CBC DJs Joe Horgan, Barry Jones, Noel Evans, John Dolan, Gratton Woods, Luke Ward and Steve Taylor (courtesy Lillian O’Donoghue).
This is a recording of Susan James (O’Connor) on CBC on Friday 3rd August 1979 from 2009-2051. The station was on 1394 kHz at the time, announcing 230 metres. As well as spinning the latest hits and her favourite classics, Susan reads a live advert for Seán Jennings’ carpet shop and plugs Tom Duffy’s circus and other local events. It’s a lively, upbeat show from a woman DJ, a rarity in the pirate era. Unfortunately Susan isn’t in the group photo above, which was taken in August 1979.
Alan Edwards in the CBC studio in May 1979 (courtesy Lillian O’Donoghue).
This recording of Alan Edwards was made on 1st July 1979, a year to the day after he began working at CBC. Alan plays snippets from his first show on 1st July 1978 and comments on the difference in his voice over the past year. A birthday cake was delivered to the station by a loyal fan and Alan and his producer tuck in between records. It is announced that the station will close at 10pm instead of midnight because Barry Jones won’t be in for his show.
In the 1978 recording CBC’s frequency is given as 1327.52 kHz which is equivalent to almost 226 metres rather than the announced 230 metres. A year later, Alan announces 1303 kHz which is equivalent to 230 metres. This is a 40+ year-old cassette recorded from AM, with the 1978 inserts themselves recorded from AM, so audio quality is poor throughout. The recording above starts at around 7.30pm and is a partial aircheck. The recording below starts just before 9pm. Thanks to Lillian O’Donoghue for the donation.
Lillian McCarthy (O’Donoghue) with Pat O’Rourke at CBC in Patrick’s Quay (courtesy of Lillian).
This is another recording of Pat O’Rourke (aka The Smurf) on CBC from 1130 on Friday 15th June 1979. Pat is preparing to mark the first anniversary of his show which started on 30th June 1978. The programme is full of letters from listeners who clearly love CBC and its DJs, with one listener writing in ten times! Pat is followed at 12 noon by Pete Andrews (O’Neill) with the Spin-a-Disk Lunchtime Special.
Pete Andrews (O’Neill) in the CBC studio (courtesy Lillian O’Donoghue).
There’s also a short story from Ireland’s Own magazine and a rather strange Thought for the Day. It’s not clear if these were recorded on the same date.
Thanks to Lillian O’Donoghue for the recording and photos.
This is another recording of Westside Radio, a station broadcasting from Sligo from 1986 to 1988. On air is Ed Stevens with the breakfast show called Sunrise Special although as he notes, the morning is wet and overcast. He claims that Westside is the only station broadcasting in either Sligo or Leitrim at that time. The style isn’t particularly slick, audio levels are uneven and the station phone is out of order, but there are plenty of ads for local businesses so clearly Westside had an audience around Sligo.
The recording was made from 0800-0932 on 30th August 1988 from 97.6 FM, announced as 97.5. We thank John Breslin for the donation. It seems that Westside Radio closed in the autumn of that year.
Westside Radio ad from Anoraks UK Weekly Report, February 1987
Westside Radio began broadcasting from Sligo on 97.5 MHz FM on 15th November 1986, playing mostly country and western music. The Weekly Report of Anoraks UK on 7th December reported that the audio was quite loud and sometimes distorted. An advert in Weekly Report in February 1987 (pictured) claimed that Westside was Sligo’s ‘first ever country music, folk and traditional and easy listening radio station’. Subsequent reports by Anoraks UK referred to plenty of requests and adverts, so the format appeared to be working locally. By April 1987, the station had changed its name to Westside Community Radio.
In February 1987, a West Coast Radio from Sligo was reported to be testing on 1143 kHz AM and 103.5 FM. This was a shortlived station but there must have been confusion between the similar names when both were on air.
This recording of Westside Radio was made from 97.6 FM from 2028-2202 (part 2 below) on 29th August 1988 and features a chart music show with Des McAleer who adds ‘Power 97.5 FM’ to the station ID. Clearly Westside had moved beyond its original easy listening format by this late stage in its existence, at least in its evening shows. The station was listed in an Anoraks UK log on 5th July 1988 and Power 97 is mentioned in a report from Sligo on 24th September, suggesting that it may have changed its name by that time. We thank John Breslin for this donation.
