Sunday afternoon on Waterford Local Radio

Sunday afternoon on Waterford Local Radio
Undated door plaque at WLR (courtesy Colin Kennedy).

Waterford Local Radio was one of the longest-running and most successful Irish pirate stations, broadcasting continuously from 1978-1988 and subsequently earning the licence for Co. Waterford. This recording is of the Frankie King Show on a Sunday afternoon in 1983. There are plenty of requests from listeners and adverts are heard for local businesses from Waterford City and beyond, including one for a WLR roadshow at a local hotel. Voices on adverts include station founder Rick Whelan and Clodagh Walsh, who went on to work as a journalist in licensed radio. News on the hour is read by Denise Wall.

This airchecked recording was made from by Kieran Murray on Sunday 24th April 1983 between 1400 and 1600 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection. 88.6 FM is noted on the cassette label but 88.8 and 100 FM were the frequencies announced by WLR at the time. The station also broadcast on 1197 kHz AM, announcing 252 metres as reflected in some of the liners in this recording.