Pop-up radio: Glasnevin North Community Radio

Pop-up radio: Glasnevin North Community Radio
The caravan in 1982 including Charlie Sheehan and David Baker in the door and Nails Mahoney to the right (photo courtesy of Dave Reddy).

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.

Pop-up radio: Glasnevin North Community Radio
Flyer from 1986 (courtesy of Ian Biggar).

This airchecked recording of Glasnevin North Community Radio was made between 1815-1850 on 27th 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.

Pop-up radio: Glasnevin North Community Radio
The Glasnevin North Community Radio AM transmitter (photo courtesy of Dave Reddy).

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.

Northeast series: Boyneside Radio (1983)

Northeast series: Boyneside Radio (1983)
Boyneside Radio sticker (courtesy of Ian Biggar/DX Archive)

Today we bring you two more recordings of Boyneside Radio in 1983. The first recording was made from 2003-2030 on 1st 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.

Northeast series: Boyneside Radio (1983)
Áine Ní Ghuidhir reading news on Boyneside Television (Sunday Tribune, 14.02.1982, courtesy of Ian Biggar).

The second shorter recording below is the last part of a show presented by Dave C (Cunningham) from 1152-1200 on 28th 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.

Full recording: Community Radio Fingal

Full recording: Community Radio Fingal
CRF car sticker (courtesy of DX Archive).

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 1st 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.

Full recording: Radio Nova

Full recording: Radio Nova
Sybil Fennell, Declan Meehan and Bob Gallico when Nova closed down officially in May 1983 (photo courtesy of Joe King).

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 30th 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.

Full recording: Radio Carlow

Full recording: Radio Carlow
The Radio Carlow mast in 1981, faintly visible in the distance (photo courtesy of Ian Biggar).

Radio Carlow began broadcasting in 1981 on 1413 kHz. A report dated 19th July 1981 by local radio enthusiast John Dowling gave its location as Ballyhide, Co. Carlow but Ballyhide is actually just across the border in Laois. He went on: ‘This station has been on the air three or four months from a rented house two miles from Carlow town. A 70 feet high mast is used to support the aerial. The day’s programmes run from 0630 to 1900 hours GMT’.

Full recording: Radio Carlow
Radio Carlow transmitter in 1981 (photo courtesy of Ian Biggar/DX Archive).

DX Archive visited Radio Carlow in 1981 as part of a tour of Ireland. They recorded the station and took the photos featured here. The recording above was made from 1454-1610 on 19th August 1981 and features John Dempsey on air. Radio Carlow added FM at a later stage and was on air until 1986. Thanks to Ian Biggar for donating the recording and for background information.

Full recording: Radio Carlow
Radio Carlow studio (photo courtesy of Ian Biggar).

Leon Tipler recorded the station from 104 FM as he passed through Carlow in September 1983, on his way to Kilkenny. A snippet of that recording is included in ‘Hello Again’, part 3 of his documentary The Irish Pirates. The original recording, including ads, links a jingle and music, was made on 4th February 1983 and can be heard below. Other than the date, we have no further information.

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