Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive - Page 21 of 160

5th June 202327th May 2023

June bank holiday Monday 1985 on Q102

Dublin’s new ‘super-pirate’ Q102 held an on-air charity auction on the June bank holiday 1985 in aid of the Burton Hall mental health charity. First up in this recording are Martin Block and Jason Maine taking bids from listeners and offers of prizes for auction from businesses around the city. Later Scott Williams and Anne Cassin announce the big auction prize of a 20 inch colour television. Adverts are aired for large businesses such as Nissan Windsor Motors, Brennan’s bread, the Evening Herald newspaper and USIT Holidays. News on the hour is read by Anne Cassin and Gary Hamill (aka Seán McCarthy), with sports headlines from John Kenny.

The recording was made from 102 FM on Monday 3^rd June 1985. Part 1 above runs from 1351 and Part 2 below from 1449.

Part 2 from 1449.

There is some wobble in the audio due to degredation of the cassette. The recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

3rd June 20236th June 2023

Religious programme on Radio Leinster

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Radio Leinster was a specialist Dublin station with an easy listening and talk format in contrast with the diet of pop preferred by most pirates. It broadcast from 29^th April 1981 until 19^th May 1983, closing down suddenly as panic spread following the raids on super-pirates Radio Nova and Sunshine Radio. Radio Leinster was situated on an elevated site in Sandyford with an excellent view of the city from its studios. The professionally-made 1 kW transmitter on 738 kHz (406 metres) gave good coverage by day but suffered co-channel interference after dark.

This short recording from Sunday 13^th September 1981 features part of a religious programme presented by Fr. Michael Conaghty, who reads headlines from the Catholic Universe. Some of Radio Leinster’s distinctive interval signals are also heard. The clip was recorded in Malahide, north Co. Dublin and is from the Leon Tipler Tapes Collection, donated to us by Steve England.

1st June 202314th August 2023

Border series: Radio Star Country heard near and far

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One of the joys of AM broadcasting is its propagation that allows radio waves to travel long distances beyond the core listening area during the hours of darkness. In our focus on border station Radio Star Country, today we begin a series of posts showing how the Irish pirate sounded on the west coast of Norway in the late 1980s and 1990s. Recorded over 1,200 km from the transmission site on the Monaghan/Tyrone border, these tapes capture the unique audio quality of skywave reception of distant radio signals at dawn and dusk between October and March.

The first such recording begins before 0900 on 17^th November 1988, a few months after Radio Star Country began broadcasting from the Swan Lake Hotel in Monaghan Town. On air is station founder and owner Gerry Byrne with a promo for the forthcoming Radio Star Country Music Awards in Cookstown, Co. Tyrone. The recording was made in Bud, western Norway from 891 kHz on a Hammarlund SP-600 JX1 receiver with a 500-metre Beverage antenna aimed towards the southwest. The antenna ran behind the barn to the left of the large white house (the rectory) on the right in the photo and received stations from Ireland, the UK, southwest Europe, Brazil and Argentina.

We thank Svenn Martinsen for his donation of these unique recordings.

29th May 202327th May 2023

Dublin stations ARD and Big D in 1978

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In 1978, the Dublin pirate radio scene took off in earnest as what were previously sporadic or part-time stations moved to full schedules and developed a more professional sound. This recording features Alternative Radio Dublin (ARD) and the Big D, two stations that emerged from splits from the original Radio Dublin. First up is Big D founder James Dillon with plenty of requests of the ‘madly in love’ variety, live-read adverts and a promo for the Big D roadshow. Fellow DJ John Paul’s sung jingles and the voice of Denis Murray are also heard. 11 Chapel Lane is the postal address and the wavelength announced is 273 metres.

The dial is then changed to 257 metres and to the end of Greg Gaughren’s show on ARD. Greg is standing in for Ronan Collins in the afternoon slot. News at the top of the hour is read by Dave C. (RIP) and sponsored by the Sunday World newspaper. This is followed by Jason Maine with Tuesday’s Maineline Music Programme. The ARD segment in particular is noteworthy for its professionalism, a reminder that some pirates were providing a high-quality service long before the arrival of the likes of Radio Nova and Sunshine Radio into the Irish market.

The recording was made from 1530-1630 sometime in October 1978. It is kindly donated by Ian Biggar.

26th May 202324th March 2024

Easter Sunday on Westside Radio International

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Westside Radio International broadcast on shortwave from Dublin on Sunday mornings between 1975 and 1989, returning in the 1990s under different names. It was one of several shortwave hobby pirates operating during that period and was steeped in the free radio spirit.

This recording from Easter Sunday 1986 features one of the station founders Roger Lloyd (Prince Terry on air) with his trademark musical mix of rock and oldies. The other founder of Westside, Don Moore (Dr Don) died in 2021. There are generic jingles and promos for free radio, including a long advert for Anoraks Ireland. The weekly DX Programe follows, with plenty of news about the pirate scene and following Westside’s closedown, the station is to hold a QSO with fellow shortwave pirate Radio Valleri. No times are noted and there are some edits in the tape. Part 1 above begins after 1100 and Part 2 below finishes after 1300.

Part 2 of Westside recording

The recording was made from 6280 kHz on Sunday 30^th March 1986 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.