Radio North car sticker from the 1990s (courtesy DX Archive).
By 1997, Radio North was still broadcasting from Inishowen in east Donegal, aiming its diet of country and Irish music at Northern listeners. This tape from summer that year begins with the final part of a show presented by Connie Cooper (RIP), followed by Big Bad Jon (Jon Knox) with more music despite problems with a temperamental CD player. There’s plenty of chat between Jon and another DJ in studio, ranging from hair dye to turkeys! Despite the passage of almost a decade since the new broadcasting legislation, there is no sign of a lack of advertising on Radio North. Copious adverts are heard, mostly from the North, as well as requests from both sides of the border.
The recording was made from 846 kHz AM on 18th May 1997 from 1850-2020 and is courtesy of Ian Biggar.
Pete Andrews with Lilian McCarthy (O’Donoghue) in 1980 (courtesy of Lilian).
A new Cork pirate, Radio City, was launched on 31st August 1980. This recording is of the first full day of the station and begins with station co-founder Pete Andrews (O’Neill) with his Spinning Disc lunchtime show. The show includes a repeat of part of the launch the previous day. News headlines are delayed by technical problems but it is clear that Radio City had big plans, including daily sponsored programmes. Pete is followed by Karl Johnson (Dan Noonan) with Afternoon Delight, including various features such as a quiz and entertainment diary. Next up is Noel Evans (Welch) with Home Run, including traffic news and racing reports. Co-author of the history of the Cork Pirates, The Jolly Roger, Noel had a day job with the Evening Echo newspaper but worked in the pirates on the side, first CBC and then Radio City. He also played music in several nightclubs like many pirate DJs. The final DJ is Paul Cassidy with part of an evening show.
Noel Evans (Welch) at Radio City in September 1980 (courtesy Lilian O’Donoghue).
This airchecked recording of Radio City was made from around 1200 on 1st September 1980 from 1512 kHz AM, announcing 199 metres. Only one advert is heard but the commercial breaks may have been edited out. Audio quality is fair to poor as the recording was made by placing a tape recorder beside a radio, rather than using a cassette recorder. Thanks to Lilian O’Donoghue for the donation.
Radio North poster from the early 1990s (courtesy DX Archive).
As was often the case in long-running pirate radio stations, Radio North has seen splits and offshoots in its almost 40 years on air. One such split led to rival station North Atlantic Radio, that went on air in November 1989 and continued for 2 years in direct competition with Radio North. It was not sustainable to keep two similar stations on air in the Inishowen peninsula and Radio North closed down sometime near the end of 1991, leaving North Atlantic unopposed. However, on 31st January 1994, North Atlantic reverted to the original Radio North name and has continued without significant break to the current day.
The recording of a lunchtime show was made in August 1994 and features DJ Wes with requests from both sides of the border and long commercial breaks for businesses in Donegal, Derry and Antrim. The familiar musical diet consists of country and Irish and gospel songs, including one sung by Wes himself and the Radio North anthem with the singing farmer John Watt. The show also includes the Radio North community noticeboard.
The tape was made from 846 kHz on 17th August 1994 between 1400 and 1500. Thanks to Ian Biggar for the donation.
Radio City was an early pioneering Cork station founded in the summer of 1980 by two young radio anoraks in the city, Pete O’Neill (Pete Andrews on air) and Dan Noonan (Carl Johnston on air). The station broadcast on 1512 kHz AM and soon added FM, an innovation at the time. It lasted until 1982, by which time the larger and more professional stations ERI and South Coast Radio were making inroads in Cork city and county.
Pete O’Neill at Radio City in 1980 (courtesy Lillian O’Donoghue).
Pete O’Neill recalls the background to the establishment of Radio City:
I had just collected my Leaving Certificate Examination results and Dan was waiting outside in his Hiace van ready to look for a suitable premises. I had worked with Dan at CBC and did many regular discos for him. The premises were located at 27 Parnell Place and consisted of three floors above a sweet shop, which we called Broadcasting House. The station originally broadcast on 199 metres medium wave with the horizontal aerial running over several nearby buildings. The transmitter was supplied and installed by Con McParland who had previously done work for another early Cork pirate CBC.
Radio City was the first pirate in cork to broadcast on FM stereo on 95.5 MHz. The transmitter was built by Waterford engineer Egidio Giani and was in a biscuit tin! The Radio City logo, featuring two cathedrals, City Hall and the Shandon bells, was designed by the late Henry Condon (Alan Reid, later known as Henry Owens on air). Henry was also resident voice-over artist for commercials and I used to have to bribe him with a few pints each time before he would agree to voice them!
