1981 Archives - Page 2 of 9 - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

6th February 20236th February 2023

Chris Barry and David Dennehy on ARD/Radio 257

Radio 257 was the new name for ARD (Alternative Radio Dublin) when the station relaunched on 4^th January 1980. Many of the DJs on ARD/Radio 257 would go on to become household names in Irish radio, including John Clarke, Mike Moran, Tony Allan (RIP), Paul Vincent and Ian Dempsey. The station closed in 1982 as the super-pirates gained dominance in the Dublin radio market.

Radio 257 reverted to the ARD name at a later stage but in this recording from April 1981, both versions are heard in links and idents. First up is Chris Barry with his drivetime show which includes plenty of adverts and generic jingles re-cut with the ‘257’ tagline. He is followed by David Dennehy who has a write-in competition for listeners. Both Chris and David went on to work in larger pirate stations and eventually licensed radio.

This recording was made from 99.9 FM on 2^nd April 1981 and Part 1 above runs from 1727-1815. Part 2 below is from 1815-1833 on 2^nd April and is followed by part of the Night Train show from 3^rd April 1981, presented by Gary Edwards.

Part 2 from 2nd and 3rd April 1981.

The tape is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

30th January 202329th January 2023

Drivetime on Big D

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This is a recording of the evening drivetime show on Dublin pirate Big D as it began to decline towards the end of 1981. Aidan Cooney is on air from the studios in South Richmond Street in the city centre and takes calls from listeners entering a quiz. The voice of the late Tony Allan is heard on some of the adverts, but commercials are relatively thin on the ground given the time of day. By this time, the Dublin radio market had been shaken up by the arrival of the larger and more professional Sunshine Radio and Radio Nova and the days of pioneering 1970s stations such as Big D were numbered. The station would be relaunched as Big D Automated in 1982, playing continuous music only, but it was gone by the end of the year.

The recording was made on 21^st September 1981 from 1116 kHz, announced as 273 metres. Part 1 above runs from 1747-1832 and Part 2 below from 1840-1925.

Part 2 from 1840.

Audio quality is fair with variable levels and increasing co-channel interference as darkness falls. Our tape is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

7th October 20227th October 2022

Hugh O’Brien and David Dennehy on ARD

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This recording of Alternative Radio Dublin (ARD) was made on a Saturday afternoon in 1981. Hugh O’Brien is on air with mostly oldies and is joined by David Dennehy with sports news. Both would be heard on other pirates throughout the 1980s and on licensed radio thereafter. The recording includes a news flash about the highjacking of an Aer Lingus plane in Paris.

There are plenty of adverts including one for Channel 3 television, later to be known as Channel D. Channel 3 was one of a handful of short-lived pirate television stations broadcasting in the 1980s. It was set up by Don Moore of ARD and Michael Tiernan of the National Independent Broadcasting Organisation, a grouping of commercial pirate stations. Other voices heard on adverts are Paul Vincent, Dave C. and Tony Allan. The cassette has become degraded over time and there is some audio distortion.

The recording was made from 99.9 FM from 1659-1745 on 2nd May 1981. It is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

6th July 20228th July 2022

John Dolan on Sunshine Radio

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John Dolan (real name Tadhg Dolan) worked in the first Cork pirates CBC and CCLR in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He also did some shows on Sunshine Radio in Dublin as well as stints with RTÉ’s Cork Local Radio and licensed station Radio South (later Cork’s 96 FM).

This airchecked recording is of John’s first show on Sunshine Radio between 1955-2100 sometime in May 1981. Audio is fair as the recording was made by placing a cassette recorder up against a radio. John is introduced by the previous DJ, Tony Dixon (RIP) and the voice of Sunshine boss Robbie Robinson (RIP) is heard on some of the adverts. Broadcasting ends at 2100 with the iconic Desiderata song, which closed the station down each night.

Thanks to Lillian O’Donoghue for the donation.

8th June 20228th June 2022

Capitol Radio featured on the BBC

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This is a recording of a BBC report on Irish pirate radio, featuring the specialist station Capitol Radio in Dublin (1975 and 1978-1981). It was broadcast on the BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat programme on 26^th November 1981 and on BBC World Service on shortwave around the world. One of Capitol’s founders Alan Russell is interviewed and speculates about the establishment of legalised commercial radio in Ireland. The report also includes a clip from Capitol DJ Chris Barry.

The interview was conducted in Dublin in February 1981 but not broadcast until November. Capitol had in fact closed the previous March and Alan speculates that the delay in airing the interview could have been because the BBC did not want to unduly antagonise RTÉ by featuring a pirate currently on air. Similarly, they may not have wanted to publicise Robbie Robinson of Sunshine Radio or Chris Cary of Radio Nova, both of whom had a history in UK offshore pirate radio. Capitol Radio had been known to the UK radio industry as a specialist station following a 1980 article in a British trade magazine Radio Month (see below). Alan believes that Capitol was one of the few Irish pirates, if not the only one, to get worldwide airtime on the BBC.

Thanks to Alan Russell for the donation of this recording and images.