Interviews Archives - Page 3 of 17 - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

9th July 20226th October 2024

Interview about Radio Caroline Dublin (1990s)

Radio Caroline Dublin (1989-2000) was one of the longest running stations of the second wave of the pirates following legalisation. It was set up by Brian Greene (Bobby Gibbson on air) and Tom Berry (RIP) who had previously run Centre Radio from Bayside in 1987-1988. Radio Caroline Dublin began broadcasting on bank holiday Mondays in 1989 and went full-time in January 1992. The station settled on 102.5 FM and increased its signal overtime but ran into difficulties with the authorities when Lite FM (later Q102) was licensed for 102.2 in 2000. Radio Caroline Dublin changed its name to WXTC but closed soon afterwards.

Radio Caroline Dublin was typical of pirate stations of the era. The Broadcasting and Wireless Telegraphy Act 1988 forced pirate from the high street and hotels into garden sheds for the majority of the 1990s. Radio Caroline Dublin never ran adverts and did limited fundraisers. Its core funding was through vigorous adherence to DJ subscriptions. Weekly and monthly subs were collected with two tiers for waged and unwaged. The subs from 25+ volunteers funded the very best of club DJing equipment in studio and a Dublin Mountains TX site. The subs were directly linked to democratic involvement in purchasing decisions. Ownership structure was more akin to 1970s AM pirates but there was a not-for-profit ethos from the start.

Full time hours were 5pm-12am Monday-Friday and 9am-1am at weekends. The station was involved in an unsuccessful licence bid for a community radio licence in 1996, and was a constituent group in the formation of Dublin-wide community of interest station Anna Livia FM, but then never got involved with that station as they were busy building Radio Caroline Dublin.

This interview with Brian Greene was conducted by Pete Reid (Simon Maher) and Gerard Roe in July 1998 in the Radio Caroline Dublin studio. It was featured in Anorak Hour #151 on 2^nd August 1998 on Phantom FM and repeated during Anorak Hour #249 on 17^th September 2000. This donation is with thanks to Gerard Roe.

2nd July 20228th July 2022

Interview about ABC Power 104

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ABC Power 104 was a Waterford station broadcasting between 1992 to 2001, one of the significant stations from the second wave of pirates following legalisation of independent radio. Its roots were in ABC, a professional pirate that broadcast from Tramore and then Waterford City from 1982 to 1988. The station returned under a new name in 1992, stating that it wanted to provide an alternative to local licensed service WLR. Full-time broadcasting began at Christmas 1993 and ABC Power 104 began campaigning for an expansion of local radio in the Waterford area. According to a station leaflet from c. 2000, ‘although Waterford already enjoys one excellent local radio service, one station cannot be all things to all people. The trade off is that the young people of Waterford are poorly catered for when it comes to programming as the existing local services target the older and traditionally safer demographic … without us there is no choice in local radio’.

In 1999, ABC Power 104 was invited by the Independent Radio and Television Commission (IRTC, the predecessor to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland) to prepare an expression of interest in operating a full-time station. The licence for a regional youth service for the southeast was eventually awarded to Beat 102 103, which was linked to ABC’s old rival WLR. Beat came on air in 2003.

This recording is of an interview from 1998 by Pete Reid (Simon Maher) and Gerard Roe with Andy Ellis of ABC Power 104, broadcast on Dublin pirate Phantom FM. Andy was one of the founders of the original ABC in 1982. Thanks to Gerard Roe for the donation and to Ian Biggar for background.

20th September 202122nd September 2021

Fossett’s Circus on Galway’s Atlantic Sound

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In the first half of 1984, Galway pirate Atlantic Sound broadcast a varied schedule of music and original speech programming. This is a clip from station founder Alan Russell’s magazine programme from May or June 1984. Seán Costello interviews Annie, a South African trapeze artist with Fossett’s Circus at Fairgreen in Galway city centre during a visit by the circus to town. It was recorded on a Marantz Superscope machine. Below is a longer interview by Seán with the late Teddy Fossett who provides a brief history of the circus before taking the opportunity to share some grievances about the circus industry. Seán attempts to wrap up the interview after 15 minutes but Teddy is in full flight about the competition with Circus Hoffmans from the UK.

Atlantic Sound interview with Teddy Fossett, 1984.

The photos were taken in the Atlantic Sound studio at the end of 1983 when the station had begun testing. A full schedule began in 1984. Pictured are a Canary 12- channel mixer, Technics decks, a JVC cassette deck, Sennheiser headphones, a Shure mic and the news reader’s desk. We thank Alan Russell for the donation. In the second half of 1984 after his departure, the station was re-launched as a ‘hot hits’ format.

2nd August 202129th July 2021

The early days of KISS FM 102.7

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One of several offshoots of Radio Nova, KISS FM, came on the air on September 7^th 1982 and broadcast until January 15^th 1984. Starting off by playing continuous music only on 102.7 FM, KISS developed into a specialist and speech service alongside Nova, mopping up additional advertising and listeners.

This is the original version of an interview conducted by British radio enthusiast Leon Tipler during a visit to KISS FM in September 1982. He speaks to Brian Edgar and Stuart McLaughlin about the plans for KISS, rivalry between the Dublin stations and the economics of pirate radio.

This recording is from the Leon Tipler Tapes Collection, donated to us by Steve England. Below is a KISS FM promo from 1982 for a giveaway of £102.70. This was donated to us by Paul Buckle.

31st May 202122nd May 2021

Visit to Community Radio Fingal

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Community Radio Fingal (CRF) broadcast from various locations in north Co. Dublin from March 1982 until the end of 1988. In September 1982, they were visited at the Rockabill Hotel near Skerries by the British radio enthusiast Leon Tipler during one of his Irish trips.

This is the unedited version of the interviews about CRF in Tipler’s documentary series ‘The Irish Pirates’. Speaking in the tiny CRF studio, Pat Young explains that the station emerged from Dublin Community Radio, which by 1982 was struggling with increased competition in the city’s pirate scene. At the time the station broadcast on 1584 kHz AM, announcing 189 metres, with 1 kW of power which gave it good reception all over Dublin. A 25-watt FM transmitter on 96 MHz linked to the AM installation a few kilometres away. CRF had 10-12 presenters and four sales staff and was doing well with listeners and advertisers. Tipler also interviews DJ Sindy who is one of four female presenters and a part-time sales representative.

This recording is from the Leon Tipler Tapes Collection, donated to us by Steve England.