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Jingle package of KITS in Monaghan

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Jingle package of KITS in Monaghan
KITS car sticker (courtesy of DX Archive).

KITS was one of the many ‘border blasters’, stations which popped up along the border during the 1980s and beamed their signals north in the search for advertising and listeners. KITS went on air towards the era of the pirate era on 19th December 1987 and broadcast from Monaghan town on 837 kHz AM and 101 FM. The station closed on 31st December 1988 in line with new broadcasting legislation.

Although less powerful than its audacious neighbour KISS FM – which aimed unashamedly at the Belfast market – KITS had its own strong following on both sides of the border and marketed itself as ‘Ulster’s favourite music station’. Here is its jingle package from our own collection. Listen to an interview with Gareth O’Connor about KITS here.

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Aircheck: Radio Anita

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Aircheck: Radio Anita

Radio Anita was a hobby station operated by Frank Williams (aka Frank Decker) from Howth in north Co. Dublin and broadcast sporadically in the late 1980s, taking advantage of the height offered by its site on Howth Head. Frank was also involved in Centre Radio in Bayside and Baldoyle, a youth station that operated mostly during school holidays from 1986 to 1988.

Here’s a short aircheck of Radio Anita from 1987 or 1988 (we don’t have a precise date) recorded from 94.6 FM. This is from our own collection.

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Jingles: North Dublin Community Radio

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Jingles: North Dublin Community Radio
NDCR poster (courtesy of Dave Daly).

North Dublin Community Radio (NDCR) began broadcasting from Coolock in northeast Dublin in 1983 and was one of the leading community stations of the time, broadcasting on 1008 kHz AM and 100 FM. Many of those involved in NDCR went on to establish NEAR FM, the current licensed community station for northeast Dublin. Here’s a selection of NDCR jingles and promos from 1987 and 1988.

This station ident is from late 1988 when NDCR had dropped its AM service.
A jingle from 1988.
A station promo from 1988.

You can hear an interview with NDCR founder Jack Byrne here and with former presenter Declan Ralph here.

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Jingles: Q102 Imaging

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Jingles: Q102 Imaging
Q102 compliments slip (Alan MacSimoin collection).

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

Jingles: Q102 Imaging
Q102 promotional material (Alan MacSimoin collection).

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Heartbeat FM, the love station

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Heartbeat FM, the love station
Heartbeat sticker (courtesy of DX Archive).

Heartbeat FM was a popular love song station in Dublin broadcasting from 1986 until the end of 1988 on 95.5 FM. The station changed its name to Cara 95 for a few months in 1987 but reverted to Heartbeat. It was an example of one of the niche stations of the era and featured a format that would be copied in later years by Radio Dublin. Heartbeat returned as a pirate in the 1990s and was awarded a temporary licence in the 1990s.

These recordings of Heartbeat from the Pirate.ie collection from 30th August 1988 include links by John Keogh and Maurice Nevin (RIP), adverts, jingles and news.

Ads into 6pm news from 30.08.88. The newsreader is Maurice Nevin.
Ads and a jingle from 1988.
Aircheck and ads from 1988. The presenter is Maurice Nevin.
Heartbeat jingle from 1987.