Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive - Page 83 of 160

28th May 202113th May 2021

Roland Burke on Radio Leinster

Radio Leinster logo (courtesy of David Baker)

This is an early recording of Radio Leinster made from 1722-1809 on 28^th May 1981 from its AM frequency of 738 kHz (406 metres). Roland Burke (RIP) is on air with what he admits himself is a musical mixture, ranging from current pop artists such as Kim Wilde and Toyah Wilcox to the Eagles, Manhattan Transfer and Linda Ronstadt. it’s all a bit confusing and clearly Leinster was still finding its niche and was yet to become the easy listening station which became its hallmark in later times.

Surprisingly there are no ads to be heard in this 45-minute recording even though Radio Leinster was on air for a month at this stage. There’s no sign either of the news service that was promised when the station launched.

Reception is fair as the recording was made in Scotland. We thank Ken Baird for this donation.

26th May 20212nd July 2023

Tom Hardy on Sunshine Radio

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Tom Hardy (RIP) worked in the offshore pirate Radio Caroline before coming to Sunshine Radio in Dublin in 1981. He was also a DJ on Radio Nova and its offshoot KISS FM as well as the other KISS FM in Monaghan in 1988, before going on to licensed radio in the 1990s. Tom died in 2022.

This recording from 1829-1856 on Tuesday 20^th July 1982 features Tom on Sunshine Radio. As well as presenting an eclectic mix of music, he reads news headlines and a gig guide. The commercial break includes an ad for Tamango’s nightclub, located next door to Sunshine at the Sands Hotel in Portmarnock. A very young Cathy Cregan, one of Sunshine’s newsreaders, is also heard voicing an ad.

We thank Paul Buckle for this donation. An interview with Tom Hardy is available here.

24th May 202123rd March 2024

Interview with Paul Byrne (Radio Carrick, CBC, WLR)

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Paul Byrne began working in pirate radio in his native Tipperary in the early 1980s. In this interview with John Walsh, he explains how he got involved with radio and remembers his involvement in various stations including Radio Carrick (Carrick-on-Suir), CBC (Clonmel), NCLR (Mallow), Centre Radio (an offshoot of CBC) and WLR (Waterford). Listen to a documentary about the history of CBC here.

He also speaks about the influence of radio abroad on the Irish pirates, the quest for originality among the young pioneers, the influence of the pirates on local communities and their broader significance for Irish society in the 1980s.

Paul Byrne has 40+ years of experience of the Irish broadcast industry. After the pirates, he worked as a presenter on the licensed WLR and later moved into management, becoming CEO of Tipp FM and then Radio Kerry. In 2020 he became director of Pure Radio, an online station from Tipperary.

21st May 202112th May 2021

Interview with John Clarke of Radio Nova

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This is the original full recording of an interview by Leon Tipler with veteran DJ John Clarke on Radio Nova in September 1982. It was conducted in studio in the busy period leading up to 6pm and John chats away in between lining up music and ads on carts. An edited version was included in the documentary series ‘The Irish Pirates’.

He speaks about the history of Nova and describes the differences between it and its great rival, Sunshine Radio. Chris Cary wanted to begin broadcasting on FM and pushed a ‘clutter-free’ format with sweeps of music. The reaction from listeners was very positive from the start and Nova was soon a hit in boutiques, shops and factories with advertising flooding in. AM came later and the powerful signal increased the station’s popularity even more.

John also discusses the recent RTÉ jamming of Nova and a survey that established Nova’s dominance in the Dublin market. He says that most listeners to Nova and Sunshine were unaware of their pirate status because of the stations’ professionalism. The interview concludes with a mention of Kieran Murray’s Free Radio Campaign and the importance of logging pirate radio history. We’ll second that!

This recording is from the Leon Tipler Tapes Collection, donated to us by Steve England.

20th May 202120th May 2021

Pirate.ie in three minutes

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This three-minute clip gives a sense of the variety of content in the Pirate.ie archive. It covers stations big and small, in Dublin and elsewhere, playing mainstream pop or featuring specialist programming. The first segment features Ireland’s best-known pirate Radio Nova and its ‘Dublin Today’ programme on 30^th August 1983, the day of the giveaway.

The second segment is from the Irish Christian Broadcasting Service from 3^rd September 1983, just four days before a divisive referendum about inserting a ban on abortion into the Irish constitution. The presenter announces an interview with a US campaigner.

The third segment features a promo for community radio broadcast in 1987 on Bray Local Broadcasting south of Dublin. Among the voices is the then Minister for Communications, the late Jim Mitchell, whose party did not favour community radio. BLB was a leading member of the National Association of Community Broadcasters.

The next segment is a jingle for Boyneside Radio (1978-1988) based in Co. Louth which became a regional station covering an area stretching from Belfast to Dublin. The station had transmitters along the border and an opt-out service aimed at Northern Ireland.

The next segment features one of Ireland’s best-known pirate broadcasters, the late John ‘the Man’ Frawley opening Raidió Luimní on 20^th April 1983. The station broadcast from Limerick for ten years from 1978-1988 and the popular Frawley had listeners over a wide area. He begins by greeting listeners in Irish.

Finally we hear the late Bob Gallico reading the news on New Year’s Day 1988 on Energy 103, a popular professional station that emerged from the ashes of Radio Nova in 1986.