Original cassette label from Anoraks Ireland Collection.
Kingdom 102 broadcast from Killarney in Co. Kerry in 1988 at the end of the pirate era. This recording is of the final edition of the Golden Hour Show with PJ O’Neill. News on the hour is read by John Kiely. PJ was a competent presenter who had broadcast previously on earlier Killarney station WRKY but in his final show, he throws caution to the wind somewhat. John Kiely worked previously for Tralee station Kerry Local Radio. There are plenty of local festive advertisements and professional jingles and station idents. ‘The late, great Rob Orbison’ is compared by PJ to ‘the late, great Kingdom 102’, who says that the history of radio broadcasting in Ireland about to be remade.
Part 1 above runs from 1345-1430 and Part 2 below from 1440-1525. The tape was recorded from 102 FM on 23rd December 1988. The recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.
Part 2 from 1440.
It is not clear when exactly Kingdom 102 closed down, but it is thought to have continued until the end of the year in line with other pirates.
Sound Channel broadcast from Limerick City from November 1986 to December 1988 and quickly gained a reputation as a professional operation. A rebranding in summer 1988 introduced the tagline ‘Power 98’ but in this recording both names are used, which seems to dilute the station’s identity. The DJ is Stuart Clark, formerly of the Voice of Peace and ABC in Waterford, who notes that a listener is ‘taping for posterity’, a reference to the fact that the 1980s pirate era was coming to an end. There’s mention of the Radio Nova satellite service from midnight, which was carried by many pirate stations overnight in 1988. News is from Independent Radio News in the UK and a £500 shopping voucher is given away during the show. Sound Channel/Power 98 closed down on 30th December 1988 in line with new broadcasting legislation.
Original cassette label from Anoraks Ireland Collection.
Our tape was made from 98.7 FM on Thursday 20th December 1988. Part 1 above runs from 1412-1457 and Part 2 below is from 1459-1544.
Part 2 from 1459.
The recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.
Coast 103 was a popular Galway station broadcasting from the middle of 1987 until the end of 1988. Run by Keith York and Steve Marshall who had been involved with previous Galway stations Atlantic Sound and WLS, Coast later merged with Limerick station Hits 954 and eventually claimed to cover a large area from Galway to the outskirts of Cork City. This recording was made towards the end of Coast’s run and features Ger Sweeney’s upbeat breakfast show, sponsored by the Happy Spud. A promo refers to Coast being heard in Limerick, Tipperary, Kerry and Cork but all of the adverts are from Galway. Ger must have been in a rush to leave as there is continuous music at the end of his show before Shane Martin takes over.
Original cassette label from Anoraks Ireland Collection.
The recording was made from 102.95 FM on 8th November 1988 from 0836-0924. It is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.
Zee 103 logo from advertising card (courtesy Ian Biggar).
Zee 103 was a contemporary music station broadcasting from just south of the border in Omeath, Co. Louth from late 1986 until early 1989. It was one of several ‘border-blaster’ pirates from the 1980s, aiming its signal into Northern Ireland. Its origins were in another station, KISS FM, which began broadcasting from Craigavon in Co. Armagh in 1985 but moved south of the border to Omeath following a raid by the British authorities. Internal politics led to a delay in the station getting on air and resulted in a number staff of staff leaving to start their own operation, which would become KISS FM in Monaghan Town.
Zee 103 was based in Ardaghy House near Omeath (courtesy Ian Biggar).
Test transmissions using the name ‘Zee 103.3’ were made from Omeath in October 1986 and the station adjusted the frequency slightly to 103.25. Regular programming began on 11th November 1986 and continued until 31st December 1988 when the vast majority of Ireland’s pirate stations closed down in the light of legislation to legalise independent radio. Zee 103 ventured back on the air on 19th January 1989 but closed for good on 7th February as it became apparent that the authorities would crack down on pirates that were defying the new law.
This recording of Zee 103 is of Brendan Mee on an evening show between 1925-2027. Brendan was also heard on Galway pirates including WLS and offshore station Voice of Peace. The tape is undated but is estimated to be from April or May 1988. All adverts are for businesses north of the border, reflecting the fact that the station’s signal was aimed at mid-Ulster. Thanks to Brendan Mee for the donation and to Ian Biggar for background. Read a full station history here.
John Frawley pictured in his obituary in The Limerick Tribune (courtesy Liam Byrne).
John ‘the Man’ Frawley was among the best known and most popular of Ireland’s pirate radio presenters, running the unique station Raidió Luimní from Limerick City for ten years from 1978-1988. He began broadcasting with Radio Limerick Weekly Echo (RLWE) in 1978 but left after a few months to set up his own station in Catherine Street, later moving into a derelict building in Lower Shannon Street. There was a hole in the roof, which was said to be useful for John the Man’s weather forecasts! When the station moved to a tiny shed near the old City Theatre, John persuaded a Christian brother to allow him run a wire across Sexton Street to the tall school building which was an ideal spot for his aerial. After a few more moves, the station’s final premises was at the corner of Gerald Griffin Street and Williams Street. Raidió Luimní closed in the early hours of 24th December 1988, a week ahead of the deadline for the pirates to leave the airwaves.
AM and FM aerials at Sexton Street (Anoraks Ireland Collection).
This broadcast is from Monday 7th November 1988 towards the end of the station’s existence and features the inimitable style of John’s morning Snap, Crackle and Pop programme, including his own weather forecast based on what he could see from the studio. The Master Butcher downstairs gets a mention and John’s voice is heard on most of the adverts. There’s also the popular daily call to the ‘dressing gown brigade’ to get out of bed. Paul Davidson of Anoraks Ireland is in studio during the recording and John comments on the gap to be left by the pirates at the end of 1988. He also reads the death notices, including one of Raidió Luimní presenter Larry Foxy O’Brien, for whom the station had closed for a few days as a mark of respect. Death notices are commonplace on local radio today, but the tradition was started by Raidió Luimní.
William Street studios in 1986 with the Master Butcher downstairs (Anoraks Ireland Collection).
John the Man died prematurely in 1989, before the licensed stations got up and running. According to his obituary published in The Limerick Tribune on 17th June 1989, John ‘became an articulate and amusing radio personality in the pirate days. He portrayed the Limerick jargon and way of life to a tee … There will never be another John Frawley and the freedom that he and his presenters were allowed on pirate radio is now sadly a thing of the past’.
Original cassette label from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.
This recording was made from 103.05 FM. Part 1 above runs from 0907-0953 and part 2 below from 0954-1040.
Part 2 from 0953
Thanks to Eddie Bohan and Liam Byrne for assistance with images. The recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated by Paul Davidson.
