1982 Archives - Page 13 of 19 - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

28th July 202123rd July 2021

Declan Meehan’s brekkie trekkie on Radio Nova

This is a recording of Radio Nova made by British radio enthusiast Leon Tipler on 14^th September 1982 during one of his visits to Dublin. Recorded from 88 FM from 0911-0956, it features part of the ‘brekkie trekkie’ with Declan Meehan. The music mix is mellow and presented in Nova’s pioneering ‘clutterfree’ format . The late Terry Wogan’s voice is heard on a well-known advert for Bargaintown. News headlines are read by Sybil Fennell and the job spot is also aired.

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

26th July 202123rd July 2021

Tony Gareth on Radio Nova

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Here are two short clips from Radio Nova on Sunday 10^th October 1982. The one above features part of the 10am news read by Roland Burke (RIP) followed by the weather with Tony Gareth, aka Gareth O’Callaghan who would become one of Ireland’s best-known broadcasters.

The second clip below is from the religious programme Life is a Celebration, which was launched on Nova on that day. Presented by two priests, it featured music and spiritual reflections and was an example of the early experimentation in specialist programming by Chris Cary.

We thank Paul Buckle for his donation of both recordings, which were made from 88FM near Belfast.

24th July 20212nd May 2024

Colm Hayes on Radio Nova

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This is a recording of Colm Hayes on his Saturday afternoon show on 9^th October 1982 from 1530-1609. Ads include the Sunday World newspaper, the Nova Country Club in Rathfarnham and the Savoy Cinema. Bryan Dobson, who went on to become one of RTÉ’s best-known journalists, voices an ad for pub lunches. There are sports results during Colm’s show and again after the 4pm news which is read by Cogey Clarke.

This recording was made from 88 FM near Belfast and hence the slight hiss, but it shows how far the Nova FM signal travelled in those days. We thank Paul Buckle for this donation.

2nd July 20211st July 2021

Keeping it local on Laois Community Radio

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Laois Community Radio (LCR) broadcast from early 1982 for six years from the town of Mountrath, closing down on New Year’s Eve 1988 along with most other pirates. This recording is from the early days of the station and gives a sense of a station putting down roots as a truly local operation. It’s Sunday 31^st October 1982 and the unidentified presenter plays easy listening music and reads out plenty of community notices, including one inviting local groups to use LCR to get their message across. The recording, made from 88.8 FM, starts at around 1130 but it seems some of the music has been airchecked. Audio quality is fair and there is some fading at times, possibly due to distance from the transmitter.

We thank Ian Biggar and DX Archive for this recording.

21st June 202122nd June 2021

Promos and jingles from WLR

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WLR logo (courtesy of DX Archive).

Waterford Local Radio (WLR) began broadcasting in 1978 and continued until the pirate shutdowns of 1988. It was one of the few countywide pirates to be licensed in 1989 and continues to hold the Co. Waterford franchise, still using the WLR name. Here is a selection of promos, adverts and jingles from 1982 and 1983. There is also a snippet of news read by Elinor O’Brien and a clip of Tony Weldon introducing Teatime Special. The jingles are from an Alfasound package and the voice of Bill Mitchell is hear on sweepers.

WLR broadcast on 1197 kHz AM (announcing 252 metres) and 88.8 FM. It was a professional station with a more community-focused approach than its main rival, ABC. We thank former WLR DJ Colin Kennedy for this donation.