This is a recording of part of a bandscan of stations from Dublin as heard on Sunday, 23rd April 1978 in Drogheda, Co. Louth. It includes Davitt Kelly (RIP) presenting ‘The Soul Service’ on the Big D, followed by John Paul and part of the sponsored Chariot Inn programme. The recording ends with DJs Johnny Casey and Pat Stewart on Radio Dublin, who announce the address of 3, Sarsfield Road, Dublin 10 for letters.
Big D sticker (courtesy of DX Archive).
Big D was formed as a result of a staff mutiny at Radio Dublin in April 1978 and there was great rivalry between both stations. This bandscan, which also includes snippets of British stations heard on the east coast, gives a great sense of the AM radio scene at the time. We thank Eddie Caffrey for his donation.
Marty Whelan (2nd from left, back) in a feature about Radio 2 DJs, Sunday Press, 30.09.79.
This is a recording of Marty Hall (Marty Whelan) on the Dublin station Big D on 23rd April 1978. Along with many other DJs from stations such as Big D, Marty went on to become one of the stars of the new RTÉ Radio 2 in 1979. Apart from a brief spell at the failed national station Century Radio (1989-1991), he has spent most of his career with RTÉ and currently presents the breakfast programme on RTÉ Lyric FM.
Big D was formed as a result of a split in Radio Dublin in April 1978 when most staff walked out in a protest against station owner Eamonn Cooke, who was in Spain on holidays at the time. The ringleader was DJ James Dillon who acted following allegations that Cooke was involved in child abuse. This is a snippet from an interview with Dillon telling another pirate Capitol Radio about the split.
Thanks to Alan Russell of Capitol Radio for donating this recording from April 1978.
There is a long description of the reasons for the staff mutiny in Peter Mulryan’s book Radio Radio (1988). Cooke was convicted in 2002 for sexually abusing children, jailed in 2003 and again in 2007 and died in 2016 while on temporary release.
Marty Hall mentioned in an Evening Herald ad for a Big D disco on 26th April 1979.
Big D began broadcasting officially from Chapel Lane on April 10th 1978. Run by Dillon, it was backed financially by businessman Noel Kirwan who had been an advertiser on Radio Dublin. Big D broadcast around the clock and attracted many DJs who defected from ARD. Big D was raided on June 15th and equipment and transmitter taken but returned to the air in a short time. At the suggestion of ex-ARD staff, Big D Weekend was initiated as a niche service with Davitt Kelly in charge. Many DJs who would become big names were heard including Marty Whelan, Gerry Ryan, John Clarke, Dave Heffernan, Declan Meehan, Dave Fanning and Neil O’Shea.
Disaster struck Big D on 2nd January 1979 when the studios in Chapel Lane were burned to the ground. The station moved location and returned to the air within days. Many Big D and ARD DJs were poached by the new RTÉ Radio 2 that came on the air on 31st May 1979, but Big D soldiered on into the new decade before closing down in December 1981 in the face of stiff competition in the Dublin pirate radio market. It returned as an automated service in 1982 but closed down for good just before Christmas that year.
This airchecked recording begins at about 1245 and includes links, music and ads. Audio is low in places, particularly on the links and there is co-channel interference from other stations as the recording was made in Co. Louth. Many thanks to Eddie Caffrey for his donation of this rare recording.
ARD’s aerial at the Crofton Airport Hotel (photo courtesy of Noel Hiney).
Finding a good spot on the crowded AM band was a challenge for all pirates, especially before the development of FM in the 1980s. With no formal process to regulate frequencies and the presence of powerful signals from Britain and across Europe, ensuring that the intended audience heard you was not simple. There were turf wars over the best frequencies, with smaller stations sometimes bullied out by larger operators and banished to less than ideal positions on the AM band. Night-time interference was common and stations were sometimes drowned out after dark by big European operators.
ARD transmitter at the Crofton (photo courtesy of Noel Hiney).
ARD was one station that suffered issues with its AM spot after its temporary closure on December 31st 1979 before it was relaunched as Radio 257. Rival station Radio City jumped on ARD’s original frequency of 1161 kHz when it closed and the new Radio 257 had to settle for 1152 kHz, an inferior channel due to interference from local stations in the UK. At some point in 1980, ARD/Radio 257 moved to 1143 kHz but due to poor night-time reception, it switched to 1134 kHz after dark and back to 1143 in the morning. This airchecked recording was made in Scotland on 7th June 1981 and begins at 0752. It features Owen Conroy followed by Derek Jones, who is standing in for Uncle Bren (Brendan O’Carroll). The change of frequency is announced at 0800 and the receiver is retuned. Co-channel interference can be heard due to the distance from the transmitter.
Letter from ARD/Radio 257 explaining the transmission set-up (courtesy of Ian Biggar).
This recording is courtesy of Ken Baird. Thanks to Ian Biggar for background information and the copy of the letter.
ARD’s studio at Belvedere Place in 1978 (photo courtesy of Dave Reddy).
