Anoraks Ireland Collection Archives - Page 16 of 44 - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

24th January 202421st January 2024

Border series: mid-morning on Donegal’s KTOK

KTOK was one of several stations broadcasting from Co. Donegal during the pirate era. It was established in Donegal Town in the summer of 1987 by Russ Padmore, who worked previously for North West Community Radio in Buncrana. KTOK broadcast on 1566 kHz AM and on 96, 98 and 103 MHz FM. As well as Donegal, it claimed to have listeners in Sligo and Leitrim as well as across the border in Derry, Fermanagh and Tyrone. The station closed down in line with new broadcasting legislation on New Year’s Eve 1988. Russ Padmore now works for the BBC.

This recording of KTOK was made on a Wednesday morning in the winter of 1987 and features Paul Cooke on air. There are plenty of adverts for businesses in Sligo and Donegal, many featuring the voice of Russ Padmore. Paul also presents a buy and sell section and local entertainment guide. News on the hour is read by John Breslin, with a half-hourly update by the DJ.

The tape was made from 96 FM from 1104-1247 on 4^th November 1987 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

22nd January 202412th January 2024

Sunday morning on Waterford Local Radio

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By the mid-1980s, Waterford Local Radio (WLR) was well established as one of the most popular and successful local stations in Ireland. This recording gives a flavour of Sunday programming on the station from the summer of 1986. Of note is the large number of adverts, including one for Ryanair flights from Waterford Airport to London. The first part features the Sunday breakfast show with Paul Power between 0800-0848. He is followed by Tony Weldon from 1012-1100. Community notices are read by Tommy O’Keeffe.

The tape was made from 88.9 FM on 13^th July 1986 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson. WLR also broadcast on 1197 kHz (252 metres) and stayed on air until the end of 1988.

19th January 20247th August 2024

Northeast series: Summer shows on Boyneside Radio

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This recording features excerpts from two shows on Boyneside Radio from Co. Louth in the summer of 1984. Boyneside was 6 years on the air at this stage and had grown into one of the largest regional radio stations in Ireland, with its main studios in Drogheda. The tape begins with an aircheck of Declan McGowan’s Saturday night show between 2000-2130 on 11^th August 1984. Requests are heard from both sides of the border along with plenty of adverts and a few clunky chopped-up jingles. Declan began presenting on Boyneside in 1982 when he was just 15 and he remained with the station until it closed at the end of 1988.

This is followed by an aircheck of Daire Nelson’s breakfast show from 0745-0930 on Monday 13^th August 1984. Some of the comments are a bit off by today’s standards but the recording also underlines Daire’s real talent as a broadcaster. News is read by Shane Harrison, who went off to work for BBC Northern Ireland. The tape was recorded from 98.1 FM by Kieran Murray and is part of the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection. Audio quality is generally very good but there is a buzz at the start, which may have been due to an issue with the recording device.

16th January 202415th January 2024

Northeast series: Radio Carousel Navan as heard in Donegal

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Radio Carousel Navan was one of four stations in the Carousel network at its height in the early 1980s. The original Dundalk operation was set up by the late Hugh Hardy in 1978 and later expanded to satellite stations for Drogheda (Co. Louth), Navan (Co. Meath) and Newry (Co. Armagh and Co. Down), with a short-lived experiment in Castleblayney (Co. Monaghan). The Navan station had a high-profile location in the middle of the town’s shopping centre. Hugh Hardy began winding down the Carousel network from late 1987 and the Navan station was the last to close in June 1988.

This recording of Radio Carousel Navan was made by from 1386 kHz by station manager Kieran Murray while on holidays in Carrick, Co. Donegal, about 170km to the northwest. As expected, the signal is weak but is nonetheless an interesting example of daytime groundwave reception on a busy pirate frequency, shared with Kilkenny Community Radio and North Cork Community Radio. The Carousel AM transmiter was situated in the Navan shopping centre and ran about 400 watts. On air is Tina Anderson (Christine Reilly) with a requests programme and the voices of Kieran Murray and another DJ Mike Ahern (Richard McCullen) are heard on adverts.

The tape was made from about 1100 on 3^rd July 1984 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

15th January 202412th January 2024

Sunday night oldies on Waterford Local Radio

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Early WLR logo (courtesy Colin Kennedy).

This recording is of John O’Shea with a Sunday night oldies show on the popular southeast station Waterford Local Radio (WLR), which broadcast from 1978-1988. The programme includes requests from listeners, lost and found notices, a competition and a featured artist. Plenty of adverts are aired for businesses in Waterford and surrounding towns. Sound quality is generally good but there is some variation in audio levels, especially during commercial breaks. John O’Shea continues to broadcast on the licensed WLR FM today. In this recording, he is followed by Conor Halpin with the Guilty but Insane show.

Sunday night oldies on Waterford Local Radio — Original cassette label from Anoraks Ireland Collection.

The tape was recorded from 99.9 FM between 2044 and 2216 on 8^th August 1982. WLR also broadcast on 88.8 FM and 1197 kHz (252 metres). The recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.