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Crystal City Sound from Waterford

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Crystal City Sound from Waterford
Image courtesy of Ian Biggar/DX Archive.

Crystal City Sound was one of the 1980s pirates broadcasting from Waterford city. It came on air in October 1985, emerging from the ashes of Suirside Radio which had been on air since February 1979. Crystal City stayed on the same frequency as before, 1332 kHz. The station is listed on AM and FM in Anoraks Ireland reports from 1986 and 1987 but by April 1988 the name had changed to NCR. Crystal City saw itself as offering a broader range of programmes and more specialist music shows than the other major Waterford stations, WLR and ABC. Unusually for the commercial Irish pirates of the time the station was managed by two women, Gracie Sheehan and Sandra Penkert.

Crystal City Sound from Waterford
Image courtesy of Ian Biggar/DX Archive.

This recording was made from 97 FM on 6th December 1985 from 7.07pm. The presenter is Joe Patricks who told us that he got touch in touch with Crystal City Sound after being invited to a wedding in Waterford. He then came to Ireland on the boat from Liverpool and did a few shows in Waterford before returning to the pirate station KFM in Stockport in Manchester. See here for an interview about the background to Suirside Radio.

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

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Advert: Tamango Nightclub

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One of the most advertised nightclubs in Ireland, Tamango’s was at the Sands Hotel Portmarnock. This was also the home of Sunshine Radio.

This advert dates to when Sunshine was new and on 91.6 MHz. The voice on the advert is DJ Lee (but was previously listed incorrectly as Tony Prince.)

Advert: Tamango Nightclub
The original Tamango’s logo at the White Sands Hotel today (photo by John Walsh).
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Full recording: Diamond Radio (Dublin)

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Full recording: Diamond Radio (Dublin)
Diamond Radio flyer courtesy of Ian Biggar.

Diamond Radio broadcast on and off from 1981 to 1985. They began on the 30th of May 1981 and were heard in August by DX Archive on a visit to Dublin. The station was logged on 1580 kHz and thought to be a hobby pirate at the time. Short Wave News from December 1981 states: ‘Diamond Radio, now on 1557-59 with 500 watts. It has two teenage owners, a one bedroom office/studio and a spirit of improvisation’. The January 1982 issue said it was putting out about 170 watts and gave an address of Annadale Drive in the Marino/Whitehall area of Dublin 9. Diamond was listed by Anoraks UK on 1557 kHz in May 1984 but there was no mention of the station in a later list from August that year.

In Contact (World DX Club) in February 1984 Paul Davidson wrote: ‘Diamond Radio, a hobby station last heard summer 1982 are back on 1556 kHz with a very clear second harmonic on 3114 kHz’. The same address was reported and hours of transmission were said to be irregular, circa 1100-2400 daily. Paul did an update for Contact in early 1985 in which he listed Diamond Radio on 1556 kHz from Marino with broadcasting hours from 1600-2300. People involved in the station have confirmed to us that it was an irregular hobby pirate operating from 1981 to 1985. In Anoraks Ireland reports from 1986 and 1987 a Radio Diamond is listed on 106.1 MHz with addresses in Ballyfermot or Crumlin but was a different operator. We thank Ian Biggar and Niall Cassidy for providing information about the station’s history.

This recording is from 1557 kHz and starts at 11.27am on the 3rd of March 1984. Audio is scratchy and over-modulated but it gives a sense of the station. The recording is from the Skywave Tapes Collection. Skywave Radio International broadcast a shortwave station in the 1980s from Baldoyle in northeast Dublin.

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Aircheck: Radio Donnybrook (Dublin)

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Aircheck: Radio Donnybrook (Dublin)

Radio Donnybrook was one of three temporary community stations which broadcast in the 1980s to celebrate local festivals in Dublin. Radio Sandymount, Radio Ringsend and Radio Donnybrook were all set up by Dave Reddy under the banner of the Community Broadcasting Cooperative and broadcast on various frequencies such as 981, 1116 or 1134 kHz as well as low power FM. This is a loop recording from 981 kHz on the 10th of June 1984 of David Baker announcing the imminent opening of Radio Donnybrook.

There’s another short recording of Radio Donnybrook here and you can listen to an interview with Dave Reddy about Radio Sandymount here.