Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive
Open Free Radio Archive
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Sometimes the ads ran for so long they became famous. The Red Corner Shop on Dorset Street advertised heavily on the Dublin pirates. This recording is from Radio Dublin in 1987.
The Red Corner Shop
— pirate.ie (@pirate_ie) October 1, 2018
Probably the most advertised shop on Dublin Pirate Radio in the 80s. With Windsor Car Auctions a close second. #radio pic.twitter.com/dqwKzNP6UT
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North Dublin Community Radio (NDCR) broadcast from 1982 to 1988 from the north Dublin suburb of Coolock and had a strong community broadcasting ethos. It first aired as Concord Community Radio before changing its name to NDCR. It could be heard on 1008 kHz AM and on 100 FM, abandoning medium wave at a later stage in common with many other stations. In this interview with Wireless on Flirt FM from May 2017, NDCR founder Jack Byrne talks about the early years of the station, the philosophy of community radio and the establishment of NDCR’s licensed successor, NEAR FM.
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Dusty’s Trail was a popular programme on Radio Dublin presented by Gerry Jones aimed at teenage listeners. Trailers, as they were called, wrote into the programme requesting music and even met up at organised gatherings every weekend at the band stand at Stephens Green (it wouldnt be allowed nowadays with GDPR and all the regulations of safety). In this recording from 1985, a listener sends in a copy of a response she received from Minister of State for Broadcasting Ted Nealon to her letter expressing concern that stations such as Radio Dublin would be shut down. Audio quality was never great on Radio Dublin but is worse on this recording due to a loud heterodyne. This is from our own collection.
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On October 18th 2018, Dave Daly spoke to Brian Greene about his pirate radio past, his love of radio as a medium and the stations he was involved with, in particular KELO in Swords, Co. Dublin. KELO went on air on March 16th 1981 and broadcast on 1233 kHz. Images are courtesy of Dave Daly.
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Co. Louth was an important county in Irish pirate radio history, with several successful commercial stations often beaming their signals across the border. In this panel discussion on the Louth pirates, Richard McCullen, Michael Hughes and Eddie Caffrey share their memories of the county’s lively pirate scene. Stations featured include Radio Dundalk, Radio Carousel and Boyneside Radio. The interviewer is John Walsh and the discussion was recorded on the 20th of October 2018 at a special event held in Dublin to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the closure of the pirates.