Anoraks Ireland Collection Archives - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

2nd May 202530th March 2025

Sunday programmes on Capitol 98 FM

Capitol Radio on 98 FM broadcast for a few months in the summer of 1982 and had big plans to develop a classic rock format for Dublin, based on a popular American format that many pirates tried to emulate. Despite the involvement of some big names on the Dublin radio scene, the experiment failed due to financial problems and Capitol closed down in September.

This recording from shortly after the launch on Capitol begins with a snippet of a new afternoon magazine programme presented by David Paul, who is followed by Steve Patterson. Adverts are scarce but there is an advertising promo that sounds like it was voiced by George Long (Henry O’Donovan, RIP). The twice-daily Capitol Car Chase feature is a mystery to us!

This airchecked recording was made by Kieran Murray from on Sunday 18^th July 1982 from 98 FM and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.

29th April 202529th April 2025

Border series: Saturday evening show on Radio North

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

This recording of Donegal station Radio North is of a Saturday evening show from the autumn of 1990. DJ Neil Sweeney has plenty of inane chatter and plays pop/chart music and oldies for the first half-hour, followed by a tribute to American country singer Marty Robbins. The feature includes recordings of WIL FM in Nashville. There are plenty of adverts from Donegal, Derry and Antrim and an advertising promo claims that Radio North has coverage of 5 counties. Syndicated news headlines from ITN in London are broadcast at 1730 and 1800 and a PO box number in Ballymoney, Co. Antrim, is given out as the station address.

There was cut-throat competition between the Donegal pirates at this time, and Radio North was no doubt feeling the pressure from loss of advertising revenue to rival station North Atlantic Radio, set up by former Radio North DJs in November 1989. This recording was made from 98.8 FM on 22^nd September 1990 between 1729-1850 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.

28th April 202530th March 2025

Late-night rock show on Island Radio

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Island Radio was a short-lived pirate station broadcasting from the suburb of Dalkey in south Dublin in late 1981 and early 1982. Based in the Cliff Castle Hotel opposite Dalkey Island, the station had big plans to develop as an FM-only operation, novel for the time due to the dominance of AM in radio listening. However, one of its founders, Michael McMahon said that Island Radio closed after a few months due to opposition from local residents.

This recording is of a late-night rock show with Mick Taylor recorded early in 1982. It features plenty of long tracks and triple sets, including of early U2. Mick mentions the iconic McGonagle’s late-night venue in Dublin, which would later become the home of Capitol/Nitesky 96, a popular alternative/indie music pirate in the late 1980s. There are sung jingles in this recording but no adverts. Audio quality is fair with an unprocessed signal and some interference at times. The recording was made on Monday, 4^th January 1982 from 98.2 FM between 2220-2356 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.

25th April 202521st April 2025

Sunday on Radio Leinster up to closedown

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Radio Leinster was a specialist and talk station broadcasting to Dublin from 1981-1983. The diversity of its programming made it stand out from the dominance of chart music on many pirate stations. This short airchecked recording was made on a Sunday in summer 1982, at which point Radio Leinster had found its feet and was gaining advertisers and listeners. First up is a hoarse Justin James, who was also managing director, with an Elvis Presley show. This is followed by a snippet from the Sunday Scene programme with Paul Kavanagh later that evening. Paul would later to go on to present on Sunshine Radio, where he would become programme director. The recording ends with the closedown of the station for the night, in Irish and English, to the rousing strains of Mise Éire by Seán Ó Riada.

The tape was made from 93.2 FM on 27^th June 1982 by Kieran Murray, and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.

16th April 202515th April 2025

Border series: Breakfast show on Radio North

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Donegal station Radio North continued to broadcast into 1990 along with other pirates that risked the stiffer penalties associated with the new broadcasting legislation introduced a year previously. Although stations crept back onto the airwaves in various parts of the country, the border region was a hotspot for pirate activity due to the availability of plentiful advertising revenue from the North.

This recording of Radio North features a Monday breakfast show with Rockin’ Raymond from early 1990. The tape begans at the start of the day’s broadcasting with the station jingle and a popular country song about Radio North itself. Raymond plays a mixture of chart hits, oldies and country. Surprisingly there are no adverts in the first hour despite it being a peak listening period but a long commercial break is heard at 0900 featuring businesses across the border in Derry and Antrim.

The recording was made from 98.7 FM from 0800-0933 on Monday 29^th January 1990 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection. Radio North also broadcast on 97.7 FM and 846 kHz AM.