Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

2nd January 20241st January 2024

Northeast series: Afternoon drive on Zee 103

Zee 103 (1986-1988) was a high-powered professional station beaming its signal into Northern Ireland from just south of the border at Omeath in Co. Louth. Launched in the winter of 1986, its origins were in KISS FM, a short-lived pirate station in Craigavon, Co. Armagh that was raided by the UK Department of Trade and Industry in 1985. The operation moved south of the border and led eventually to the launch of Zee 103 on November 11^th 1986 from Ardaghy House, a renovated schoolhouse on an elevated site just 3km inside the Republic of Ireland. In line with new broadcasting legislation in the Republic, Zee 103 closed down at midnight on 31^st December 1988 but was one of a handle of pirates to venture back onto the air briefly in January 1989.

This recording of Zee 103 from the summer of 1988 features Paul Maguire who is sitting in for Graham Marks on the afternoon drive programme. Music consists of chart hits and some oldies and all adverts come from businesses in the North. News headlines are read by Lorraine Duncan and similarly aimed at Northern listeners. The tape was made from 103.25 FM between 1622-1708 on 17^th August 1988 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

31st December 20234th January 2024

Galway’s County Sound welcomes 1988

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County Sound broadcast to Galway from 17^th March 1987 until 31^st December 1988 and built up a loyal listenership during its time on air. Based originally in the town of Tuam, County Sound moved into Galway City in January 1988 and slogged it out with another pirate Coast 103 for local advertising revenue. Both stations were professional operations and dominated the Galway radio market at the end of the pirate era. This recording was made exactly a year before County Sound closed down and features regular overnight presenter Jon Richards bidding farewell to 1987 and welcoming 1988. He looks back at the pop music highlights of 1987, reviews the year’s films and previews cinematic releases for the new year. Jon Richards continues to broadcast on local station Galway Bay FM.

This recording was made from County Sound’s Tuam transmitter on 94.3 FM between 2345 and 0030 on 31^st December 1987 and 1^st January 1988. It is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

28th December 202312th January 2024

Waterford Local Radio prepares for closedown

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Waterford Local Radio (WLR) was one of Ireland’s most successful and long-running pirates, broadcasting from 1978 to 1988, and it was one of the few pirates to be licensed in 1989. This recording was made 48 hours before the pirate station closed down in line with new broadcasting legislation. On air is Seán Organ, formerly of Suirside Radio, who continues to broadcast on the licensed WLR FM today. News is read by Clodagh Walsh, who went on to work as a journalist in the new independent radio sector and RTÉ. Station idents cover Counties Waterford, Wexford and Kilkenny, reflecting WLR’s coverage area. There are references to the impending station closedown at 6pm on 30^th December 1988 and a reminder to listeners to support WLR’s licence application, which had already been endorsed by over 100 community groups.

The tape was made from 88.9 FM on Wednesday, 28^th December 1988 from 1348-1433. There is some wobble in the recording due to cassette degradation in places. It is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

25th December 202330th December 2023

Christmas Day on Dublin Community Radio

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Dublin Community Radio (DCR) was an FM-only station set up in 1984. It was based in North Frederick Street in the city centre before moving to Foley Street. It later became KISS FM (1985-1986), which was located at the same address. This recording was made on Christmas Day 1984 and features Paul Martin followed by Fintan O’Hare. Interestingly, there are no Christmas tunes and the music consists mostly of oldies. Only a few adverts are heard but there is heavy promotion of an entertainment company specialising in DJs, discos and dancers.

The recording was made from 104.35 FM, announced as 105 between 1913-2053 on 25th December 1984. It is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

18th December 202317th December 2023

Hits and requests on KITS from Monaghan

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KITS car sticker (Anoraks Ireland Collection).

Monaghan has long been an important county for pirate radio, with various stations over the years taking advantage of proximity to the Northern market. One late arrival to the 1980s pirate scene was Hot Hits KITS from Monaghan Town, which began test tranmissions at the end of 1987. The Anoraks UK Weekly Report of 20^th December noted non-stop music and idents on 100.9 FM and the following edition reported that live transmissions began during Christmas week. Professional PAMS jingles were to be produced and the station was described as one of Monaghan’s two ‘border blasters’ along with KISS FM which was conducting tests at that time.

Hits and requests on KITS from Monaghan — Original cassette label from Anoraks Ireland Collection.

In this evening show with Simon Dee, adverts and requests are heard from both sides of the border. The recording was made from 100.9 FM (announced as 101) on 27^th April 1988 between 1812-1858. KITS also broadcast on 837 kHz AM and closed down permanently in the afternoon of 31^st December 1988. The tape is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.