Interviews Archives - Page 4 of 17 - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

21st May 202112th May 2021

Interview with John Clarke of Radio Nova

This is the original full recording of an interview by Leon Tipler with veteran DJ John Clarke on Radio Nova in September 1982. It was conducted in studio in the busy period leading up to 6pm and John chats away in between lining up music and ads on carts. An edited version was included in the documentary series ‘The Irish Pirates’.

He speaks about the history of Nova and describes the differences between it and its great rival, Sunshine Radio. Chris Cary wanted to begin broadcasting on FM and pushed a ‘clutter-free’ format with sweeps of music. The reaction from listeners was very positive from the start and Nova was soon a hit in boutiques, shops and factories with advertising flooding in. AM came later and the powerful signal increased the station’s popularity even more.

John also discusses the recent RTÉ jamming of Nova and a survey that established Nova’s dominance in the Dublin market. He says that most listeners to Nova and Sunshine were unaware of their pirate status because of the stations’ professionalism. The interview concludes with a mention of Kieran Murray’s Free Radio Campaign and the importance of logging pirate radio history. We’ll second that!

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

10th April 202110th April 2021

London pirate radio history and recordings

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London has been a hotbed of pirate radio since the 1960s and has always had a strong connection with Ireland through emigration and cultural influences. The thousands of pirate stations in London across the decades have been documented on the website AMFM.org.uk and in the book London’s Pirate Pioneers (2015) by the site’s founder Stephen Hebditch. Recordings of the London pirates are posted regularly on the site’s Twitter account.

In this interview with John Walsh, Stephen explores the background to and growth of London pirate radio and includes audio clips from different eras and genres of stations. He also explains the book project and covers the relationship between London pirate radio and the Irish pirate scene.

This interview was broadcast originally on Wireless on Flirt FM in April 2021.

3rd April 20213rd April 2021

Interview with Aidan Cooney

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Aidan Cooney is another well-known broadcaster who spent many years in the pirates up to 1989. In this interview, he recalls his earliest memories of and involvement with the 1970s Dublin pirates. ‘Aidan Jay’, as he was known, started his broadcasting career with ARD and Radio Dublin from 1978 when he was just 16 and still at school. Other pirates where he worked in the 1980s included Radio Leinster, Sunshine Radio and Treble TR.

Since the licensing of the independent sector in 1989, Aidan has been a familiar name on commercial radio and television and is currently a presenter on Dublin’s Q102.

This interview was conducted by Dave Daly in 2017. We thank Dave for his donation to the archive.

2nd April 202130th March 2021

Interview with Ian Dempsey

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One of Ireland’s best-known broadcasters, Ian Dempsey, began his radio career in the pirates. In this interview, Ian recalls his first pirate station Capitol Radio in 1978 and his involvement with ARD (Alternative Radio Dublin) from 1979. He was among many DJs at ARD/Radio 257 who would go on to greater fame in the media industry.

Like so many other former pirates, Ian joined RTÉ Radio 2 in its early days. He stayed with the state broadcaster until 1998 when he joined the relaunched national commercial station Today FM and has presented the breakfast show since then.

This interview was conducted by Dave Daly in 2017. We thank Dave for his donation to the archive.

29th December 20203rd March 2024

Interview with Paul Davidson of Anoraks Ireland on Centre Radio

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On its final day of broadcasting on 31^st December 1988, there was a serious anorak feel to Centre Radio in Bayside as it looked back at the pirate radio scene and caught up with those who had been involved with it. During his final show, Richard Taylor (John Walsh) interviewed Paul Davidson of Anoraks Ireland who had recorded and documented so much of Irish pirate radio in the 1980s. In the recording above which was made after 8pm, John asked Paul who was still on air in Dublin and got his views about the forthcoming legalisation of local radio.

Earlier at 3pm on December 31^st, Brian Greene interviewed Derek Jones and got his thoughts on the final day of pirate radio. Derek was one of those behind the shortwave station Radio Valleri based in Baldoyle, Dublin 13 and in 1986, he got involved with Big Beat Radio also in Baldoyle. Big Beat was a summer youth station which preceded Centre Radio and many of the same young DJs were involved.

Derek continues to broadcast today and in this extended interview with Brian Greene, he looks back at many happy decades behind the microphone.