Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

1st June 202022nd June 2022

Full recording: Atlantic Sound (Galway)

We’re delighted to bring you the first instalment in a week-long series of recordings of pirate radio in Galway in the 1980s.

Atlantic Sound broadcast from late 1983 to June 1985 to Galway city. It was set up by Alan Russell who ran the 1970s Capitol Radio in Dublin and had a broad-based format to begin with, including a news service and specialist programmes. In July 1984, following the closure of South Coast Radio in Cork, Atlantic Sound was taken over by former offshore DJs Keith York (RIP) and Don Stevens. They were later joined by another former South Coast colleague, Steve Marshall, who came from WKLR in west Cork. The station moved to 1026 kHz AM around this time and added 95.4 FM. Atlantic Sound is featured in the October 1984 tour of Ireland by DX Archive who were full of praise for the Galway station. They reported that a move from 1026 to 846 kHz was imminent but this didn’t happen until the Cork trio left Atlantic Sound in March 1985. According to the Anoraks UK Weekly Report, Marshall, York and Stevens ‘moved across the road’ to another premises in Forster Street and set up WLS Music Radio on 846 kHz and 104 FM. The technical set up was superior and it wasn’t long before WLS overtook Atlantic. Having lost many of its key staff, Altantic Sound closed down suddenly in June 1985.

This recording is from 1447-1608 on the 28th of May 1985, towards the end of Atlantic’s existence, and features Shane Martin and Gerry Browne on air. There are plenty of Tony Allan idents and an on-air auction for tickets to the forthcoming Bruce Springsteen concert at Slane on the 1st of June. Our thanks to Ian Biggar of DX Archive for this recording.

31st May 202012th August 2023

Night time on South Dublin Community Radio

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South Dublin Community Radio broadcast from c. 1982 to 1984 from Dún Laoghaire, one of many southside pirates of the era. The station was linked to Radio South County that first came on air in 1980 and was active on 963 kHz for a time. South Dublin Community Radio was based in Pottery Road in Dún Laoghaire. This recording is from 2155-2240 on the 27th of August 1983 from 102.7 FM and features Bruce Foxton, to be followed at 2300 by Jimmy Cliff. In the time-honoured pirate tradition, these were pseudonyms inspired by the singers of the same names!

An interesting aspect of this recording is the frequency, as 102.7 had been used by Chris Cary’s KISS FM up to the Radio Nova raids of May 1983. KISS would return to 102.7 on the 30th of September. South Dublin Community Radio shifted to 102 MHz but moved down the band to around 91 because of ongoing jamming by RTÉ of Nova frequencies. When RTÉ began broadcasting Radio 2 from the Three Rock transmitter on 90.7 in 1984, that was the beginning of the end of South Dublin Community Radio and it seems to have closed by the autumn of that year. Many of the same people got involved in the popular 1990s pirate DLR 106 which broadcast from the same address in Dún Laoghaire. Thanks to all those who provided additional background information to us.

This recording is from the Skywave Tapes Collection. Skywave Radio International broadcast a shortwave station in the 1980s from Baldoyle in northeast Dublin.

30th May 20207th August 2021

Aircheck: closedown of KISS FM (102.7)

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KISS FM was one of the many sister stations to Radio Nova, broadcasting from September 1982 to January 1984. Chris Cary set up the station to absorb additional advertising revenue from Nova and experiment with local radio for Dublin. The station was closed down along with Nova on the 18th of May 1983 and did not return until the 30th of September. In January 1984 RTÉ jammed the signals of both Nova and KISS when it was granted permission by Minister Ted Nealon to test broadcast on 88.2 and 102.7 FM and 819 kHz AM. Cary closed KISS at midnight on the 15th of January 1984 as the jamming worsened and laid off staff, some of whom were members of the National Union of Journalists. This sparked a bitter and extended industrial relations dispute which eventually contributed to the demise of Nova in 1986.

