1984 Archives - Page 2 of 12 - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

15th November 202315th November 2023

Radio Nova as heard in English midlands

By the summer of 1984, Radio Nova was riding the crest of a wave. Having endured the storm of the RTÉ jamming, the station was now broadcasting a massive 50kW of power on AM, allowing it greater penetration of the northwest of Britain. After using various FM and AM frequencies to avoid the jamming, in May 1984 Nova switched to 738 kHz and 102.7 FM only, opened an advertising office in Liverpool and began including references to England in news, weather and traffic reports.

This recording was made in the English midlands near Birmingham, south of the area being targetted by Nova in the northwest of England, southern Scotland and the Isle of Man. There is plenty of co-channel interference from the Spanish broadcaster on the same frequency of 738 kHz and deep fading consistent with night-time propagation. Transmitter power would also have been turned down to 10kW at night to minimise interference. On air is Chris Barry, a well-known DJ from the pirate era and later licensed independent radio. News on the hour is read by another familiar Nova voice, Sybil Fennell.

The recording was made on 6^th July 1984 from 2137 to 2307 and is from the Leon Tipler Tapes Collection, donated to us by Steve England.

25th September 202323rd September 2023

Jason Maine on Radio Nova

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In the summer of 1984, things were looking up for Radio Nova following the end of RTÉ’s relentless jamming of the station for the early part of the year. A public backlash led to the jamming being called off but although the obstacles to reception of Nova had been removed, storm clouds were gathering due to a bitter industrial relations dispute with journalists laid off by Chris Cary.

This tape is of Jason Maine’s evening programme as heard in the English midlands around this time. It was recorded from the high-power transmitter on 738 kHz AM, which had recently become the only AM frequency following the end of the jamming. The weather forecast contains reference to the northwest of England as Nova was targetting that area at the time.

The recording features good skywave reception with fading and occasional co-channel interference from the Spanish station on the same frequency. It was made on Monday 28^th May 1984 from 2141-2211 and is from the Leon Tipler Tapes Collection, donated to us by Steve England.

4th September 202312th August 2023

Daytime programmes on Radio Dublin FM

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Radio Dublin, one of Ireland’s longest running pirate stations, split its services for a number of years to air specialist programmes such as niche music or current affairs. Radio Dublin Channel 2 was set up in April 1980 with this purpose but suffered from ongoing technical problems and lack of investment. One such issue was bleedthrough from the main AM transmitter and such interference can be heard clearly in this recording, to the extent that the programme becomes inaudible towards the end. The DJ is Gerry Marsden who also spent periods as Radio Dublin manager. The usual chart music is interspersed with adverts for local shops and a horoscopes section. Interestingly, ‘Radio Dublin FM’ and not ‘Channel 2’ is announced on air so it is not clear if this is a new service service or a rebranding of Channel 2. Another item of note is that no phone requests can be taken until the evening, a serious obstacle to building listener engagement.

The recording was made from 98.7 FM from 1109-1157on 7^th March 1984. It is from the Skywave Tapes Collection. Radio Skywave International was a 1980s shortwave station broadcasting from Baldoyle in northeast Dublin.

1st September 20231st September 2023

Midday Miscellany on Wonderland Radio

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Wonderland Radio was the community station for the large suburb of Tallaght in southwest Dublin, broadcasting from 1984 to the end of 1988. Its promotional material used the strapline ‘Tallaght Community Broadcasting’ and the station changed its name to Tallaght Community Radio in the summer of 1986. Wonderland/Tallaght Community Radio was a member of the National Association of Community Broadcasters that lobbied for the licensing of non-commercial radio stations throughout the decade. Many of those involved in the pirate station set up the licensed Tallaght FM (1999-2008).

This tape from 1984 features part of the Midday Miscellany programme. The unidentified presenter shares recipes, a community notebook and a segment on mental health. There are promos for a small adverts slot and the Tallaght People of the Year Awards. Audio quality is fair to poor in places with over-modulation of the signal and variable audio levels. Some splatter is heard also, presumably from the powerful Manx Radio signal on the the neighbouring 1368 kHz frequency, which would have been strong at the reception location.

The recording was made from 1359 kHz, announcing 220 metres, on 15^th August 1984 from 1215-1302. It is from the Skywaves Tapes Collection. Radio Skywave International was a 1980s shortwave station broadcasting from Baldoyle in northeast Dublin.

30th August 202312th August 2023

Saturday music and sports on NDCR

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North Dublin Community Radio (NDCR) was one of the leading community broadcasters in Dublin in the 1980s. Based in the northeastern suburb of Coolock, it was on the air from 1983 to 1988 and played a leading role in the National Association for Community Broadcasters that lobbied for the licensing of the non-commercial sector. Many of those involved in NDCR went on to establish NEAR FM, the current licensed community station for northeast Dublin.

This tape of NDCR from features part of a Saturday afternoon show with chart music, sports results and community notices. The DJ is unidentified. It was recorded from the slightly off-channel frequency of 890 kHz from 1625-1710 on 18^th February 1984. Splatter from the powerful BBC Radio Wales transmitter on 882 kHz can be heard during the broadcast. The recording is from the Skywaves Tapes Collection. Radio Skywave International was a 1980s shortwave station broadcasting from Baldoyle in northeast Dublin.