1983 Archives - Page 14 of 21 - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

30th November 20206th August 2021

Cork station ERI as recorded by Leon Tipler

This week we bring you recordings of the large Cork station ERI as recorded by British radio enthusiast Leon Tipler at his home in the English midlands.

ERI began in the village of Ballycotton to the east of Cork City in July 1982 when it was known as Cork Eastside Radio and then Eastside Radio Ireland. It broadcast on 1305 kHz AM and 102 FM locally. In September 1982, ERI, as the station was then known, invested in a high-powered 5 kW AM transmitter and moved its studios to portacabins at White’s Cross in the northern suburbs of Cork City. 1332 kHz was used for just a few days but after complaints from Suirside Radio who were on the same frequency in Waterford, ERI reverted to the original 1305 channel.

ERI was run by the O’Connor family and the AM transmitter and mast were located about a kilometre from the portacabins at Progress Engineering which they also owned. ERI became the largest and most successful pirate in Cork and continued until the closedowns at the end of 1988. It applied unsuccessfully for a licence when these were advertised in 1989.

This recording was made on 25^th May 1983 from 2300-0005 in Kidderminster in England, about 430km from Cork. The DJ is Liam Quigley, who would go on to work on many licensed stations, and news is read by John O’Connor. Interesting this is shortly after the raids on Radio Nova and Sunshine in Dublin on May 19^th which caused many stations, including ERI, to close temporarily as a precaution.

Reception features characteristic night-time skywave propagation but the signal is quite listenable and is a testament to the power of the transmitter and skill of station engineer Robin Adcroft. This recording is from the Leon Tipler Tapes Collection, donated to us by Steve England.

18th November 20206th August 2021

Pop-up radio: Glasnevin North Community Radio

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The Community Broadcasting Co-operative (CBC) also ran a pop-up summer station in Glasnevin between 1982 and 1988 to coincide with the local community festival. Mick Nugent, who was also heard on other CBC stations, was in charge of the Glasnevin operation and it moved between different locations over the years. These included what was then the Nugent family home on Willow Park Grove, a caravan outside the local shops on Ballymun Road and Cuilín House, a Council-owned building in Albert College Park.

Dave Reddy of CBC told us that broadcasts on all stations were on 1512 or 1530 kHz with the exception of 1984 when frequencies on or around 1116 kHz were used. The original transmitter was stolen and never recovered but a new one was used from 1985 with the help of engineers Peter Gibney and John Thewlis. Output was about 100 watts and FM was added later in the decade. As FM reception improved, the AM transmitter was left in Sandymount at Dave Reddy’s house and linked to the FM signals from the various CBC stations.

This airchecked recording of Glasnevin North Community Radio was made between 1815-1850 on 27^th June 1983. We don’t have confirmation of the frequency. It features some well-known names in Irish radio history including Aidan Cooney who worked on several pirates including Radio Dublin, ARD, Treble TR, Sunshine Radio and Radio Nova. Since 1989 he has broadcast on commercial radio and television and is currently a presenter with Q102 in Dublin. The other familiar voice is Aidan Stewart (aka Leonard) who also began his pirate career in the late 1970s and joined RTÉ in 1991. He is currently director of the digital station RTÉ Gold.

The recording was made originally by the late Peter Madison. Thanks to Gary Hogg for the audio and to Dave Reddy and Mick Nugent for background information.

14th October 20207th August 2021

Northeast series: Boyneside Radio (1983)

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Today we bring you two more recordings of Boyneside Radio in 1983. The first recording was made from 2003-2030 on 1^st July 1983 and features Áine Ní Ghuidhir on news followed by Neil O’Brien presenting the ‘Night Flight’ programme. There’s an ad for the popular Bubbles disco in Drogheda which regularly featured Boyneside DJs. Requests are received from north and south of the border, reflecting Boyneside’s large catchment area.

The second shorter recording below is the last part of a show presented by Dave C (Cunningham) from 1152-1200 on 28^th June 1983. Dave C was one of the pirate pioneers of the 1970s and involved in stations such as Radio Dublin and Alternative Radio Dublin (ARD). He was a director of Radio 257 and following its closure in 1982, he moved to Boyneside.

These recordings are from the Leon Tipler Tapes Collection, donated to us by Steve England. Both are from AM and sound as if they were recorded some distance from Drogheda, possibly on the west coast of the UK.

11th September 20206th August 2021

Full recording: Community Radio Fingal

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Community Radio Fingal (CRF) broadcast from Swords and then Skerries in north Co. Dublin from 1982 to 1988. It began with a 300 watt transmitter but then increased it to 1 kW, and moving from 1584 to 1575 kHz (announced as 189 metres) improved its reception, particularly on the west coast of Britain. Leon Tipler visited CRF in 1982 on one of his visits to Ireland and you can hear an interview with the owner of CRF Brian Matthews here in which he gives information about the station’s history and technical set-up.

Our recording was made from 1575 kHz from 1922-1952 on 1^st July 1983, apparently on the west coast of Britain as it sounds like daytime groundwave reception. Des Lee is on the air with music and community notices. He mentions that CRF is broadcasting from the Castle Shopping Centre in Swords, Co. Dublin and also refers to an FM transmitter on 90 MHz. Audio quality deteriorates towards the end as the cassette has degraded with the passage of time.

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

7th September 20207th August 2021

Full recording: Radio Nova

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Radio Nova was renowned for many things including its powerful signal, slick formatting and innovative content. Another aspect which drew attention to the station and boosted its audience were the regular cash prizes which were occasionally very generous. On 30^th August 1983, Nova gave away £6,000 in cash, a fortune in the cash-strapped times, to Dolores Carney from Trim in Co. Meath. This recording was made from 1857-1930 that evening and features part of the ‘Dublin Today’ talk programme which of course gives prominence to the giveaway, replaying the moment when Dolores heard that she had won and her subsequent interview with Declan Meehan.

The presenter is Sybil Fennell, one of the best known newsreaders on Nova and interestingly, the recording gives an example of how Nova sometimes split its service between AM and FM in order to maximise its audience. On this occasion, ‘Dublin Today’ was broadcast on 828 kHz AM only, while 88 FM carried a rock music show. It’s hard to believe that this was just five months after Nova was raided and shut down by the authorities but by August 1983, Ireland’s biggest pirate station was back with a vengeance.

This recording is from the Skywave Tapes Collection. Skywave Radio International broadcast a shortwave station in the 1980s from Baldoyle in northeast Dublin.