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Coverage of 1983 raids on pirate stations

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Coverage of 1983 raids on pirate stations
Christine Reilly and Kieran Murray in Radio Carousel Navan in 1982 (courtesy Kieran Murray).

Raids by the Department of Posts and Telegraphs on the super-pirates Radio Nova and Sunshine Radio on 18th and 19th May 1983 rocked the Irish radio scene. Panic spread throughout the country’s pirate stations in anticipation of further raids, and many stations took the precaution of closing down temporarily.

One of the larger stations, Radio Carousel in Dundalk, celebrated its 5th birthday around the same time, on 20th May 1983. Kieran Murray, who ran the Radio Carousel operation in Navan, Co. Meath, made recordings from RTÉ and other stations in the week of the raids. The first part of the recording above is from Wednesday 18th May and begins with part of the 1.15 lunchtime news from Boyneside Radio in Drogheda, followed by the 1.30 RTÉ Radio 1 report on the raids. Kieran then records a conversation with Hugh O’Brien of Radio Nova, who had been trying to reach Carousel boss Hugh Hardy all morning. The recording continues with extracts from Thursday 19th May: the report of the raid on Sunshine Radio on RTÉ and an interview by Radio Carousel’s Christine Reilly (Tina Anderson) with Bill McLoughlin of Sunshine Radio.

Coverage of 1983 raids on pirate stations
Original label from Anoraks Ireland Collection.

Part 2 below includes an interview with Hugh Hardy on Paul Clarke’s programme on BBC Radio Ulster on 19th May, followed by the 6pm news on Radio Carousel Navan. The recording ends with part of the RTÉ Radio 1 news at 6.30 on 22nd May.

Interview with Hugh Hardy, Radio Carousel Navan, RTÉ coverage.

These recordings are from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

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Radio Leinster closes down suddenly

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Radio Leinster closes down suddenly
Radio Leinster logo courtesy of DX Archive

Radio Leinster closed unexpectedly just after 1pm on the 19th of May 1983, following the raid on Sunshine Radio that morning and on Radio Nova the previous day. Although almost all stations in Dublin switched off their transmitters on the 19th as fears about raids spread, most were back on air within days but Radio Leinster was never to return. Anna Craig (Chisnall) read the lunchtime news at 1pm and said there would be another bulletin at 3pm but within minutes the closure of the station was announced suddenly by managing director Justin James. The station closed with its signature tune, Seán Ó Riada’s ‘Mise Éire’. 

Radio Leinster was an innovative and unique station which aimed at the RTÉ Radio 1 listenership with a mixture of musical styles, talk programmes and specialist shows. It broadcast on 738 kHz am (406 metres) and 93 FM, the signal benefiting considerably from a high site in Sandyford overlooking Dublin. 

This recording is courtesy of one of the Radio Leinster presenters, Al Dunne who was on air for the closedown.

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Punk and reggae on Concord Community Radio

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Punk and reggae on Concord Community Radio
Concord Community Radio flyer (courtesy Alan MacSimoin collection).

Concord Community Radio broadcast from the Artane/Coolock area of northeast Dublin from March 1983 and would become North Dublin Community Radio (NDCR), which continued until the end of 1988. It was an AM-only station, announcing 337 metres or 890 kHz (presumably 891). This is a recording from 18th May 1983, the day of the Department of Posts and Telegraphs raid on Radio Nova, which sent shockwaves through the pirate world. No time is given, but the choice of music suggests an evening programme. The unnamed presenter plays punk and reggae and takes requests from listeners but there is no mention of the raid that morning. In the following days many pirates closed down temporarily as a precaution.

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

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Northeast series: Radio Carousel history

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Northeast series: Radio Carousel history
Radio Carousel staff in 1981. Information below (photo courtesy of Ian Biggar).

This is a feature programme about the first five-and-a-half years of the Radio Carousel network, broadcast in December 1983. It was compiled by Kieran Murray who was the first voice to be heard on the station on 20th May 1978. There are also interviews with station founder and owner Hugh Hardy, information about listenership surveys and extracts from shows featuring presenters such as Dave Scott (Joe Reilly), Mike Ahern (Richard McCullen) and Tina Anderson. Kieran describes the satellite stations in Navan, Drogheda and on the border and there are also extracts from news programmes and outside broadcasts. Hugh Hardy’s interview with BBC Radio Ulster following the 1983 raids on Radio Nova and Sunshine Radio is included. The programme also includes a flavour of Radio Carousel Dundalk’s 5th birthday on 20th May 1983 and of Radio Carousel Navan’s 2nd birthday on 22nd October 1983.

Northeast series: Radio Carousel history
Kieran Murray in the original Radio Carousel studio in 1978 (photo courtesy of Eddie Caffrey).

Kieran Murray announces the programme as a two-hour special but this recording contains only one hour so is presumably an edited version. A full version of the station’s theme tune ‘Don’t stop the carousel’ by Roy Taylor and the Nevada is heard at the end. We thank Eddie Caffrey for donating the recording.

Full photo information

Back row: Richard Crowley, Kieran Murray, Shay Breslin, Ray Stone, Hugh Hardy, Dave Scott, Mike Ahern, Frank Mitchell.

Front row: Shane Mullen, Hugh Sands, Penny Palmer, Tony Farrelly.

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Documentary: The Irish Pirates (Volume 8)

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Documentary: The Irish Pirates (Volume 8)
Crowds at Herbert Street on the day of Radio Nova’s official closedown, 19 May 1983 (photo by Joe King).

In the final instalment of Part 3 of ‘The Irish Pirates’, Leon Tipler returns to Dublin. Volume 8 covers his visits to Sunshine and Radio Nova in September 1983 to get the views of the staff about the raids of the previous May which put both stations off the air temporarily. Tipler interviews Sybil Fennell, Chris Cary and Robbie Robinson and also features the iconic Nova closedown with Tony Allan at 6pm on the 19th of May 1983. He also recounts the horrified political reaction to Cary’s plans for Nova Television. This final episode ends with Tipler’s analysis of the political implications of the raids and changed attitudes to the pirates in their aftermath.

Documentary: The Irish Pirates (Volume 8)
Equipment removed from Sunshine Radio, 19 May 1983, with RTÉ television crew filming (photo by Joe King).

This recording is from the Leon Tipler Tapes Collection, donated to us by Steve England. We will bring you more from this valuable collection over the coming weeks and months.

Index to Volume 8

00:00 Visit to Galway – no pirates on air
00:30 Visit to Sunshine Radio offices
01:15 Visit to Radio Nova
02:00 Interview with Sybil Fennell
04:30 Nova TV
08:10 Chris Cary on Nova in May 1983
09:40 RTÉ coverage of 1983 raid on Nova
10:40 Interview with Chris Cary about raids
15:50 Interview with Robbie Robinson about raids
17:55 Interview with Sybil Fennell about raids
18:20 Continuation of interview with Cary
20:20 Continuation of interview with Robinson
25:00 Sunshine closedown in 1983
27:40 Radio Nova closedown on 19.05.83
33:05 Interview with Sybil Fennell about closedown
33:50 Tony Allen closing Nova
42:00 Continuation of interview with Cary about closedown
46:00 Continuation of interview with Robinson about closedown
51:45 Return of Sunshine
55:00 Changed political response
55:45 Conclusion