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Border Weekend Radio was a short-lived pirate broadcasting in January and February 1989 after the introduction of new legislation that was supposed to silence the unlicensed stations. Based in Carrickcarnon on the Louth/Armagh border, it was a reincarnation of Rainbow Radio that had broadcast from the same location since August 2nd 1987 until 31st December 1988. Border Weekend Radio was run by the same operators, Oliver McMahon (Big O) and Eugene Markey, both formerly of Boyneside Radio North.
The first log of Border Weekend Radio in the Anoraks UK Weekly Report was on 28th January 1989. It was noted that a new local radio station with some well-known voices heard previously on Rainbow Radio was heard the previous weekend on 1152 kHz AM and 98.5 FM, the former frequencies of Rainbow Radio. According to Weekly Report, Border Weekend Radio began broadcasting on the afternoon of Friday 20th January on AM only. FM followed on Saturday morning and programming continued until midnight on Sunday. There were no adverts but blocks of programming were sponsored by local businesses. The station was logged again on Saturday 4th February on 1152 kHz, using a Newry telephone number. However, in Weekly Report of 18th February 1989, it was noted that following the second raid on Radio Dublin on February 11th, both Border Weekend Radio and another Louth pirate Zee 103 seemed to have left the air for good. Border Weekend Radio would in fact return briefly as Summertime Sounds later in 1989.
This recording was made from 98.5 FM on 22nd January 1989 between 1030-1350, with the final section partially edited. First up is Jolly Ollie (Oliver McMahon) with country and Irish music, followed by Mr Wonderful with a more mixed bag. The sheer volume of requests and mentions of local businesses underline the ongoing demand for local radio that was unserved in the vacuum caused by the closure of the pirates. Thanks to Ian Biggar for the donation.