More of the final day of Centre Radio, New Year’s Eve 1988

More of the final day of Centre Radio, New Year's Eve 1988
In the studio on December 31st, L-R: Brian Greene, Dave O’Flynn, Tom Campbell, John Walsh, Eamonn Roe.

Today we bring you more recordings of the final day of Centre Radio on 31st December 1988 as the airwaves fell silent to make way for new radio legislation. In its two years on air, Centre Radio was based in youth centres or clubs in Baldoyle and Bayside in northeast Dublin and trained about 80 young people in radio. On the final day, various DJs did an hour each and others dropped in to say their goodbyes. Despite serious sleep deprivation, Brian Greene kept it all going. Behind the scenes was Tom Berry (RIP), who had given the youthful station credibility and kept an eye on output since it moved to Bayside.

More of the final day of Centre Radio, New Year's Eve 1988
Tom Berry (RIP) who was involved in running Centre Radio when it moved to Bayside in 1987.

On 31st December, there was a special news bulletin every hour from 12 noon to 7pm with Richard Taylor (John Walsh) which included features about well-known pirates that were closing down or had already left the airwaves. The first recording above is an aircheck of the hour 1308-1408 with Stephen Davitt (Daragh O’Sullivan) and Andy Callaghan. News at 2pm features Capitol Radio which was also due to close at midnight and Sunshine Radio which switched off on 30th December. You can hear another recording of Daragh O’Sullivan here.

More of the final day of Centre Radio, New Year's Eve 1988
Pauline Reddin and Conal Lawlor on New Year’s Eve 1988.

The second recording below is of DJ Caroline (Pauline Reddin) from 1715-1815. News at 6pm features KLAS/Class Radio. Pauline was Brian’s girlfriend at the time and they would later get married. She presented ‘Music of the Century’, an easy listening show. Centre had a broad range of musical styles from easy listening to punk.

Breffni Regional Radio prepares to close down

Breffni Regional Radio prepares to close down
The Breffni Radio caravan from 1987 (photo courtesy of DX Archive).

Breffni Radio was a popular station broadcasting from Cavan from 1984 to 1988 with a number of regional offshoots. This edited station history is based on information kindly provided by Seán Brady.

Breffni Radio began broadcasting in December 1984 from a converted cottage at Drumloman near Kilnaleck in Co. Cavan. ‘Breffni’ is based on the Irish word Bréifne, a medieval Gaelic kingdom in north Leinster and north Connacht. The cottage consisted of one an on-air studio, an extensive record library and a production studio. The technical gear was basic, but served its purpose very well. Breffni broadcast a mix of Irish and American country music, from 7am to 1am. Engineer Gerry Reilly looked after the technical side of Breffni Radio and set up its transmission facilities. For many years the station broadcast with 1 kW output of power on 1170 kHz. In 1985, Breffni experimented with FM and planned to expand into the midlands with a service in Longford.

Breffni Regional Radio prepares to close down
Breffni Central Radio flyer (courtesy of Ian Biggar).

Breffni Central Radio took to the air on 10th June 1985 from Ballymahon Street in Longford on 1035 kHz. This new service was intended for reception in counties Longford, Roscommon, Galway and Mayo. The signal was in fact heard over a very wide area, extending from Galway to Cavan. Breffni Central Radio, like its sister station in Kilnaleck, broadcast a mix of Irish and American country music from 7am to 1am. An FM service was introduced on 17th February 1986 from a site on Arkill Mountain near the studio. On 10th March, Breffni introduced split programming, 1170 kHz carrying the usual Irish and American country music fare, with 96.6MHz broadcasting the pop music of Channel 2. Reception was excellent with the station being received as far away as Kildare but Channel 2 was shortlived due to poor demand from listeners. The FM transmitter was later increased to 1kW and covered a wide area.

Reflecting its music policy, Breffni held a number of successful country music awards. In 1986 alone there were two such galas featuring 20 Irish country music artists. There were also successful outside broadcasts from the Oldcastle Agricultural Show in Co. Meath.

Breffni Regional Radio prepares to close down
Breffni badge (courtesy of DX Archive).

In 1987, Breffni purchased a 5 kW AM transmitter from the US but sold it on to another local operator, believed to be KISS FM in Monaghan. Following ongoing coverage problems with 1170 kHz, in March 1988, Breffni moved to 657 kHz giving it stronger local coverage. Bray Local Broadcasting in Co. Wicklow made an official complaint as it was broadcasting on the same frequency. In June 1988 a sister station of Breffni, Galtee Radio, took to the airwaves in Limerick and broadcast the same diet of Irish and American country music. As a result of new broadcasting legislation, Breffni went off the air at midnight on 30th December 1988. The station applied unsuccessfully for a licence and returned for three weeks in November 1989 before being raided.

