Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

7th March 202517th February 2025

Ken Regis on North Cork Local Radio

North Cork Local Radio (NCLR) went on air in mid-May 1981 from the north Cork town of Mallow at weekends only. The station directors were Pat O’Brien, Maurice Brosnan and Noel O’Connor, two of whom had presented previously on the RTÉ temporary station Mallow Community Radio, which broadcast in 1980. Initially NCLR had a modest coverage of a 5-mile radius of Mallow but eventually expanded to all of north Cork. The station played pop music but also had a community ethos in programmes and formed a co-operative to rally support for a licence.

NCLR changed its name slightly to North Cork Community Radio (NCCR) in July 1986 and continued to broadcast until the end of 1988. In a letter to Ian Biggar in 1986, general manager Barry O’Mahony wrote that NCCR broadcast from 1100-1800 on weekends and 1000-1800 at weekends with a variety of shows including outside broadcasts, chat, hospital requests, farming programmes, sport etc. He added that the AM transmitter ‘isn’t great but is adequate for present time’, probably a reference to the fact that two other pirates in close proximity were using the same frequency of 1386 kHz, WBEN in Cork and Kilkenny Community Radio. The AM band was crowded and there were few free channels and as a result, co-channel interference between all three stations was severe in parts of Cork.

This recording of NCLR begins with the end of the Saturday Scene show with Pat O’Connor and is followed by Ken Regis (O’Sullivan), who had broadcast previously on other Cork pirates. News is read by Clare O’Sullivan. The airchecked recording was made by Kieran Murray from 95.3 FM on Saturday 16^th July 1983 between 1410-1510. It is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.

5th March 202520th February 2025

Border series: Radio North returns to the air in 1989

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Radio North from Co. Donegal is one of Ireland’s longest-running pirate stations, operating under various guises more or less continuously from 1986 to the current day. It began broadcasting from Carndonagh on the Inishowen peninsula on 18^th November 1986 on 1386 kHz, later moving to 1404. By mid-1987, it had moved to the clearer channel of 846 kHz, which gave it better coverage over a wider area.

Radio North closed down along with the vast majority of the other pirate stations on 31^st December 1988 but its frequencies were not silent for long. The station was among a handful of pirates to defy the new broadcasting laws and continue broadcasting in 1989. Radio North returned on tape on 5^th January 1989 and resumed live programmes the following day on 97.9 FM and 846 kHz AM putting out its usually good signal into Britain, according to the Anoraks UK Weekly Report. Promos were aired to raise funds for the station’s court case against the 1988 legislation with £30,000 required, £10,000 of which would be provided by Radio North. Adverts from both sides of the border were plentiful but an address in Ballymoney in Co. Antrim was used for advertising in order to circumvent the provisions of the new laws banning advertising on pirate radio in the Republic.

This recording was made from 1005-1155 on Sunday 8^th January 1989, just three days after Radio North returned to the air. DJ James plays a mixture of country, oldies and pop and there are requests and adverts from both sides of the border along with an appeal for donations to help the station fight the new broadcasting legislation in the High Court. The recording was made in Scotland and reception is fair with some electrical interference as would be expected given the distance from the broadcast site. We thank Ian Biggar for the donation.

3rd March 202517th February 2025

Chris Cary interviewed on new Nova Power 103 FM

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After testing for several days, at midnight on 9^th November 1987, a new station began broadcasting continuous CD music on 100 FM in Dublin. On 18^th November, the station announced itself as the ‘New Radio Nova’, rocking the Dublin pirate scene as it approached its final golden year of 1988. It was an ironic coincidence that the Minister for Communications, Ray Burke, published his new Broadcasting and Wireless Telegraphy Bill and Sound Broadcasting Bill the following day, 19^th November, aimed at closing down the pirates and introducing licensed local radio. On 25^th November came another dramatic announcement as existing station Energy 103 announced that it was merging with the new Radio Nova in light of the impending broadcasting legislation. The merged station was called Nova Power 103 FM and founder of the original Nova, Chris Cary (RIP), was involved, ostensibly as a consultant. This was to the consternation of many in Dublin who had been burned by Cary’s brash managerial style, particularly advertisers who lost money after the collapse of the station in 1986 and journalists and their union involved in the bitter industrial relations dispute with Nova.

In line with the new legislation, Nova Power 103 promised plenty of news and current affairs and revived the Dublin Today programme that was aired on the original Radio Nova. However, the new name was short-lived, when the receiver of Nova Media Services, Pearse Farrell, sought an interlocutory injunction preventing use of the Nova brand. According to Peter Mulryan in Radio Radio (1988), Farrell was also concerned about some activities of the bankrupt company and did not want to allow Cary to use the high-profile Nova name with licences in the offing. Within a few weeks, Nova Power 103 had reverted to Energy 103, which continued to broadcast until 11^th March 1988.

This recording of Nova Power 103 was made on its first day and features an interview with Chris Cary on the Dublin Today programme, discussing his plans for the new station. Presenters of Dublin Today are Sybil Fennell and Teena Gates, and news at 1900 is read by Lisa Moore (Fionnuala Sweeney, who would later join RTÉ and CNN). The recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection and was made from 100 FM between 1850-1905 on 25^th November 1987.

28th February 20251st March 2025

Border series: Short-lived pirate 106 FM from Donegal

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106 FM was a short-lived pirate station broadcasting to Derry from just across the border in Donegal in 2001. The station was run by Delbert Jackson, a former DJ from another Donegal-based pirate, Riverside 101. However, reflecting a stricter approach to the pirates at the time, 106 FM only managed to broadcast for a few months from April before leaving the airwaves for good.

In June, it was reported in an online radio forum that 106 FM was off the air following the theft of equipment, but planned to return shortly. In a letter to Ian Biggar on 15^th September 2001, Andy Craig (formerly of Riverside 101) mentioned that Department of Communications officials had visited Donegal in August to raid 106 FM and another pirate, Tyrone Community Radio (TCR), which despite the name broadcast from near Lifford in the Republic. It was believed that the raid occurred as a result of a complaint from a rival station.

Other Donegal pirates Drive 105, Radio North and WABC switched of their transmitters at the time as a precaution. The DJ on air at 106 FM at the time of the raid was reportedly arrested by Gardaí and Eddie Barr who was on air at WABC was told to keep the transmitter switched off (WABC was never to return). No other pirates were visited, and they had returned to the air by the time of the letter.

This recording of 106 FM is of a test transmission and was made on 18^th April 2001 between 1320-1450. It features continuous music with recorded links giving a Northern phone number and email address as well as professional station liners. The tape was made by Rodney Neill and is kindly donated by Ian Biggar, who also provided background information. Reception quality is good with some fading, as the recording was made in Portadown, some distance from the Derry/Donegal border.

26th February 202525th February 2025

Late night Radio Leinster shortly before station’s closedown

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Radio Leinster was a specialist and middle-of-the-road station offering an alternative to Dublin listeners accustomed to the diet of chart music on many pirates. Launching on 29^th April 1981 on 738 kHz, announcing 406 metres, it liked to claim that it wooed listeners from RTÉ Radio 1 rather than Radio 2. Despite making inroads in the Dublin radio market over its two years on air, Radio Leinster became collateral damage in the raids on large pirate stations, closing down suddenly on May 19^th 1983.

This tape was made a few days before the closedown and features the Late on Leinster show presented by Gerry Wilson. There are plenty of requests, reflecting the desire for live late-night radio, now sadly a thing of the past. Adverts include the Sunday World newspaper, a staple on all commercial pirate stations during the 1980s. The airchecked recording was made on Saturday night/Sunday morning 14^th and 15^th May between 2230 and 0130 from 93 FM. It is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.