1983 Archives - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

31st March 202331st March 2023

Requests and dedications on Kildare Community Radio

Irish language poster for Kildare Community Radio c. 1982 (Anoraks Ireland Collection).

Kildare Community Radio (KCR) was a long-running station broadcasting from Naas in Co. Kildare from 1979 until 1988. This tape is of an afternoon show featuring a mixture of music including ballads, traditional, country and oldies presented by DJ John. There are plenty of requests and dedications from listeners, including a few who call in on crackly phone lines. It’s a bare bones style of presentation with no station idents or adverts and a few technical problems.

No times are given but the recording is airchecked. It is dated 6^th November 1983 and the frequency of 1404 kHz (214 metres) noted, but this is more likely to have been KCR’s long-running channel of 1413 kHz to which it had moved by December 1982. Logs by DX Archive from before that time record it off-channel on 1400 kHz. KCR never broadcast on FM. A visit by DX Archive in 1981 recorded that the station was located in a large house called St. Martin’s at Naas Harbour and that the building was dilapidated like so many pirate premises. KCR is listed in an Anoraks Ireland log from April 1988 but closed soon afterwards in advance of the December deadline for pirates to leave the airwaves.

This tape was made originally by Kieran Murray and is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

24th December 20224th December 2022

Christmas Eve on Nova sister station KISS FM

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

This recording of Radio Nova sister station KISS FM was made on Christmas Eve 1983, not long before the station closed. On air is Dave Harvey with the Airplay Top 40, aired every Saturday on KISS FM at the time. News on the hour is read by Bernie Jameson who continues to broadcast on independent radio today. There’s also a promo for a daily £100 giveaway.

KISS FM was set up in September 1982 as an experimental local station for Dublin and to absorb additional advertising revenue from Radio Nova. While the large number of Christmas adverts on this recording indicates commercial success, behind the scenes Nova was facing enormous challenges due to ongoing jamming by RTÉ. Against this backdrop, KISS closed less than a month later on 15^th January 1984. Dave Harvey was heard on various incarnations of Nova and subsequently on licensed stations including Century Radio, RTÉ and 4FM, now Classic Hits Radio.

Part 1 of the recording above begins at 0945 and Part 2 below at 1020. Towards the end of Part 2, the recording seems to switch to another channel for a few minutes.

Part 2 from 1020.

The recording was made from 102.7 FM and is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

2nd November 202230th October 2022

Big Tree Radio from Swords

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Big Tree Radio was a shortlived station broadcasting from above a pub in Swords in north Co. Dublin in 1983. Called after the Big Tree pub (now the Estuary Bar) on North Main Street, some of the station’s DJs sounded very young and inexperienced, a reminder that everyone had access to the airwaves during the freewheeling pirate era. In this recording, Angie plays an easy listening format until 10pm and is followed by ‘Jeremy James’ until midnight who probably borrowed the name of the Voice of Peace DJ. Audio quality is fair with crackly vinyl and a bad hum on the microphone and there are no adverts to be heard. An address care of the pub is given for listeners to write in and request songs.

Big Tree Radio from Swords — Original cassette label from Anoraks Ireland Collection.

The tape was made from 94 FM on 4^th March 1983. Part 1 above runs from 2137 and part 2 below from 2229.

Part 2 from 2229.

This recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

14th September 202218th September 2022

Gerard Roe on Radio Dublin Channel 2 (21 September 1983)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

This recording of Gerard Roe’s Free Radio Campaign (FRC) show was made from Radio Dublin Channel 2 in the autumn of 1983. As usual, the FRC starts with news from the same week the previous year and there are archive recordings of KELO, Capitol Radio and Radio Dublin itself. A promo for Anoraks Ireland is voiced by Kieran Murray. Interestingly, Gerard refers to the newly launched Radio Annabel on 1035 kHz, which began regular programmes the previous weekend. He would soon move to Radio Annabel and bring his FRC to a bigger audience because of the superior signal to Channel 2.

The tape was made from 98.7 FM on 21^st September 1983 from 2000-2108. There is some bleedthrough from the main Radio Dublin transmitter and audio levels are variable. The recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson. Listen here to Pirate.ie Podcast #10 featuring our interview with Gerard Roe about his memories of pirate radio.

12th September 20224th September 2022

Gerard Roe on Radio Dublin Channel 2 (18 May 1983)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

This recording of Gerard Roe’s Free Radio Campaign (FRC) show on Radio Dublin Channel 2 was made on one of the most dramatic days in Irish pirate radio history, 18^th May 1983. That morning, Radio Nova and KISS FM were raided and put off the air, and Sunshine Radio would be closed the following day. The rumour mill was in overdrive and as panic spread among pirate stations, many closed temporarily in case of further raids.

After starting the FRC with his customary look back at news from the same week the previous year, Gerard then notes that Channel 2 is off FM as a precaution. He plays recordings of coverage of the raid on Radio Nova as heard on RTÉ and Sunshine Radio and predicts that it was unlikely that Nova would be back for a few weeks. In, fact Nova returned the following morning on low power. The FRC also includes tapes of Big D on 14^th November 1980 about interference on the AM band in Dublin and of Declan Meehan on Sunshine Radio on 5^th July 1981.

The recording was made from 1152 kHz, announcing 269 metres, from 1958-2104. It is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson. Listen here to Pirate.ie Podcast #10 featuring our interview with Gerard Roe about his memories of pirate radio.