Radio Dublin car sticker from the mid-1980s (courtesy of DX Archive).
Tony Christie was a familiar voice on many pirates in the 1980s including Liberty 104, Radio Dublin and KISS FM in Co. Offaly to where he moved in 1987. Here he is on Radio Dublin from 105 FM on Sunday 24th August 1986 from 1512-1600 with a show sponsored by the No Name Fashion Depot in Walkinstown. Along with regular live promos for No Name, the voices of Robbie Robinson and Tony Allan can be heard on ads. Tony Christie is now a broadcaster on Midlands 103.
This recording is from the Skywave Tapes Collection. Skywave Radio International was a shortwave station broadcasting from Baldoyle in northeast Dublin.
Paul Claffey (left) with a contestant at Sunday Night Live in 1988 (photo courtesy of James Laffey).
Midwest Radio was one of the west of Ireland’s most successful pirate stations broadcasting initially for a few months at the end of 1978 and returning full-time from 1985 to the end of 1988.
Midwest was set up by local dancehall promoter Paul Claffey in the garden shed behind his parents’ home in Castlerea, Co. Roscommon. The first broadcast was on September 29th 1978 and the event was reported upon in the Evening Herald of that day. The station played pop and rock music and continued until early 1979. At the time, the pirates were taking off in Dublin leading to the establishment of RTÉ Radio 2 on 31st May which was supposed to silence unlicensed radio.
Claffey had worked on the dancehall scene all over Connacht throughout the 1970s and decided to concentrate on developing his business following the first outing of Midwest. Financial problems struck in the recessionary early 1980s and Claffey struggled with his new venture, the Midas Nightclub in Ballyhaunis, Co. Mayo. A visiting band suggested that he contact radio engineer Gerry Reilly from Co. Cavan who had installed dozens of transmitters for pirates around the country. Claffey later teamed up with DJ Chris Carroll who raised £1,500 for the transmitter which was installed by Reilly in what he described as a ‘haunted house’ near Ballyhaunis.
Midwest flyer from November 1985 (courtesy of Ian Biggar).
Midwest Radio returned to the air on 1332 kHz from the cloakroom of the Midas Nightclub on Monday November 25th 1985. The station broadcast from 10am to 7pm daily but had just two presenters, Claffey and Carroll, both of whom kept up their regular jobs. The first ad was for a local supermarket but after receiving a large electricity bill in early 1986, it was clear that the station needed a more stable income. Midwest closed down for two days while the presenters hit the road to seek more advertisers. The diet of music was Irish and country, hugely popular in rural Ireland in the 1980s but ignored by RTÉ to its cost.
Midwest grew rapidly and by Christmas 1986, commercial breaks could last as long as ten minutes per hour. In 1987, a second AM transmitter was installed by Gerry Reilly in Kiltimagh on 1233 kHz which brought the station to listeners in north Mayo. This was followed by FM transmitters in Achill Island to the west and Balla in the centre of the county. Claffey also launched a live weekly broadcast of a concert from the Midas, ‘Sunday Night Live’, which proved hugely popular with listeners. Busloads of people came from all over Mayo every Sunday night to get in on the action which included competitions and prizes. Claffey himself was regularly on stage at the Midas, as was retired Garda John Duggan who began his career at Midwest when still a serving member of the force. Duggan presented the final show on Midwest before its closure on December 30th 1988 and the station said its final farewell to listeners at a packed concert at the Midas.
John Duggan presents his final show in 1988 (photo by Frank Dolan).
There’s an excellent account of the station’s history in Magic and Madness: The Midwest Radio Phenomenon by James Laffey and we are indebted to that book for most of the information in this post. Midwest Radio was one of the few pirates to be licensed in 1989 and remains among Ireland’s most successful local stations.
This recording is from 98.6 FM on 20th November 1988 from 2128 to 2217. It features the lead-in to ‘Sunday Night Live’ with Johnny Oosten which includes a fantastic musical tribute to Midwest a month before its closure. This is followed by John Duggan hosting live from the Midas. We thank John Breslin for donating this recording and James Laffey for assisting us with sourcing photos.
A Radio Snowflake flyer from c. 1986 (courtesy of Ian Biggar).
Radio Snowflake was the original Christmas station, set up by Dave Reddy of the Community Broadcasting Co-operative (CBC) in 1982. The CBC rang temporary festival stations around Dublin in locations such as Glasnevin, Ringsend and Donnybrook and also broadcast Radio Snowflake around Christmas each year.
This recording was made from 1512 kHz AM on 15th December 1984 from 1345-1430. David Baker, a well-known voice of CBC and other pirates, is on air with his usual mix of easy listening music and community news. There is plenty of co-channel mixing, possibly from Wicklow Community Radio on the same frequency. 1512 or 1530 were the usual AM frequencies for CBC with various low-powered FM channels in operation. 99.9 MHz is announced in this recording.
David Baker continued to run Radio Snowflake online until 2019, using many of the original presenters. Christmas FM comes on air every year on a temporary licence in various cities and towns across Ireland. The recording is from the Skywave Tapes Collection. Skywave Radio International was a shortwave station broadcasting from Baldoyle in northeast Dublin.
Sunshine Radio was the first Dublin station to earn the label of ‘super-pirate’ when it launched in September 1980. With massive investment, professional equipment and a powerful transmitter, it shook up the Dublin radio market and the pirate scene would never be the same again.
Peter Madison on Radio Nova (photo courtesy of DX Archive).
Peter Madison (RIP) was another talented broadcaster who joined Sunshine in the early days and would later broadcast on other pirates such as Boyneside Radio and Radio Nova. He is heard here at the end of his shift from 1442-1500 on Sunday 19th October 1980 and is then followed by another broadcasting giant, Tony Allan (RIP) from 1500-1525.
The original Sunshine studio in 1981 (photo courtesy of Ian Biggar).
The short recording below is of Peter Madison a few days earlier, 16th October 1980, from 1206-1227. Quality is poor due to electrical interference but Peter can be heard telling listeners that he has cycled 10 miles to the studio in Portmarnock!
These recordings from 531 kHz AM were made in Ayrshire, Scotland by Ken Baird. We thank Ian Biggar for sharing them with us.
Early Sunshine car sticker (courtesy of Ian Biggar)
Today we bring you another recording from the first few weeks of Sunshine Radio, the station which broke the mould of Irish pirate radio when it launched officially on 29th September 1980.
The recording runs from 0953-1006 and again from 1013-1041 on 19th October 1980. It’s a cold and sunny Sunday morning and Jason Maine is in a relaxed vibe. The early Sunshine slogan ‘the dance station of the 80s’ is heard intermittently. This was used until around Christmas when the format changed to Top 40 and oldies. There are ads voiced by Tony Allan for the Sands Hotel where Sunshine was based and Tamango’s Nightclub next door. Jason also announces thousands of pounds’ worth of prizes in the coming week, a sign that Sunshine meant business.
Declan Meehan in the Sunshine studio in 1981 (photo courtesy of Ian Biggar).
This recording was made from 531 kHz by Ken Baird in Ayrshire in Scotland and co-channel interference can be heard from the Swiss German station underneath. Many thanks to Ian Biggar for sharing it with us.
