Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive
Open Free Radio Archive
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Paul Vincent (aka Brendan Mee) was a DJ on the Galway pirate WLS and later did stints on the border pirate Zee 103 and the offshore station the Voice of Peace. This airchecked recording is of him on an undated show from July 1986, which includes a detailed events guide for Galway for the late summer and autumn. The clip below is of Brendan reading the WLS midday news bulletin on Thursday 19th June 1986.
Thanks for Brendan Mee for the donation.
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This recording of Galway pirate WLS dates from summer 1986, when the station was well established as the city’s main local broadcaster. Paul Vincent (aka Brendan Mee) presents a late-night show and adverts feature a mixture of local businesses and national companies. There’a also a promo for fellow DJ Richie O’Shea doing a local disco. The station identification at the top of the hour claims that the ‘West’s local station’ is growing with Galway.
The recording was made from 102.7 FM on 5th July 1986 from 2217-2303. There is some wobble in places due to the age of the cassette. Thanks to Brendan Mee for the donation.
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Steve Marshall was one of the founders of Galway station WLS (1985-1987), along with other ex-offshore DJs Keith York (RIP) and Don Stevens. WLS broadcast on 846 kHz AM and 104 FM, but switched to 102.7 in May 1985 after RTÉ alleged that it was interfering with television reception in Galway. By the summer of 1986, WLS was established as a popular and successful commercial station but it closed in unexplained circumstances in June 1987 after the departure of Don Stevens. Keith York and Steve Marshall went on to form Coast 103, which broadcast until the end of 1988.
This undated recording features Steve Marshall presenting a late night show sometime around October 1986. It was made from 102.7 FM from 2157-2233 and is courtesy of Brendan Mee.
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This recording of Galway pirate WLS was made towards the end of the station’s life in June 1987. It begins with the end of Steve Marshall’s show and a promo for the Solid Gold Sunday programme with Don Stevens. The top-of-the-hour ident mentions ‘VHF stereo’ only as AM had been discontinued at this time. Steve is followed by Richie O’Shea from midday who mentions a £1,000 giveaway. Commercials include local businesses and agency adverts. The sound is tight with good music and slick jingles but WLS would be gone within the next few weeks.
Made on 4th June 1987, part 1 above runs from 1150-1238 and part 2 below from 1238-1326. The tape was recorded from 96.4 FM in stereo with excellent audio quality.
This recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.
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By mid-1986, WLS was well-established as the leading pirate in Galway city. Professional on-air standards led to strong advertising revenue, as this recording from May of that year indicates. Commercial breaks feature local businesses including a private bus company and there are agency adverts for national brands. A station newsletter from late 1986/early 1987 claimed a market share of at least 54 percent of listeners in the city and included testimonials from a range of advertisers.
In this recording, Richie O’Shea takes over from Steve Marshall for his early evening show which includes an interview with Galway band Manic Depression. A top-of-the-hour promo for WLS mentions both AM and FM and describes it as the ‘West’s local station’.
Part 1 above is from 7th May 1986 from 1757-1842 and part 2 below from 1843-1928.
Both were made from 102.7 FM and are from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.