Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

28th February 202425th February 2024

Tony Dixon on early Sunshine Radio

Tony Dixon (RIP) was one of the popular DJs on Sunshine Radio, a large and successful pirate that broke the mould in Irish local radio when it came on the air in September 1980. In this short recording from the station’s early days, he is heard on a Sunday night programme that includes the tagline ‘Dance Radio – Sunshine 539’, highlighting the station’s emphasis on that genre of music after its launch. There’s also mention of Tamango’s nightclub that advertised heavily on Sunshine and was based next door at the Sands Hotel in Portmarnock. The tape ends with the iconic Desiderata that closed down Sunshine every night, followed by the station’s theme song ‘You are my sunshine’. Tony Dixon went on to have a career on licensed radio but died prematurely in 2010.

The airchecked recording was made from between 2000 and 2100 on 12^th January 1981 from 531 kHz AM, announced as 539 metres, and is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection.

26th February 202425th February 2024

Tony Allan interviewed at Sunshine Radio

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Tony Allan (RIP) was one of the most iconic voices of Irish pirate radio in the 1970s and 1980s. He presented on many larger stations and was heard doing voiceovers on countless other pirates throughout the country. In this recording, he is interviewed by Kieran Murray of the Free Radio Campaign Ireland outside the Sands Hotel in Portmarnock in north Co. Dublin, where Sunshine Radio was located. The station had started broadcasting less than two months previously on 29^th September 1980, its launch delayed by the sabotaging of its aerial, allegedly by a rival Dublin pirate. Tony refuses to speculate about the incident and instead emphasises the professionalism of Sunshine in contrast to existing Dublin stations. He also talks about his background in the offshore station Radio Caroline.

The interview was conducted on 16^th November 1980 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

21st February 202426th February 2024

Morning shows on Echo Community Radio

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Echo Community Radio was a shortlived station broadcasting from west Dublin in the second half of 1985. First up in this recording is Dave Canning with the final part of his breakfast programme. He is followed by Workers’ Playtime presented by Gerry Marsden, a familiar name on 1980s pirates including Radio Dublin, which he went on to manage. Adverts are heard for local businesses, many in the Centrepoint Shopping Centre in Blanchardstown where Echo was located. There’s also a promo seeking DJs, newsreaders and sales representatives for the station.

Both 280 metres (1071 kHz) and 105.5 FM are announced by the DJs. The recording was made from 1071 kHz from 0918-1049 on Wednesday 7^th August 1985 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection. Audio quality is fair, with some distortion.

16th February 202415th June 2024

Border series: Various shows on Donegal’s KTOK

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KTOK was a successful commercial station broadcasting from Donegal Town between summer 1987 and the end of 1988. This recording features airchecks of various programmes between Christmas 1987 and February 1988. First up is Dave James, formerly of offshore station Radio Caroline, recorded between 1400 and 1800 on 27^th December 1987. Frequencies mentioned are 103 and 96 FM and 1566 kHz AM. There are plenty of requests, promos for Christmas holiday events and gigs, the ‘gosh factor’ trivia segment and a television guide. The KTOK Cinderella Christmas Pantomine is mentioned but is unfortunately edited out of the recording, as are most of the adverts for local businesses. News on the hour with John Breslin is similarly cut, but the DJ is heard reading the headlines at half-past the hour.

At 17 minutes, the recording switches to airchecks of the Dave James show from 8^th February 1988 between 1000-1300. 99 FM is heavily promoted as the new transmitter for North Donegal, with 96 FM serving South Donegal, Leitrim and Sligo. There is no mention of the AM transmitter as it may have been discontinued at this time.

At 58 minutes, station founder Russ Padmore is heard from 18^th February 1988 between 1500-1800. Local gigs and discos are promoted and news on the hour is read in English and Irish but edited out. The inclusion of Irish may have been as much due to impending broadcast legislation as the fact that many parts of Donegal are Irish-speaking. Music is mostly pop but includes some oldies and country, reflect the huge popularity of the latter in rural areas of Ireland.

It is unclear which FM frequency the recording was made from. It is from the Anoraks Irish Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

14th February 202412th February 2024

DJ Lee on Echo Community Radio

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Echo Community Radio was one of several small Dublin stations that came and went during the 1980s. It broadcast from Blanchardstown in west Dublin and was first logged by DX Archive in July 1985. The station broadcast on AM only initially and was located in the Centrepoint Shopping Centre. According to Anoraks UK Weekly Report, it closed down by January 1986. There is no known connection to the earlier Echo Radio based in Clontarf in 1982.

This recording of Echo Community Radio features DJ Lee, a familiar voice from the 1980s pirates, presenting an afternoon slot. There’s a listeners’ competition for cinema tickets but tellingly, no adverts are heard over 90 minutes of primetime radio listening. The station claimed to broadcast to the Greater Dublin Area but clearly power was low as there is co-channel intereference, likely from Radio Carousel North on the same frequency of 1071 kHz (announced by Echo as 280 metres).

The tape was made from 1555-1737 on Wednesday 26^th June 1985 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection.