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Tony Boylan (RIP) was one of the leading pioneers of pirate radio in Ireland, first broadcasting in 1945. His best-known and longest-running station was Radio Galaxy, which first aired in the mid-1950s and subsequently broadcast from the late 1960s until 1986, mostly on Sundays. By focusing on underserved genres of music, Radio Galaxy was a unique sound among the Irish pirates. Following the closure of the station, Tony retired to the Isle of Man where he died in 2010.
This tape of Radio Galaxy is the penultimate Sunday broadcast from autumn 1986 and features the popular weekly 78s Show with its mixture of classical, instrumental, country and religious music. There are several requests from Tony’s loyal listeners around Dublin, many of whom were no doubt with him for decades.
The recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection and was made from 1512 kHz AM, announcing 196 metres, from 1204-1332 on Sunday 14th September 1986. Audio quality is fair and resembles slightly weak daytime groundwave reception, so the tape may have been recorded outside the core reception area around Santry in the northeast of the city.