Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Cara 95 was a temporary name change to the Dublin love songs station Heartbeat FM (1986-1988). Heartbeat launched in November 1986 and quickly made a mark in the Dublin market with its popular musical diet. The station was rebranded as Cara 95 in 1987 but soon reverted to Heartbeat because listeners preferred the original name. Heartbeat closed at the end of 1988 but returned in the 1990s as a pirate and eventually as a temporary licensed station in the 2000s. It is now an online station.
This recording of the short-lived Cara 95 features part of the Friday evening drivetime show presented by Eamonn Kelly, who had previously been heard on other pirates in Dublin and Cork. The laid-back music is interspersed with jingles and idents for ‘Cara 95 – the heartbeat of Dublin City’, a nod to the original name. There is also a paperback writers’ slot and a cinema review, along with a competition to win tickets to see 95 movies. Adverts are for local businesses around the city and include the Sunday World newspaper, a frequent advertiser on the pirates. News on the hour is read by the late Maurice Nevin.
The recording was made from 95.5 FM on Friday 25th September 1987 from 1759-1931 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.