Alan Reid (Henry Condon) at South Coast in 1982 (courtesy Lillian O’Dononghue).
This is a recording of the very early days of South Coast Radio, the Cork super-pirate that broadcast from 1982-1984. It begins with the late Peter Madison with the final minutes of his Saturday oldies breakfast show on 6th March 1982 from 1050 to 1100. Peter is followed by the late Alan Reid (Hendy Condon, known later on other stations as Henry Owens) from 1100-1135. South Coast was only on air for three days at this stage, having launched officially on 3rd March 1982. This tape was made from 102.15 FM stereo, announcing 104. South Coast also broadcast on 1557 kHz AM, announcing 194 metres.
Original label from Anoraks Ireland cassette.
The recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated by Paul Davidson. Thanks to Lillian O’Donoghue for the photo.
Tony Walsh in the South Coast studio in Adelaide Place (courtesy Lillian O’Donoghue).
Tony Walsh presented the lunchtime show on the Cork Broadcasting Company (CBC) in the late 1970s and then left radio for a few years, returning to the scene when South Coast Radio went on air in the spring of 1982. This recording of his first show on South Coast on Saturday 24th April begins at about 2340 and is partially edited. The late night musical choice is laidback and includes some country. Tony spent only a few months at South Coast, leaving the station in June 1982.
He was known as Tony Allen on air, but is not to be confused with Tony Allan (RIP), the British ex-offshore DJ whose unique voice was heard on dozens of Irish pirates from the late 1970s on. That Tony Allan also did voiceovers for South Coast Radio and joined the station in August 1982. Thanks to Lillian O’Donoghue for the recording and photo.
Nick Richards in studio (courtesy Lillian O’Donoghue).
Nick Richards, who had a background in British and offshore pirates, was heard on a number of Irish stations in the 1980s. This recording of Nick is from South Coast Radio in Cork not long after the station launched in spring 1982. At this time, Nick presented the Nightline programme in the early hours and in this recording, which starts around 2340, the musical choice is mellow. There’s a request for South Coast’s number one fan, Lillian McCarthy (O’Donoghue) who meticulously recorded programmes and took photos of the DJs and studios. Nick closes the station at 0100 and says that the next DJ will be Alan Reid (Henry Condon) with the breakfast show from 0700. There’s no date for this recording but we estimate it to be from late April 1982. It is partially edited and was made from 104 FM, although audio quality is fair as it seems the station wasn’t properly tuned in.
Pete O’Neill in the Adelaide Place studio in September 1982 (courtesy Lillian O’Donoghue).
Pete O’Neill was one of the founders of Cork’s South Coast Radio, which launched in March 1982. Pete, who had previously broadcast on smaller Cork pirates such as the Cork Broadcasting Company (CBC), presented the weekday early afternoon show from 1300-1600 on South Coast.
This is a recording of Pete’s entire show from 1303-1600 on Good Friday, 9th April 1982. Section 1 is above and the remaining three sections below. At the start, Pete thanks the previous DJ, the late Hugh Browne, who would later be heard on other pirates such as KLAS in Dublin. There are regular promos for the South Coast ‘Jobline’, voiced by the late Tony Allan. The music is mixed, ranging from easy listening and country to chart hits. News on the hour is read by Mark Lawrence but is mostly edited out. Interestingly, South Coast broadcasts a minute’s silence at 1500, reflecting the influence of Catholicism on Ireland at the time and existing practice on RTÉ.
Part 2 from 1348 (news cut)Part 3 from 1436 (news cut)Part 4 from 1521
The recording was made from 104 FM in stereo and quality is good, although a hum can be heard when there is no music. Thanks to Lillian O’Donoghue for donating the recording and photograph.
Nick Richards at South Coast in 1982 (courtesy Lillian O’Donoghue).
Nick Richards was born in London and worked in land-based UK pirates and the offshore Radio Caroline, only leaving the boat just before it sank on 20th March 1980. After coming to Ireland, he worked at Southside Radio in Dublin before moving to Cork, doing his first show on South Coast on 16th April 1982. Nick was later heard on the short-lived but highly successful KISS FM (1988), a ‘border blaster’ pirate based in Monaghan Town. These days he is a presenter on Cork’s C103.
This is a recording of Nick presenting his ‘Nightline’ show on South Coast from just after midnight on Wednesday 9th June 1982. There’s no chance of falling asleep with plenty of loud rock in the first hour. Part 1 above runs from 0008-0053 and Part 2 below from 0053-0136.
Part 2 from 0053
With so much evening and overnight radio automated these days, it’s refreshing to hear a live DJ reading out requests from listeners. Some of the listeners on that night back in 1982 had impeccable pirate radio credentials: Barry and Ruth Johnson of Anoraks UK in Blackpool, Gary Hogg in Leeds, Stuart Clarke of ABC Radio in Tramore and Prince Terry of shortwave station Westside Radio in Dublin.
Cassette label from Anoraks Ireland Collection.
This recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated by Paul Davidson. You can find more material from the collection on Radiowaves and the Irish Pirate Radio Archive.
Listen here to an interview with Nick about his time at KISS FM in Monaghan.
