Sybil Fennell in the Nova newsroom during the raid of 1983 (courtesy Joe King).
This recording of Dublin pirate station Radio Nova was made in the winter of 1984, a day after a serious air accident involving a plane flying from Dublin to Paris. Eight passengers and the pilot were killed on 13th November 1984 when the light aircraft in which they were travelling crashed near Eastbourne on the southeast coast of England.
The recording of the 1400 Nova news bulletin was made from 738 kHz AM on 14th November, when the extent of the tragedy was apparent. The newsreader is Sybil Fennell and the tape was made in Kidderminster near Birmingham. It is from the Leon Tipler Collection, donated to us by Steve England.
Radio Sligo t-shirt featuring station logo (courtesy Ian Biggar)
The history of pirate radio in Sligo is complicated by the existence of different stations of the same name during various periods, with no clear link to each other. The first period dates began in 1979 with two pirates based in the town – the first station calling itself Radio Sligo on 1166 kHz and the other called Radio City on 1300 kHz, which renamed itself Community Radio Sligo by 1980. Neither station was mentioned in the August/September 1980 edition of Sounds Alternative, so there may have been no pirates operating in the town at that time.
The second period is from autumn 1981 when a new Radio Sligo was logged on 1260 kHz, announcing 237 metres. This station featured in pirate radio listings in the Sunday Journal from late 1981 into 1982. The Danish Shortwave Clubs International Irish radio reports gave an address of 4 Castle Street, Sligo for this station. It continued to be logged in various sources up to 1984.
The third period is from 1985 with the arrival of another station called Radio Northwest, which later renamed itself Radio Sligo. According to a list published by Anoraks Ireland on 7th October 1985, this was also based at 4 Castle Street, so it may have been connected with the previous station of the same name, although probably not with the original Radio Sligo from 1979.
This short airchecked recording of Radio Sligo is from the second period and features an unidentified DJ and adverts for local businesses in Sligo. It was recorded from 1745-1805 on Saturday 29th January 1983 from 1260 kHz. The tape is from the Leon Tipler Collection, donated to us by Steve England. Thanks to Ian Biggar for additional background information.
Susan James at Radio City in 1980 (courtesy Lilian O’Donoghue)
This recording features more of the launch broadcast of Cork pirate Radio City at the end of August 1980. Pete Andrews (O’Neill) is in the chair with music and a preview of the planned programmes with various DJs including Susan James, Seán Collins, Derry O’Callaghan, Dave Johnson, Steve Douglas, John Marner and Dave Powell. There’s a cryptic reference to DJs from rival station Capital Radio who are said to be outside but not invited to the launch. Full programming on Radio City began the following day.
Derry O’Callaghan at Radio City in 1981 (courtesy Lilian O’Donoghue)
This recording was made from 1512 kHz, announcing 199 metres between 1634-1711 on Sunday 31st August 1980 and is courtesy of Ken Baird. Audio quality is fair with variable levels.
Declan Meehan at Nova during the raid of 1983 (courtesy Joe King).
The big Dublin pirate Radio Nova made various attempts to break into the British market during its 5 years on air. This recording features part of the breakfast show presented by Declan Meehan and Bob Gallico (RIP) and was made by English radio enthusiast Leon Tipler, presumably at his home in Kidderminster near Birmingham. It includes plenty of fading as is typical for AM propagation at the time of day and year. Although the weather forecast includes northwest England and Nova attempted to gain listeners in that region, clearly the signal was not commercially viable further south at Tipler’s home.
The recording was made from 819 kHz AM on 8th October 1982 between 0648-0718 and is from the Leon Tipler Collection, donated to us by Steve England.
Karl Johnson (Dan Noonan) at Radio City in 1981 (courtesy Lilian O’Donoghue).
This recording is of the first Afternoon Delight show on Cork pirate Radio City, on its first full day on air in 1980. The show was presented each weekday by Karl Johnson (Dan Noonan), who also managed the station. Karl has no phone number for listeners but there are still plenty of requests, presumably handed in to the station at 27 Parnell Place in the city centre. There’s also a promo for the Guaranteed Irish programme on Tuesday and Thursday nights and a single live-read advert for an event in a local hotel.
The tape was made by Ken Baird from 1512 kHz, announcing 199 metres, between 1509-1555 on Monday 1st September 1980 and is kindly donated by Ian Biggar.
