John Dolan (real name Tadhg Dolan) worked in the first Cork pirates CBC and CCLR in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He also did some shows on Sunshine Radio in Dublin as well as stints with RTÉ’s Cork Local Radio and licensed station Radio South (later Cork’s 96 FM).
This airchecked recording is of John’s first show on Sunshine Radio between 1955-2100 sometime in May 1981. Audio is fair as the recording was made by placing a cassette recorder up against a radio. John is introduced by the previous DJ, Tony Dixon (RIP) and the voice of Sunshine boss Robbie Robinson (RIP) is heard on some of the adverts. Broadcasting ends at 2100 with the iconic Desiderata song, which closed the station down each night.
This recording of Kandy Radio from Ballinasloe in east Galway was made on 27th December 1986 from 1510-1556. An unidentified DJ holds a phone-in competition but there are technical issues with the line and some callers are barely audible. Adverts feature small businesses from around east Galway, giving the station a distinctive local sound. The recording was made from 1386, a frequency that suffered congestion and there is co-channel interference. Kandy Radio also broadcast on 98.2 FM in Ballinasloe. It closed in April 1988.
This recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.
Kandy Radio broadcast from Ballinasloe in east Galway from 1986 to 1988. This recording was made on Monday 13th October 1986 from 1320-1405 from the station’s AM frequency, 1386 kHz. Mark White is on air until 1330 and is followed by Paul Davis for the afternoon show. News is read by Tara and adverts feature local businesses in east Galway, south Roscommon and west Offaly. The music is a mixture of middle-of-the-road, country and chart hits. There is co-channel interference due to congestion on the frequency, suggesting that the recording was made outside Kandy’s core area of east Galway.
This recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.
Kandy Radio broadcast from the town of Ballinasloe in east Galway from the middle of 1986 until spring 1988. Serving the town and its rural hinterland, Kandy sounded very different to the slicker Galway City stations that aped the ‘hot hits’ format of the super-pirates in other cities. Kandy Radio was initially logged by Anoraks Ireland on 1386 kHz AM and 98.2 FM and although manager John McGrath said it had a radius of 30 miles, he also reported reception reports from Norway and Sweden. An Anoraks Ireland survey from November 1987 recorded a move to 1404 kHz and both 98.5 and 100.9 FM. Hours of broadcasting were 0800-1900 and there were plans for programmes 24 hours a day. A log from April 1988 recorded Kandy on 103.5 FM only and the station closed down that month.
This recording of Kandy Radio was made from 1386 kHz from 1636-1721 on Saturday 11th October 1986, country fair day in Ballinasloe. Paul Davis is on air until 5pm and says that he will be gigging later that night in Hayden’s Hotel where Irish Eurovision star Johnny Logan will also be performing. News at 5pm is read by Tara and she is followed by Steve Jones with more requests and a mix of music. There are plenty of ads for small businesses in Ballinasloe and surrounding areas and the Top 30 is donated by a local record shop. Complete with uneven audio and technical glitches, this is the authentic sound of a small town radio station from the height of the pirate era.
Original cassette label from Anoraks Ireland Collection.
The recording may have been made some distance from Ballinasloe because it suffers from co-channel interference due to congestion on 1386 kHz by both Irish and British stations. It is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.
Royal County Radio broadcast from 1982 to 1984 from Navan in Co. Meath and was managed by the late Don Allen, a stalwart of the offshore and Irish pirate scene. The station launched on 8th October from the Trimgate Arcade in the centre of Navan, announcing 245 metres although the cassette label records the actual wavelength as 254 metres (1179 kHz although it is unlikely that the station was so close to Radio Dublin on 1188). Royal County Radio moved around the medium wave band before settling on 355 metres (846 kHz).
This recording is of the first test broadcasts of Royal County Radio and is undated but seems to be from more than one day, so we estimate 8th and possibly 9th October 1982. The voice of station manager Don Allen is heard on promos and a single advert and other DJs include Lynsey Shelbourne (Dolan), John Stevens and Fab Ollie. Audio levels are uneven and a heterodyne is heard at night, suggesting that the transmitter was slightly off channel. To the strains of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Don Allen closes down the station at midnight. RCR was in direct competition with Radio Carousel Navan and left the airwaves by the middle of 1984.
This recording was made by Kieran Murray and is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.
