Northeast series: Community Radio Drogheda (1981)

Northeast series: Community Radio Drogheda (1981)
Richard Kenny (Crowley) in the CRD studio on Baymore Road in 1982 (courtesy of Ken Baird).

Drogheda’s two pirate radio stations, the original Boyneside Radio and the breakaway Community Radio Drogheda continued to battle it out through the second half of 1981 and into 1982. As the brochure below illustrates, the CRD team included several presenters who would move on to Radio Leinster in Dublin such as Richard Kenny (Crowley), Gavin Duffy and Ken Murray while Eddie Caffrey and Dermot Finglas would eventually return to Boyneside.

Northeast series: Community Radio Drogheda (1981)
Community Radio Drogheda brochure (courtesy Ian Biggar/DX Archive).
Northeast series: Community Radio Drogheda (1981)
Community Radio Drogheda brochure (courtesy Ian Biggar/DX Archive).
Northeast series: Community Radio Drogheda (1981)
Sunday Journal, 05.12.1981 (courtesy Ian Biggar/DX Archive).

The final page of the brochure above includes news editor Michael O’Dowd, whose brother Fergus is now a Fine Gael TD for Louth. Another brother Niall is a well-known Irish-American journalist. Tony Clayton-Lea, who would become a well-known rock critic and writer, is also among the presenters.

Community Radio Drogheda was among the pirates whose schedules were published in the Sunday Journal (see left). As we can see, many of the presenters did two shows per day and there were more specialist programmes at the weekend.

The long recording above was made from 1250-1420 on 7th April 1982 and features Gavin Duffy with a packed Lunchtime Special show. He interviews excited local teenagers about their school opera, reads letters from listeners and introduces various features. News at 1.15 is read by Richard Kenny (Crowley), who would eventually work as a journalist with RTÉ. Niall McGowan follows Gavin’s show at 2pm.

The shorter recording below is an airchecked version of part of Ken Murray’s afternoon show on 26th March 1982.

We thank Ian Biggar and Eddie Caffrey for the recordings.