ARD (Alternative Radio Dublin) was an important station in the history of Irish pirate radio, introducing professionalism and diversity to the Dublin radio scene. It was set up by Mark Story, Declan Meehan and Davitt Kelly (RIP) and made its first test broadcast on July 31st 1976 on 217 metres. Rivalry grew between the station and the original Radio Dublin but in his book Radio Radio (1988), Peter Mulryan writes that ARD was separated from the rest of the herd by its professionalism. In 1977, Radio Dublin changed its format and began experimenting with round-the-clock broadcasting, upping the ante further. A split at Radio Dublin caused Dr. Don (Moore) to join ARD and the station moved to 1161 kHz (announced as 257 metres), right next to its rival on 253 metres. Although additional advertising revenue was coming to ARD by the end of 1977, a key boost for the station was commercial backing from businessman Bernard Llewellyn who ran an electrical shop in Phibsboro on Dublin’s northside. In January 1978, ARD moved into a Georgian building in Belvedere Place in the city centre and the station held an official launch on January 23rd.
Following the investment, ARD became more professional and introduced specialist programmes, including a respected news service. According to Peter Mulryan, these shows were expensive and Llewellyn reverted to a more music-based policy in the first half of 1978. Two of the original station founders, Davitt Kelly and Declan Meehan also left around this time. Other frequencies used by ARD were 1152, 1143 and 1134 kHz and the station was an early FM pioneer among the Dublin pirates. It closed down on New Year’s Eve 1979 only to return as Radio 257 on New Year’s Day 1980 from the Crofton Hotel in north Dublin. By autumn that year, the station had reverted to the original ARD name. ARD closed for good in mid-1982 in the face of increased competition in the Dublin radio market.
The AM transmitter on 1161 kHz at Belvedere Place (photo courtesy of Dave Reddy).
In addition to the station’s founders, many talented broadcasters were heard on ARD/Radio 257, including John Clarke, Ronan Collins, Gerry Ryan, Mike Moran, Tony Allan, Paul Vincent, Ian Dempsey, Dave Kelly, Cathy Cregan and David Baker. The station also employed journalists such as Gene Kerrigan and Pat Brennan, both of whom went on to become established names. This airchecked recording of ARD was made between 1215 and 1522 on 23rd April 1978 and features Dave C (Cunningham) and Paul Downey with a lunchtime requests show, followed by Arno St. Jude (Declan Meehan), who announces that the station has to close down temporarily due to technical issues. We thank Eddie Caffrey for the donation of this recording, which was made in Co. Louth.
KELO began broadcasting officially on 16th March 1981 from Swords in north Co. Dublin. This recording is of veteran broadcaster John Clarke from the following day, St. Patrick’s Day. John, who went on to work in Radio Nova and RTÉ, remembers his early involvement in KELO and believes the station’s achievements should be recognised:
‘Pirate radio from the mid-70s was forever evolving, with every station that appeared seeking to be better than the previous one. In the early incarnations, studios were in bedrooms and outhouses, with enthusiasts arriving with whatever records they had and playing them. Some were hobby DJs, others had a passion for music, others had the additional influences of the pirate ships of the 60s, in particular Radio Caroline North during the day and Radio Caroline South at night. In Ireland from 1975 pirate radio (‘unlicensed commercial’ is a better way to describe the stations) was evolving quickly, talent was beginning to shine through, technology was advancing and engineers were creative. In the early 80s the landscape was preparing for the super-pirates (Sunshine and Radio Nova), but in advance of their arrival a new station began broadcasting on 244 metres. It was once said a station is as good as its signal, so it’s worth mentioning Peter Gibney who built a great rig. By 1981 the standard of DJ had vastly improved and likeminded people gravitated to each other. And so it was with KELO. I found a set of jingles (from an American station) and these were used, giving the station a professional sound. All the DJs recruited had worked their way through many of the early pirates. Davitt Kelly, an early pioneer, did the recruiting. Brendan Lawless was the station owner and its studios were located in north Co. Dublin (Swords). The studio was well-equipped and of a high standard in its day’.
‘But what was different and unique about the station was the music: it was Top 40 in format with the addition of quality album tracks. It had a playlist of 40 songs but not necessarily 40 hits of the day, it was the station Top 40. Everyone was in unison in wanting to play these core songs. We all contributed to albums that would sound good on the station. And there was free choice as well, four an hour, but every jock used their own knowledge to mix and match what was played across any given programme. So, there was a quality control to the overall sound. The standard of jock was good, with a few showing signs of real radio talent, some of whom went on the have long careers in the industry. Another piece of the jigsaw at KELO was that the station played records in sweeps of twos and threes and kept the mindless DJ patter to a minimum. It was the humble beginnings of ‘clutter free’, which later became a benchmark for the super-pirate Radio Nova (Nova for 5 years became one of the most successful commercial radio operations in these isles). KELO rightly deserves a chapter in the radio history books, as it did something different and became successful’.
KELO transmitter (photo courtesy of DX Archive).
This recording of John Clarke begins at 1454 on 17th March 1981 and was recorded in Scotland by Ken Baird, hence the DX reception. Thanks to John and Ian Biggar for their assistance. Listen here to an interview with Dave Daly about his memories of KELO.
