KTOK studio in 1988 with Russ Padmore in the blue shirt (photo courtesy of DX Archive).
KTOK broadcast from Donegal Town from mid-1987 until the end of the 1988, one of many stations from a county that has long boasted a pirate tradition. It was set up by Russ Padmore who had come from North West Community Radio in Buncrana. KTOK was first noted on 1566 kHz on 24th May 1987 in the Anoraks UK Weekly Report. By July that year, FM frequencies on 96, 98 and 103 MHz were also logged. Russ Padmore closed down KTOK on New Year’s Eve 1988 when the Irish airwaves fell largely silent. He now works for the BBC.
KTOK flyer (courtesy of Ian Biggar).
This recording was made from 95.9 FM (announcing 96FM for south Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim) on 26th August 1988 from 1934-2021 and features ‘Laura Live’ (Laura Hughes) with Weekend Sounds. Another transmitter on 99 FM covered north Donegal. There are ads from across central and south Donegal and from Sligo Town. Thanks to John Breslin for the donation.
Paul ‘Stoney’ Burke at WCR in 1988 (courtesy of Ken Baird, taken originally by Andy Carter).
West Coast Radio (WCR) was an FM-only station broadcasting from Ennis in Co. Clare for four years from 1984 until the end of 1988. It is listed first by DX Archive in March 1985 on 100 FM and changed frequency regularly during its existence. WCR coexisted with another Ennis station, Radio Clare, for a short period in 1985 but as was the case in many small Irish towns, there wasn’t enough advertising revenue to support two stations and there are no listings of Radio Clare from 1986 onwards.
West Coast Radio flyer from 1988 (courtesy of Ian Biggar).
This recording was made from 104.2 FM on Saturday 17th September 1988 from 1323-1411. Ollie Byrnes is on air until 2pm with a mix of music including plenty of soul and folk. At 2pm Marty G. takes over with a pop format and promises cross-channel soccer results. There are ads for local businesses in Ennis and one in Ennistymon 25 km away.
A current view of 13 Parnell Street, Ennis where WCR was based (photo by John Walsh).
We thank John Breslin for his donation of this recording.
Cover image from a 1981 KCR magazine (courtesy of DX Archive).
Kilkenny Community Radio (KCR) broadcast for almost a decade from May 1979 to December 1988 and was one of the eleven stations affiliated to the National Association of Community Broadcasters. It operated on 1386 kHz (217 metres) for many years but with several other pirates in the south of Ireland on the same frequency, co-channel interference was a problem. FM frequencies were 99.9 and later 97.4 MHz. A new AM rig bought in 1987 allowed KCR to move to 1395 kHz where it remained until it closed, along with the other pirates, on 31st December 1988.
KCR’s AM rig (courtesy of Bill Ebrill).
KCR was based on a community co-operative structure and was chaired in its early years by local priest Fr. Gerry Joyce. A programme committee of shareholders and listeners updated the schedule regularly and the station’s slogan was ‘By the people for the people’. A 1981 magazine For the Record produced by KCR gives a flavour of the philosophy and the wide range of programming, with plenty of input from local voluntary groups. The station was featured in Leon Tipler’s documentary ‘The Irish Pirates’ in 1983. KCR was licensed as Radio Kilkenny in 1989 and continued to broadcast until 2003 when it lost its licence after a reorganisation of the franchises in Counties Carlow and Kilkenny. The present Community Radio Kilkenny City has links with the original pirate station and the 40th anniversary of community radio in Kilkenny was celebrated in 2019.
This recording is of Pat Maher with an easy listening programme from 1414-1502 on Saturday 17th September 1988, during the station’s ‘last 100 days of broadcasting’, as announced by the presenter. It was made from 97.4 FM and was kindly donated by John Breslin.
Thanks to Kieran Murray who has edited jingles from Liberties Local Community Radio (LLCR) on Pirate.ie along with images of the station into a video on his YouTube channel. LLCR broadcast from the Liberties area of Dublin from April 1986 until the end of the 1988 and went through several incarnations and name changes. It was known variously as Liberty Radio, Liberty 104 and Gold 104. This jingle sweep contains many well-known voices such as Tony Allan and Gerry Moore.
Kieran worked at Liberty in 1987 and you can hear his memories here. For more recordings of this station in our archive, click here.
David Baker a few years previously on Radio Donnybrook (photo courtesy of Dave Reddy).
Southside 95 began broadcasting on 94.9 FM from Dún Laoghaire in south Co. Dublin on 7th December 1987 under the direction of Paul Vincent who had worked in various stations previously including Sunshine Radio. Many familiar names in the station’s early days included former KLAS DJs David Baker, Bryan Lambert and Dan O’Sullivan and Peter Madison who had worked with stations such as Sunshine Radio, Radio Nova, Magic 103 and Boyneside Radio. According to the Anoraks UK Weekly Report on 28th February 1988, Southside was facing financial problems and several of the staff had left or were about to do so. In March 1988, the station moved to new premises in the Dún Laoghaire Shopping Centre and continued to be mentioned in Anoraks Ireland and Anoraks UK lists.
Southside business card (courtesy of DX Archive)
Following the launch of Chris Cary’s Radio Nova International by satellite from Surrey in England on 1st May 1988, speculation grew that Irish stations would carry all or part of the service. The edition of Weekly Report from 22nd May contained the following: ‘It is thought that many Irish stations may invest in a satellite dish and relay Nova, inserting their own adverts in opt-out advert spaces, and leaving Nova’s national adverts in’.
Southside 95 began relaying Nova in July for substantial periods of the day and by the end of the month had ceased its own programming altogether. The ‘Nova Night Network’ service – overnight programming from the satellite station – was relayed by many Irish pirates in the latter part of 1988, including Coast 103 in Galway, ABC in Waterford and Liberty Radio and Centre Radio in Dublin. The relay was switched off at 1pm on 31st December 1988.
This is a recording of David Baker on Southside 95 on 21st January 1988 from 1345-1421. The style is a mixture of easy listening music and community announcements and there are references to other magazine and specialist programmes. The recording is courtesy of Robin Dee of Golden Radio International.
