Q102 logo as seen in studios in 1985 (Anoraks Ireland Collection).
This recording of Dublin super-pirate Q102 was made on bank holiday Monday 1985, eight months after the station had entered the capital’s competitive radio market. It includes a syndicated show by the US ABC Radio Network, featuring the band Huey Lewis and the News who were enjoying chart success at the time.
Original cassette inlay from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.
There’s the usual mix of commercials for medium-sized and large businesses in the city. News on the hour is read by Martin O’Neill, aka Niall Martin, who would go on to have a career as an RTÉ journalist. The syndicated show is followed at midday by John Kenny, who would become an RTÉ sports journalist.
Part 1 above runs from 1054-1139 and Part 2 below from 1142-1227.
Part 2 from 1142
The tape was made on 28th October 1985 from 102 FM and is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.
Paul Barnett at WABC in 1990 (courtesy Ken Baird and Ian Biggar).
Paul Barnett (RIP) was involved in pirate radio in Donegal and since the late 1990s was the operator of the long-running AM station Radio North until his death in October 2023. Another station associated with Paul was WABC, which he launched on FM in September 1987. WABC left the airwaves along with the other pirates at the end of 1988 but returned in mid-1989 from the village of Greencastle. The signal was beamed across Northern Ireland and could also be heard in parts of Scotland. The station even had two separate channels for a time, WABC Hot Hits and WABC Gold. Paul left Donegal in 1991 to pursue radio interests in the UK but returned to Ireland in the late 1990s when he revived WABC for a time and took over operation of Radio North.
WABC sticker from the late 1980s (courtesy DX Archive).
This recording of WABC from 101.7 FM was made between 1019 and 1105 on 7th July 1988 and features Paul on air, using the name Paul Bentley. It is courtesy of Ian Biggar.
Paul pictured near the WABC studios in 1991 (courtesy DX Archive).
It is with great sadness that we learned today of the death of Paul Barnett, aka Paul Burbank or Paul Bentley following a battle with cancer. Paul was the operator of long-running AM pirate Radio North from Donegal and previously ran another station from that county, WABC. We thank Ian Biggar for writing this tribute for Pirate.ie.
I first got in contact with Paul in late 1987 when I heard his station, WABC on 107 FM back home in the west of Scotland. I received a friendly letter from Paul giving full details of his radio station that was broadcasting from north Donegal. Paul was from Mansfield in the English midlands and had moved with his Irish-born wife and family to set up a business in Coleraine. With Paul’s background in pirate radio it was a given that he would start a station and thus WABC was born, aiming its signal towards Coleraine and the Causeway coast.
WABC built up a strong audience over the next year, but like others had to close with the introduction of the broadcasting bill in Ireland on 31st December 1988. However, with the continuation of Radio North, Paul took the initiative and put WABC back on the air in mid June 1989. The station was now located in the family home in Greencastle.
We visited the station in May 1990 when Paul was running two formats, namely WABC Gold on 101.2 MHz and WABC Hot Hots on 101.5 MHz. It was always great to meet Paul as his enthusiam for radio was always infectious. I often was able to listen to both stations back at home on the west coast of Scotland.
In March 1991 I received a note from Paul saying that due to family commitments he and his family were returning to Mansfield. Paul then got involved with commercial radio with Gem AM in Nottingham and was a regular presenter. However, by the late 90s Paul was back in Donegal and running Radio North on 846 kHz and in time brought back WABC. However, his time was focused on Radio North which continues its format of country, oldies and religious programming on 846 kHz. Let’s hope Radio North can carry on and therefore continue Paul’s legacy.
RIP Paul and thank you for playing your significant part in the Irish era.
The recording is of the announcement by DJ Steven Lynch of Paul’s death on Radio North on Friday 27th October 2023. It is courtesy of Neil Sweeney.
Sunshine 101 sticker (courtesy of the late Pat Herbert).
Bee Bop Gold was a hugely popular oldies show broadcast on Dublin super-pirate Sunshine Radio towards the end of its eight-year run on air, by which time the station had been rebranded as Sunshine Hot Hits 101. The presenter was Nails Mahoney, who would go on to have a successful radio and television career in Ireland, the UK and Canada, including on longwave giant Atlantic 252.
Sunday World advert for Bee Bop Gold from 31st July 1988 (courtesy DX Archive).
This tape features a special late-night bank holiday edition of Bee Bop Gold, featuring hits from the 1950s, 60s and 70s. An animated Nails Mahoney takes requests from listeners on air and promotes a competition. The show is sponsored by health supplements company Seven Seas and commercial breaks contain high-level agency adverts indicating the commercial success of Sunshine 101. There are several references to a radio survey in 1988 that put the station first in Dublin, an achievement that is also centre-stage in the advertisement above.
Our recording was made from 101 FM on 30th and 31st October 1988 between 2307 and 0037. It is courtesy of John Breslin.
Heartbeat FM was a popular 1980s Dublin station specialising in love songs. It was launched in November 1986 and was rebranded as Cara FM the following year, before reverting to Heartbeat because its audience preferred the original name. The station closed down at the end of 1988 to comply with new broadcasting legislation. The love song format proved highly popular and was used by some pirates that continued into the 1990s including Radio Dublin.
This recording was made towards the end of the station’s run and features Ian Turner’s evening show with plenty of requests from loyal listeners and a remind that Heartbeat is the most listened to specialist station in Dublin according to the latest radio survey. Ian is followed by Maurice Nevin (RIP) with his Radio Late show until the early hours. The tape was made between 2135 and 2305 on 11th November 1988 from 95.5 FM and is courtesy of John Breslin.
