Posted on

Jingles: Radio Dublin

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Jingles: Radio Dublin
Radio Dublin badge (Alan MacSimoin Collection).

Radio Dublin was Ireland’s longest running pirate radio station. It broadcast from 1966 until 2002 and was at its peak in the early to mid 1980s on 253m/1188KHz and 6910 kHz shortwave. Here are a number of station idents and jingles from our collection, beginning above with two iconic 253 jingles from the late 1970s.

The clip below is a top-of-the-hour jingle from 1988. The FM transmitter had moved to 105 but Radio Dublin was still announcing 98.8.

Radio Dublin relayed other stations frequently during its long existence including World Music Radio. After midnight on 1st January 1989 when it defied the new law, it relied on WMR tapes for the first few days before resuming live programming. Here’s a WMR promo from 1987.

Posted on

Interview: Paul Allen (Sunshine Radio)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

On October 20th 2018 over 100 radio anoraks gathered in the Ballsbridge Hotel Dublin. The purpose was to meet and record oral history of the pirate radio era.

Paul Allen (aka Paul King) was involved in East Coast Radio, BLB, WLR & Sunshine Radio on air. He also worked on the Sunshine Radio Review.

Interview: Paul Allen (Sunshine Radio)
Interview: Paul Allen (Sunshine Radio)
Interview: Paul Allen (Sunshine Radio)
Posted on

Interview: Tommy Greene (Southside Radio).

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Interview: Tommy Greene (Southside Radio).
Early Southside Radio sticker

On October 20th 2018 over 100 radio anoraks gathered in the Ballsbridge Hotel Dublin. The purpose was to meet and record oral history of the pirate radio era.

Tommy Greene was involved with Southside Radio, BLB and stations of the southside in the early 1980s.

Posted on

Interview: Eddie Caffrey (Radio Rainbow International, Radio Fax)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Interview: Eddie Caffrey (Radio Rainbow International, Radio Fax)
L-R: Eddie Caffrey, John Walsh, Ian Biggar, Brian Greene on a visit to LMFM on 24th April 2019.

On October 20th 2018 over 100 radio anoraks gathered in the Ballsbridge Hotel in Dublin. The purpose was to meet and record oral history of the pirate radio era, as the 30th anniversary of the 1988 closedowns approached.

At the event we met Eddie Caffrey (aka Heady Eddie), one of the best-known people in radio in the northeast stretching back over 40 years on both pirate and licensed stations. We spoke to him about the 1980s shortwave radio scene in Ireland, in particular his own stations Radio Rainbow International and Radio Fax. The interviewer is Brian Greene.

Interview: Eddie Caffrey (Radio Rainbow International, Radio Fax)
Eddie Caffrey on his afternoon show on LMFM (photo courtesy of LMFM)

We thank Eddie for his generous donations without which our series on the northeast pirates could not have taken place.