshore Radio Caroline, only leaving the boat just before it sank on 20th March 1980. After coming to Ireland, he worked at Southside Radio in Dublin before moving to Cork, doing his first show on South Coast on 16th April 1982. Nick was later heard on the short-lived but highly successful KISS FM (1988), a ‘border blaster’ pirate based in Monaghan Town. These days he is a presenter on Cork’s C103.
This is a recording of Nick presenting his ‘Nightline’ show on South Coast from just after midnight on Wednesday 9th June 1982. There’s no chance of falling asleep with plenty of loud rock in the first hour. Part 1 above runs from 0008-0053 and Part 2 below from 0053-0136.
Part 2 from 0053
With so much evening and overnight radio automated these days, it’s refreshing to hear a live DJ reading out requests from listeners. Some of the listeners on that night back in 1982 had impeccable pirate radio credentials: Barry and Ruth Johnson of Anoraks UK in Blackpool, Gary Hogg in Leeds, Stuart Clarke of ABC Radio in Tramore and Prince Terry of shortwave station Westside Radio in Dublin.
Cassette label from Anoraks Ireland Collection.
This recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated by Paul Davidson. You can find more material from the collection on Radiowaves and the Irish Pirate Radio Archive.
Listen here to an interview with Nick about his time at KISS FM in Monaghan.
Advert for Capitol featuring the Rockabilly programme (courtesy Alan Russell).
The Rockabilly Programme was a regular weekly feature on Dublin’s Capitol Radio (1975 and 1978-1981), initially on Tuesdays before moving to Wednesdays between eleven and midnight. It was presented by Stompin’ George (George Verschoyle), who also hosted a Rockabilly music session on Monday nights at the Magnet Bar in Pearse Street, featuring various local Rockabilly bands such as Rocky De Valera and the Gravediggers, Crazy Cavan and others.
Stompin’ George in the Magnet in 1978.
On this programme from c. August 1978, George is joined by Ferdia Mac Anna (Rocky from Rocky and the Gravediggers) to review and play Ferdia’s top Rockabilly music choices. One of the founders of Capitol, Ed McDowell, is heard giving the timecheck after the programme handover. Thanks to another Capitol founder, Alan Russell, for the recording and photos.
Advert for the Magnet from Hot Press (courtesy Alan Russell).
Click here for a Stompin’ George (George Verschoyle) biography and review of 1970s Dublin Rockabilly music scene.
Click here for Fanning Sessions clips of Rocky and the Gravediggers.
L-R: Chris Barry, Alan Russell and Dave Lee at Capitol in 1978 (courtesy Alan Russell).
This is a documentary about local radio in Ireland as broadcast by Dublin station Capitol Radio in May 1979. Presented by one of the station’s founders Alan Russell, it was aired before the local and European Parliament elections on 7th June and includes interviews with Fianna Fáil politicians as heard on Radio Tralee. There are also clips of early Dublin pirates and audio of a raid on Capitol by the Department of Posts and Telegraphs in 1978. We thank Alan Russell for donating this unique recording and for providing the following background to Capitol.
Imagine if you will – a world with no Twitter or Facebook, Netflix or the other internet bells and whistles, no satellite TV or mobile phones. That was the world less than 50 years ago and perhaps one of the reasons radio entertainment was more diverse and popular than today. It was a time prior to independent radio licencing and dozens of stations were operating throughout the country in an unregulated ‘pirate’ capacity, providing local news, entertainment and advertising for local businesses. In Ireland it was a time of social change and crossing the threshold into a new decade, the 1980s.
It’s over 40 years since Capitol Radio – one of Dublin city’s pioneering AM radio stations – closed in March 1981 after three years of daily programming. Capitol had previously broadcast on a weekly basis between July and December 1975 and with assistance from music promoters had aired interviews with musicians and bands, including Phil Lynott, Status Quo, Chris De Burgh and Horslips in their weekly programmes. At the time there was just the one national radio channel – Radio Éireann (now RTÉ) and minimal airtime was provided for contemporary music. RTÉ Radio 2 – now 2FM – was launched in 1979 mainly in response to the pirate stations, which were securing a considerable audience nationally. The station founders Chris Barry, Ed Mc Dowell and Alan Russell had previous airtime experience, Ed having operated Radio Empathy some years before. Another station Director, Tommy Hogarty, secured initial financing from a Dublin publican which helped lease a studio premises.
Alan Russell in Capitol in 1980 (courtesy of Alan).
After carrying out test transmissions in March 1978 Capitol launched daily programmes in April from studios on Bachelors Walk, 100 yards from O’Connell Bridge. Our first aerial was an ambitious quarter-wave dipole which ran from near the Ha’penny Bridge to the roof of our premises and the nearby Bachelor Inn – in exchange for daily adverts! The station frequency was 1358 kHz or 220 metres (later changed to 226 metres) and was heard in the UK and Europe. After the dipole aerial system was repeatedly damaged by nuisance neighbours we changed to an inverted L which was in a more secure area, although we lost the skywave bounce for long distance listeners.
Capitol’s alternative music format was album-oriented and a selective top-40 playlist, with nightly specialist music programmes including jazz, new wave, rock, Irish folk and trad, rockabilly and country and western. From 9pm, free public service broadcasts were aired for the Samaritans, Alone and similar voluntary organisations. Interviews with local singers/authors/celebrities etc. were also a regular feature of daytime programmes. A news service was a later addition, headed by Adrian Horsmann.
