Radio Leinster sticker (Anoraks Ireland Collection).
Radio Leinster was a talk and specialist station serving Dublin from 1981-1983. This recording of a mid-morning show from autumn 1981 features a charity fundraiser for the Palatine Fathers’ mission in Tanzania. Fr Mike Culloty was a Palatine priest who presented a religious programme every Sunday morning on the station. Encouraging listeners to phone in pledges are Mike Moran and Vinnie Connell. Commercial breaks include adverts for businesses around Dublin and after much excitement at the generous response to the appeal, Mike and Vinnie are followed by the lunchtime programme presented by station manager Justin James.
The recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection and was made on Saturday 26th September 1981 from 738 kHz, announcing 406 metres, between 1155-1327.
Radio Dublin letterhead from 1977 using the Ranelagh address (courtesy Ian Biggar).
This is a rare early recording of Radio Dublin (1966-2002) featuring the legendary Don Moore (RIP) on a test transmission in 1975. By this time, the Dublin pirate scene was quiet following a raid on Radio Empathy in 1974 and Radio Dublin had been off the air for a year. By 1975, pirate activity had shifted to shortwave, believed to be of less interest to the authorities than medium wave, and Dr Don was operating Radio Westside (later Westside Radio International). However, both he and Prince Terry (Roger Lloyd) were determined to put Radio Dublin back on medium wave and began testing with a new transmitter in October, covering the northside of the city on 30 watts. That summer, Capitol Radio had appeared on 1358 kHz (announcing 220 metres) and with the return of regular weekend broadcasts by Radio Dublin, the new activity ultimately paved the way for the rapid expansion of pirate radio in the late 1970s and 1980s.
In this short recording, Dr Don sends best wishes to Capitol Radio on 220 metres and also mentions that another shortwave pirate, Radio Valleri would return soon. Don signs off by saying that he will shortly be testing on his own shortwave station, Radio Westside. We estimate the date of this untimed recording to be Sunday 12th October 1985. It was made by Gary Hogg from 1183 kHz (off-channel, announcing 253 metres). Thanks to Ian Biggar for the donation.
Radio Sligo rate card from c1984 (Anoraks Ireland Collection)
This is an unusual recording that underlines the volatile and sometimes dramatic nature of pirate radio in Irish during the 1980s. It is of a test transmission by Radio Sligo from February 1984, just 10 days after the station was wrecked by a disgruntled former DJ who would go on to be jailed for the incident. The Sligo Champion of 17th February 1984 reported that the former DJ was charged with causing over £1,500 worth of damage to equipment and of stealing nearly £1,300 worth of property, including the FM transmitter. The damage and theft occurred after the intruder broke into the station on the night of 8th and 9th of February following a dispute over pay which had led him to leave Radio Sligo. The Sligo Champion reported on 23rd November that the former DJ was sentenced to 6 months’ imprisonment for the incident.
This strange recording contains references to vandals and bandits, which no doubt refer to the attack just over a week before, and it seems that this is the first time that Radio Sligo returned to the air after losing its equipment and FM transmitter. The address of 4, Castle Street and a telephone number are given out and the unidentified presenters announce that the station will return the following day. There were a number of pirates called Radio Sligo in the 1970s and 1980s but this version began in 1981 and continued to be logged until September 1984, so it seems that the station returned to the airwaves for a number of months after the attack.
The tape was made from 1260 kHz, announcing 237 metres, on 18th February 1984 and is courtesy of Ian Biggar.
Oliver McMahon (aka Big O) on Radio Carousel Northern Ireland c1986 (courtesy Eddie Caffrey).
Border Weekend Radio was a short-lived pirate broadcasting in January and February 1989 after the introduction of new legislation that was supposed to silence the unlicensed stations. Based in Carrickcarnon on the Louth/Armagh border, it was a reincarnation of Rainbow Radio that had broadcast from the same location since August 2nd 1987 until 31st December 1988. Border Weekend Radio was run by the same operators, Oliver McMahon (Big O) and Eugene Markey, both formerly of Boyneside Radio North.
The first log of Border Weekend Radio in the Anoraks UK Weekly Report was on 28th January 1989. It was noted that a new local radio station with some well-known voices heard previously on Rainbow Radio was heard the previous weekend on 1152 kHz AM and 98.5 FM, the former frequencies of Rainbow Radio. According to Weekly Report, Border Weekend Radio began broadcasting on the afternoon of Friday 20th January on AM only. FM followed on Saturday morning and programming continued until midnight on Sunday. There were no adverts but blocks of programming were sponsored by local businesses. The station was logged again on Saturday 4th February on 1152 kHz, using a Newry telephone number. However, in Weekly Report of 18th February 1989, it was noted that following the second raid on Radio Dublin on February 11th, both Border Weekend Radio and another Louth pirate Zee 103 seemed to have left the air for good. Border Weekend Radio would in fact return briefly as Summertime Sounds later in 1989.
This recording was made from 98.5 FM on 22nd January 1989 between 1030-1350, with the final section partially edited. First up is Jolly Ollie (Oliver McMahon) with country and Irish music, followed by Mr Wonderful with a more mixed bag. The sheer volume of requests and mentions of local businesses underline the ongoing demand for local radio that was unserved in the vacuum caused by the closure of the pirates. Thanks to Ian Biggar for the donation.
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.