The station had many DJs, some from the previous stations CBC, CCLR and others. Apart from ourselves, these included Noel Evans, Tony Allan (a Cork guy, not the other Tony Allan of Radio Nova etc), Susan James, Pat O’Rourke (Smurf), Alan Reid, Paul Cassidy, Derry O’Callaghan, Mark Malone and a host of weekend presenters including John Ashford, Luke Ward and Steve Douglas. The station broadcast news every hour and had a strong local flavour, popular with a Cork audience.
I also remember donating my entire record collection to create a music library for the station and running through the city on a Friday with sales rep Peter Maher to collect advertising checks. These needed to be lodged by 3pm in order to pay the DJs their weekly wage! I also purchased a giant helium balloon and attached an earth wire, filled it and let it go out the rooftop Velux window with Chris Tyler, our then engineer! I thought it would increase our medium wave signal and it did but the following morning I arrived to find the balloon hanging off the roof tiles and earth wire all over Parnell Place. We also brought out a calendar with a group photograph of the DJs and each month displayed a local advertiser’s name – I’m not sure if a copy still exists! The Arcadia on the Lower Road used to run monthly Ska Nights at the time and Luke Ward interviewed many of the visiting bands. I remember meeting members of The Beat and Selector at the studios. The station was briefly taken over one Sunday afternoon by Ógra Shinn Féin members and a recording was played on air before they left peacefully!
L-R: Eric Hansen (John Creedon) and Alan Reid (Henry Condon) at Radio City (courtesy Lillian O’Donoghue).
RTÉ broadcaster John Creedon was among the Radio City DJs, where he was known as Eric Hansen. In the history of Cork pirates, The Jolly Roger, another local DJ Ken Tobin said his first engagement with pirate radio was when he wrote to Eric Hansen in Radio City at the age of 15, saying that he was interested and would love to get involved. ‘I was invited in to the radio station and one of the first records I ever introduced on air – I was only at the station for about an hour – was The Nick Straker Band’s “A Walk in the Park”. It must have been around 1980. I knew then that it was all I wanted to do. Nothing else – I wanted to be part of radio. That guy Eric Hansen, funny enough, people might know him today as John Creedon’.
This is a recording of the launch of Radio City in 1980. It begins with continuous music for 17 minutes interspersed with short links announcing the 199 metres wavelength (1512 kHz). Singer Tony Stevens opens the station (and a bottle of celebratory champagne) and comments that it is up to RTÉ standards both in terms of premises and presenters. He is then interviewed by Pete Andrews, who says that Radio City aims to promote a lot of Irish music and more specialist tastes, rather than just contemporary chart hits. Recorded messages of support from other Irish singers are also aired and Pete is joined in studio later by other DJs including Karl Johnson (Dan Noonan), who was also Radio City’s managing director, and breakfast presenter Mike Cagney. Listeners are invited to write to the station at 27 Parnell Place in Cork.
The untimed recording was made on Sunday 31st August 1980 from 1512 kHz. Despite the passage of time and possible issues with transmission and recording equipment, audio quality is listenable. Thanks to Lilian O’Donoghue for the donation and to Ian Biggar for assistance with research.
Tom Hardy (RIP) at KISS FM in 1988 (courtesy DX Archive).
Despite being on air for only 9 months in 1988, KISS FM from Monaghan Town was one of the more successful and ambitious stations during the peak period of pirate radio in Ireland in the 1980s. Tests began at the end of 1987 but the start date was delayed by technical problems in spring 1988 and full tests did not begin until the end of March with a full schedule commencing on 1st April. High powered transmitters gave unparalleled coverage of Northern Ireland and FM reception was reliable even in parts of northern England and Scotland.
This recording of the early period of KISS FM features the experienced English DJ Tom Hardy (RIP), who had worked previously in offshore pirates and larger Dublin stations such as Sunshine Radio and Radio Nova. Adverts are heard for businesses in Armagh and Belfast but are not particularly plentiful, perhaps reflecting the fact that the station was little more than a month on air. There is the usual slick imaging with top-class jingles, idents and liners, news is read by Con McConville and Tom presents the regular Job Spot section. The KISS FM Ulster sailboard championships coming up that weekend in Antrim is an example of one of the many marketing events than the station excelled in during its short existence. The KISS FM closedown on 30th December 1988, also presented by Tom Hardy, was emotional and dramatic and underlined the station’s popularity on both sides of the border.
The tape was made on 9th May 1988 from 1008 kHz AM between 1000-1045 and 1138-1233. It was recorded in Ayrshire in western Scotland and is courtesy of Ian Biggar.
