A Nova envelope from 1982 (courtesy of DX Archive).
There’s plenty of Radio Nova material available online already and we don’t intend to compete with that. Here is a selection from our the Pirate.ie collection of airchecks of Radio Nova from 1984 to 1986. We also include two recordings from the Nova satellite service from the UK in 1988 which was relayed on FM in Dublin and used as an overnight service by some stations.
A Radio Nova holiday giveaway from 1985. The presenter is Dave Harvey.The famous Radio Nova £10 giveaway from 1985. These two examples are followed by the top of the hour ident and a weather forecast from John O’Hara.A promo for DJ Rick Dees of KIIS-FM in Los Angeles whose Weekly Top 40 was syndicated on Nova. This is from 1986.A Bill Mitchell ident for the Radio Nova satellite service from the UK, as relayed on 94.9 FM in Dublin in 1988.A top of the hour jingle and the IRN service followed by an aircheck from the Radio Nova satellite service as relayed on 94.9 FM in Dublin in 1988.
Listen to interviews with former Nova presenter Tom Hardy (RIP) here and newsreader Bryan Dobson here. You can hear historian Eddie Bohan describe the growth of Radio Nova here.
Q102 launched in 1985 with all the knowledge of Nova and Sunshine and a lot of investment, starting with a clean slate. See further information on DX Archive.
This was the imaging for Q102.
These files were donated to the archive on 1st January 2019. If you have similar tapes/carts/reels/files consider donating the audio to the archive here via donations@pirate.ie
Q102 promotional material (Alan MacSimoin collection).
Sometimes the ads ran for so long they became famous. The Red Corner Shop on Dorset Street advertised heavily on the Dublin pirates. This recording is from Radio Dublin in 1987.
The Red Corner Shop
Probably the most advertised shop on Dublin Pirate Radio in the 80s. With Windsor Car Auctions a close second. #radiopic.twitter.com/dqwKzNP6UT
Radio Dublin car sticker (courtesy of DX Archive).
Dusty’s Trail was a popular programme on Radio Dublin presented by Gerry Jones aimed at teenage listeners. Trailers, as they were called, wrote into the programme requesting music and even met up at organised gatherings every weekend at the band stand at Stephens Green (it wouldnt be allowed nowadays with GDPR and all the regulations of safety). In this recording from 1985, a listener sends in a copy of a response she received from Minister of State for Broadcasting Ted Nealon to her letter expressing concern that stations such as Radio Dublin would be shut down. Audio quality was never great on Radio Dublin but is worse on this recording due to a loud heterodyne. This is from our own collection.
Cover of the Sunshine Review from 1985 (courtesy of DX Archive).
The Dublin super-pirate Sunshine Radio published several editions of a magazine to keep in touch with its listeners. A form of multimedia in the pre-internet age, the first Sunshine Radio Review was published after it was raided and closed down temporarily in 1983, as a way of keeping in touch with its listeners. Here is a promo for another edition of the Review from 1985 to mark the station’s 5th birthday.
The original Sunshine Review from May 1983 (Alan MacSimoin collection).
