1981 Archives - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

25th December 202519th February 2025

Sunshine Radio on Christmas Day 1981

This recording features snippets from Christmas Day 1981 on Dublin pirate Sunshine Radio, by then one of the city’s two leading stations alongside Radio Nova. The station was still on 91.6 FM at that stage, as well as its AM frequency on 531 kHz. DJs in this airchecked recording from throughout the day are Declan Meehan, Stevie Dunne, David Lyons and John Lewis. News on the hour is read by a hungry Siobhán Walls, who is dreaming of her Christmas dinner.

The recording was made by Kieran Murray from 91.6 FM on December 25^th 1981 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection. Audio quality is fair with some cassette wobble due to the passing of time.

15th December 202515th November 2025

Early Cork series: Lunchtime on Radio City

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Pete Andrews (O’Neill) was a familiar voice on Cork pirate radio, and was heard on the early stations of the late 1970s before setting up Radio City in 1980 with Dan Noonan. Here he is on the Lunchtime Special from spring 1981 with a mixture of chart, classics and a bit of country. Features include the Golden Year, for sale slot, featured album, record of the week, weather forecast and the Top 10 from the Radio City Top 50. Many of the adverts are voiced by Pete, who also reads news headlines on the hour. Such was the multi-tasking of pirate radio!

The recording was made from 95.7 FM between 1202-1403 on 23^rd March 1981 and is courtesy of Lilian O’Donoghue.

10th December 20251st December 2025

Early Cork series: Sunday shows on Radio City

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This recording features a selection of Sunday programmes on Cork pirate Radio City from the spring of 1981. Up first is John Rice signing off at the end of his show, followed by Pete Andrews (O’Neill) with the Radio City Top 50 and then Susan James (O’Connor) with the Groove Galaxy. The last segment is from a Sunday morning show presented by John Mariner, possibly from another date.

This airchecked recording was made from 95.7 FM from around 1400 on 22^nd March 1981. Audio quality is generally good but there is some distortion and wobble due to cassette degradation. Thanks to Lilian O’Donoghue for the donation.

5th December 202529th November 2025

Early Cork series: More Saturday evening shows on Radio City

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This is another example of Saturday evening shows on Cork pirate Radio City from spring 1981. First up is the final part of Alan Edwards’ programme with a mixture of chart music and classics. He is followed by Luke Ward with his Rock City Interviews show. There are also adverts for local businesses and station jingles. Audio quality is generally good, but there is some wobble towards the end due to cassette degradation.

The recording was made from 95.5 FM between 1808-1905 on 21^st March 1981 and is courtesy of Lilian O’Donoghue. At this time Radio City also broadcast on 1512 kHz, announcing 199 metres. Thanks to Lilian O’Donoghue for the donation.

28th November 202527th November 2025

Early Cork series: Saturday hits and requests on Radio City

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This is another recording of Alan Edwards on his Saturday evening show on Cork pirate Radio City in 1981. Alan plays current hits and classics and reads out requests from listeners, including one from the station’s number one fan Lilian McCarthy. There are increasing numbers of adverts for local businesses and Alan also reads out a charity appeal to help a disabled child. There is some distortion on the audio in places.

The recording was made from 95.5 FM between 1704-1806 on 21^st March 1981 and is courtesy of Lilian O’Donoghue. Radio City also broadcast on 1512 kHz, announcing 199 metres, at this time.