1988 Archives - Page 12 of 22 - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

21st January 20216th August 2021

David Baker on Southside 95 FM

Southside 95 began broadcasting on 94.9 FM from Dún Laoghaire in south Co. Dublin on 7^th 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 28^th 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.

Following the launch of Chris Cary’s Radio Nova International by satellite from Surrey in England on 1^st May 1988, speculation grew that Irish stations would carry all or part of the service. The edition of Weekly Report from 22^nd 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 31^st December 1988.

This is a recording of David Baker on Southside 95 on 21^st 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.

16th January 20216th August 2021

Local kids take over Liberties Radio

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Liberties Local Community Radio (LLCR) was launched on 4^th April 1986 from Weaver’s Square in the heart of the Liberties area of inner-city Dublin. Broadcasting on 1035 kHz AM and originally 96.7 FM, it promised to be a community radio station for the Liberties. This never really happened but the station carved out its own niche and many high-profile broadcasters passed through its doors including Peter Madison, Teena Gates and Tony Allan. The station later broadcast on 104 and 107 FM and was known as Gold 104 for a time. It closed down on 20^th December 1988.

LLCR was owned by the late Sammy Prendergast who installed aerials for many of the pirates. The station was situated above a shop at 16 Weaver Square where local kids would often hang out. Security was lax and sometimes DJs didn’t show up or lock the door to the station. One evening, a bunch of kids got into the studio and took to the air for a few minutes until the phone rang and someone told them what was going on. Listen until the very end for the punchline!

The recording is undated but is from the second half of 1988. It is shared with kind permission of Kevin Branigan. Thanks also to Barry Dunne for passing it on to us.

13th January 20216th August 2021

KTOK from Donegal Town

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KTOK was one of a number of pirates broadcasting to Co. Donegal in the 1980s and located in the Castle Centre in Donegal Town. It was set up by Russ Padmore, former manager of North West Community Radio in Buncrana. He had also worked previously with ABC Radio in Waterford and indeed it was thanks to Italian transmitters imported by ABC that KTOK got on air. The pop music format proved popular in an area where Irish and country music was common on radio.

KTOK was first noted in the Anoraks UK Weekly Report on 24^th May 1987 on 1566 kHz with a relay of RTÉ Radio 2. On 19^th July Weekly Report said that the station had been picked up as far south as Sligo Town and according to DX Archive, the signal was also heard in the UK. Ex-Radio Caroline DJ Dave James was said to be among those involved. An Anoraks Ireland list from July 1987 listed KTOK on 1566 kHz and on 96, 98 and 103 FM. The station continued until 31^st December 1988 at 4pm when it was closed down by Russ Padmore.

This recording was made from 95.9 FM on 26^th August 1988 from 1847-1934 and features Russ Padmore followed by Laura Live. Thanks to John Breslin for the donation.

11th January 20216th August 2021

Hits and requests on Galway’s Coast 103

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Coast 103 (also Coast Hot Hits and Coast Power FM) was on the air for 18 months from mid-1987 until the end of 1988 and was one of Galway’s bigger pirate stations. Based on Prospect Hill just off Eyre Square, it was set up by Steve Marshall and the late Keith York. The station broadcast on 1566 kHz AM and on 103 and other FM frequencies. In April 1988 it merged with the Limerick station Hits 954 and became known as Coast Hot Hits. 954 kHz was used for a while and there was a chain of FM transmitters covering an area from Mayo to Limerick and even Cork City. In the summer of 1988 Coast had outside broadcasts from Galway and an official launch in Limerick City was planned.

This recording is of Brian Davis from 1956-2045 on 9th December 1988, with pop hits and plenty of requests. It was made from 102.5 FM and is kindly donated by John Breslin. There are requests from Galway and Clare and the voice of Tony Allan is heard on sweepers and ads. A promotion worth £200 in association with local shops is also heard.

10th January 20216th August 2021

East Coast Top 40 on BLB

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Bray Local Broadcasting (BLB) was one of the pioneers of community radio in Ireland, broadcasting for almost a decade from 1979 until the end of 1988. It was a leading member of the National Association of Community Broadcasters (NACB) which at its height involved eleven stations around the country all committed to a community model of radio inspired by AMARC principles.

BLB broadcast on 837 and then 828 kHz in its early days but the arrival of Radio Nova on high power in that part of the band in 1981 caused it to move down to 657 kHz. In later years the FM signal on 97.8 MHz got good coverage into Dublin from its high site in Bray. However, in March 1988 Breffni Regional Radio in Co. Cavan moved onto 657 kHz, prompting a complaint from BLB. Such was the world of unregulated pirate radio where competition for suitable frequencies was fierce.

This is an airchecked recording of part of the East Coast Top 40 from BLB in May 1988. The presenter is Timmy Hannigan and the show is produced by Elaine Keogh. Despite the co-channel interference from Breffni Radio underneath, there’s a tight and punchy feel to the programme and it is a good example of how professional BLB could sound. Among the voices heard on ads and promos are BLB manager Adrian Kennedy and afternoon presenter Daphne Mitchell who worked on other stations such as Radio Leinster. There’s also a promo for the ‘new look BLB’ giving a flavour of the variety of programming heard on this innovative station.

The East Coast Top 40 was compiled from record sales in shops from Dundalk to Wicklow and aired every Saturday from 1-4pm on BLB. Timmy Hannigan became a leading name in Irish DJ and electronic music culture using the name Mr Spring. Elaine Keogh went on to work in licensed local radio and is now a freelance journalist. Many of those involved in BLB worked in the short-lived licensed station Horizon Radio in Bray from 1989. By 1992, Horizon had merged with the south Wicklow station Easy 103. The station eventually became East Coast FM which holds the country licence today.

We thank Barry Dunne for his donation of this recording.