This recording was made from 95.6 FM from 1457-1544 on 27th December 1988, a few days before closedown. Gerry Boylan is on air and there are plenty of requests and advertising. Many of the ads are voiced by Seán Brady. FM reception is fair with some fading and it appears that this was recorded some distance from the transmitter. We thank John Breslin for the donation.

Final day of Centre Radio (Dublin), New Year’s Eve 1988

Final day of Centre Radio (Dublin), New Year's Eve 1988
Brian Greene in the original Centre Radio studio, Christmas 1986. Kim Wilde was popular with the DJs!

Today we begin a series of recordings to mark the closedown of Centre Radio on 31st December 1988. Centre was a youth radio station broadcasting from Baldoyle and Bayside in northeast Dublin during holidays from 19th December 1986 and each day from February 1988 until closedown. Although not widely known outside its small transmission area, Centre is important to this archive because both of the people behind Pirate.ie were involved as teenagers, Brian Greene as one of the station’s founders and John Walsh as a broadcaster.

Over the coming days, we’ll bring you various recordings from the final day of Centre Radio, one of only a handful of pirates still broadcasting in Dublin. This first clip is of Brian Greene (Bobby Gibbson) in the final hours of his overnight programme between 0500 and 0700 on the 31st. There’s a strong anorak feel as Brian talks about pirate history in Ireland, plays jingles from other stations and explains Centre’s plans for the rest of the day.

Final day of Centre Radio (Dublin), New Year's Eve 1988
Centre Radio flyer when the station was on 92.5 FM.

Listen here to Brian interview Radio Dublin on its last official day on air. Of course, Radio Dublin would defy the new legislation and continue after midnight on the 31st. Listen here to a bandscan presented by Brian and Eamonn Roe (Dave Evans) of the stations still on air on New Year’s Eve in Dublin.

Youth radio for northeast Dublin: Centre Radio (1986-88)

Youth radio for northeast Dublin: Centre Radio (1986-88)
Centre Radio, Christmas 1986. L-R behind: Mark McGuinness, Frank Decker. L-R front: John Walsh, Peter Walsh, Dónal Greene, Liam Ward.

Centre Radio may not be the most famous of pirates in the decade 1978-1988, but it was especially important for the founders of this archive. Brian Greene, known on air as Bobby Gibbson, was one of those who set up Centre Radio on 19th December 1986 at the Baldoyle Youth Club in Dublin 13. John Walsh was also involved and called himself Richard Taylor on air.

Youth radio for northeast Dublin: Centre Radio (1986-88)
Some of the original recordings of Centre Radio digitised for Pirate.ie.

The station broadcast during school holidays for the next year and by November 1987, it had teamed up with Bayside Youth Club to train up to 80 young people in radio. From February 1988 Centre was on the air every evening and all day at weekends from the Mid-Sutton Community Centre in Bayside, Dublin 13. The station broadcast a live concert in aid of charity on 30th December and broadcast through the night into its final day before the airwaves were silenced by the new broadcasting legislation.

Youth radio for northeast Dublin: Centre Radio (1986-88)
Ticket to a Centre Radio fundraising disco from 1986 (courtesy of Brian Greene).

Over the next few days we’ll bring you a selection from the final day of Centre Radio on 31st December 1988. But first, complete with plenty of reverb and clunky cassette edits, here’s a selection of jingles based on an Alfasound package and various station promos voiced by Brian and John. The final two refer to the fact that Centre carried the Radio Nova satellite service overnight.

‘Malcolm’s Problems’ on KISS FM Monaghan

'Malcolm's Problems' on KISS FM Monaghan
KISS FM sticker (courtesy of Ian Biggar).

‘Malcolm’s Problems’ was a comedy segment broadcast on the Monaghan super-pirate KISS FM which was on air for just eight months in 1988. It was a regular feature on the show presented by Owen Barry (aka Larkin), who was a familiar voice on stations in the northeast during the pirate era. Owen did all the voices and was co-producer of the inserts along with the late Roland Burke.

'Malcolm's Problems' on KISS FM Monaghan
Owen Larkin in a KISS FM promotional brochure (courtesy of Ian Biggar).

This is the final edition of ‘Malcolm’s Problems’ which was broadcast at 3pm on Christmas Day 1988, just a few days before KISS FM closed down. The station left the air at just after 6pm on 30th December. Despite its short existence, KISS FM shook up the staid radio landscape in Northern Ireland by beaming its powerful signal into Belfast and beyond.

We thank John Breslin for his donation of this recording.