1988 Archives - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

16th February 202616th February 2026

Border series: Evening shows on KISS FM Monaghan

KISS FM from Monaghan Town was a short-lived but highly successful and professional pirate station that broadcast for only 9 months in 1988. Although many border pirates relied on Northern listeners and advertisers, few were professional or powerful enough to make inroads into Belfast. Work began in 1987 on establishing a professional commercial station whose signal would be viable to capture the Belfast market. Test transmissions began at the end of that year and after technical problems, KISS FM eventually launched officially on 27^th March 1988 and began broadcasting full-time a few days later. Powerful signals on AM and FM reached to Belfast and beyond, making KISS FM a serious player in the Northern radio market during its short time on air.

This recording is of various evening shows from a Wednesday not long after KISS FM went on the air. First up is the end of the long afternoon shift with Owen Barry (Larkin), who is followed by John Friday (Lawrence John). Formatting is slick, with minimal talk, music sweeps and station jingles and liners. There’s also a promo for the US syndicated radio show, Gary Owens Music Weekend, and a small number of adverts for larger businesses and brands.

The recording was made from 103.7 between 1840-1928 on 6^th April 1988 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection. KISS FM also broadcast on 1008 kHz AM at this time.

9th February 20269th February 2026

Northeast series: Boyneside Radio North at Easter

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Boyneside Radio North was one of several satellite services of the main Drogheda station, aimed at listeners north of the border as far as Belfast. This was the most successful of the offshoot stations, broadcasting continuously from late summer 1982 to 31^st December 1988. The studios of Boyneside Radio North were located at Killeen, just south of the border, and AM and FM transmitters were situated on the border itself. There were local programmes from Killeen for long parts of the day, with the remainder of material relayed from Drogheda.

This recording of Boyneside Radio North was made on Easter Sunday 1988 and features an unidentified DJ with a mixture of pop and oldies. Requests are mostly from the Northern counties of Down and Armagh. Adverts feature businesses around the Newry area and an advertising promo contains Northern phone numbers. News at 1500 is read by Gerry Malone from Drogheda.

The tape is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection and was made from 1419-1508 on 3^rd April 1988 from the 106.1 FM transmitter located at Edentubber, just on the border. Boyneside Radio North also broadcast on 1233 kHz (244 metres) to Newry.

26th January 202618th January 2026

Another Radio West Anoraks’ Show as pirate closedowns approach

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This is another recording of one of the last episodes of the weekly Anoraks’ Show on midlands station Radio West in the final weeks of 1988. As usual station boss Shaun Coyne is at the helm, this week in the company of Kevin Palmer. The station, which was rebranded as West National Radio 3 in 1987, is winding down operations and has a few final public events planned. These include an outside broadcast from Tullamore, the last Country Jamboree from Galway and the Radio West ball. Shaun reports that pressure is coming on TDs about the impending closedown of the pirates, especially from promoters of Country and Western bands. The question of pirate relays of British television channels is also discussed.

The tape is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection and was made from Radio West’s Dublin relay on 97.3 FM from 1113-1129 on Sunday 4^th December 1988. The final Anoraks’ Show was aired on 18^th December and Radio West closed down for good on 30^th December 1988.

16th January 202618th January 2026

Radio West Anoraks’ Show as pirate closedowns approach

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The Anoraks Show every Sunday morning on Radio West was a must for radio fans in the final years of the heyday of the Irish pirates in the 1980s. This excerpt from one such show was recorded with little over a month left before the deadline of 31^st December 1988 for the pirates to close down in line with new broadcasting legislation.

Station boss Shaun Coyne is in studio with Willie Harte and discusses a campaign meeting in Dublin to save the pirates, supported by the Irish music industry. A number of schools in Co. Monaghan are said to have joined forces to oppose the closure of local station Big M and the influence of the pirates on the North is mentioned. There’s also a letter from Anoraks Ireland seeking assistance with recording the final 90 minutes of pirate stations on New Year’s Eve or sooner if necessary.

Since 1987, Radio West was known as West National Radio 3 and was claiming nationwide coverage. The recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection and was made on Sunday 27^th November 1988 from around 1115-1130 from the station’s Dublin relay on 97.3 FM. West National Radio 3 also broadcast on 702 kHz AM.

7th January 20261st December 2025

Friday afternoon on Ballincollig Community Radio

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Ballincollig Community Radio broadcast to the Cork suburb of Ballincollig for the latter part of 1988 up to the deadline for the pirate stations to go off the air. The station operated on FM only and in this recording from November 1988, station manager Margaret Mahon presents ballads, country and showbands, along with a listeners’ quiz. There is a reference to Paul Davidson of Anoraks Ireland, who had just visited the station.

The recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection and was made from 103.6 FM, announcing 104, between 1542-1613 on Friday, 4^th November 1988.