KISS FM was known for its lavish competitions, offering listeners prizes ranging from £102.70 to £5,000 in cash for correctly identifying three songs played in a row. One such competition occurred on the 29th of March 1983 when the station gave away £5,000. The giveaway would be repeated by Nova on the 31st of August 1983, when a prize of £6,000 was offered, putting enormous pressure on the Dublin telephone system. There were even bigger problems with the network when Nova gave away another £5,000 over a year later, on the 29th of September 1984.

This recording was made mostly on the final day, 15th of January 1984, is airchecked and not in linear order. It begins with Denis Murray presenting his final rock show and chatting with fellow presenters Chris Barry and Stephanie McAllister. News at midnight is read by David Malone and the Radio Nova news jingle is heard as KISS passes into the history books and Nova is broadcast on 102.7. Mike Moran is then heard on the Nova overnight and then the tape stops and picks up with Chris Barry signing off and handing over to Denis Murray earlier in the evening. The recording continues with airchecks of Denis Murray apparently from the 14th of January on his second last show. We also hear idents for KISS FM Weekend, part of Al Dunne’s final show, Bernie Jameson on news and Geraldine Nugent reading community news. Community news is not something associated with the Nova network, but KISS FM was an experimental station.

Our archive also includes interviews with Tom Hardy and Denis Murray about their involvement in KISS FM and other stations. This recording is from the Skywave Tapes Collection. Skywave Radio International broadcast a shortwave station in the 1980s from Baldoyle in northeast Dublin.

29th May 20206th August 2021

Full recording: Radio Sligo

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A Radio Sligo t-shirt courtesy of Ian Biggar/DX Archive.

This is a rare recording of Radio Sligo from 1981, made during one of DX Archive’s tours of Ireland. It is partially airchecked, but gives a great sense of the variety of Sunday programming spanning country, traditional Irish and heavy metal. Audio levels are up and down and there are plenty of technical glitches including a break in transmission after which the presenter says that the problem was fixed with a screwdriver! The recording was made from 1260 kHz (237 metres) on the 16th of August 1981 and is courtesy of Ian Biggar. A station ident refers to 250 metres (1197 kHz) so Radio Sligo must have been on that frequency previously.

The line-up on this recording is Mervyn Hamiton from 1120-1130, Céilí House from 1130-1200, a comedy show called Crazy Corner presented by Mike Marchini from 1200-1230 and a mixed show including heavy metal, country and pop with David Hamilton from 1230-1308. There’s also a message from Paul Martell about the station’s forthcoming marathon in aid of the Irish Wheelchair Association, an early example of the pirates supporting charitable causes. It’s not clear how long Radio Sligo lasted but in 1984 the Sligo Champion reported on a court case which heard that a former DJ had allegedly wrecked the station, causing £1,500 worth of damage. Another station, Radio Northwest called itself Radio Sligo on occasion in late 1984 and 1985 but was a separate outfit. In 1987 and 1988 Anoraks Ireland lists a Sligo Radio and a Westside Radio on FM only in Sligo but these are not thought to be connected to the original Radio Sligo either.

This is a unique recording of a little-known rural station showing how much variety there could be on Irish pirate radio. You can read more on DX Archive.

28th May 20207th August 2021

Full recording: Capitol Radio (Dublin)

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As discussed here before Dublin had many pirates calling themselves Capital or Capitol Radio. This recording from 1983 is from the early days of the final incarnation, the Capitol Radio which started the evening service Nitesky 96 in 1986 and ended up specialising in indie and alternative music.

In July 1983, the Anoraks UK Weekly Report announced that ABC Radio had left 1017 kHz, paving the way for Capitol to take over that frequency. DJ Martin Cullinane (aka Bob Conway) announces 1017 kHz (297 metres) and 96.1 FM and makes several references to Capitol being a new station. Capitol didn’t specialise in the hits, experimenting with ‘album music’ before moving into the indie realm, but the choice here is a little confused with three in a row from Wham mixed in with early U2 and other more alternative sounds. The recording was made from 1855-1940 on the 27th of August 1983 and although taken from FM, sound quality is poor in places. You can hear other recordings of Capitol here.

This recording is from the Skywave Tapes Collection. Skywave Radio International broadcast a shortwave station in the 1980s from Baldoyle in northeast Dublin.