Anoraks Ireland Collection Archives - Page 24 of 45 - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

12th May 202311th May 2023

Sunshine Radio breakfast with Pat Courtenay

Pat Courtenay was a familiar voice on many 1980s pirates including the Portmarnock-based station Sunshine Radio. This recording from summer 1985 features him on Sunshine’s breakfast show. It’s a Monday morning but Pat promises to drag listeners into the working week with the usual blend of music and chat. News at the top of the hour is read by Bob Powell (the headlines at half-past are cut). There are the customary agency adverts and commercials for businesses around Dublin and a promo for a £1,000 giveaway as part of the Sunshine Summer Lotto. Pat Courtenay continues to broadcast on radio in Dublin and Bob Powell went on to become a journalist with RTÉ.

The recording was made from 100.5 FM from 0657-0740 on 15^th July 1985 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

4th May 20231st August 2024

Final day of Radio Sandymount 1984

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Radio Sandymount was one of several pop-up community radio stations run by the Community Broadcasting Co-operative (CBC) in Dublin and surrounding counties between 1982 and 1988. Set up by Dave Reddy and Al O’Rourke, Radio Sandymount was the first such station and proved so popular that the idea was replicated in other parts of Dublin as well as Wicklow and Meath. The CBC stations coincided with local community festivals and were a regular part of the radio scene on the east coast during the 1980s. Another CBC station was Radio Snowflake, which came on air at Christmas.

Radio Sandymount broadcast each year during the Sandymount and Merrion Community Week in late May or early June. This recording features the last day of the station’s run in 1984 . On air is David Baker, a familiar voice on the CBC stations and on numerous other pirates throughout the decade. There are plenty of requests, competition winners and references to local talent competitions and dinner dances – local radio at its finest!

The recording was made from 103.3 FM on 28^th May 1984 between 1048-1135. Radio Sandymount also broadcast on 1116 kHz during the same period. The tape is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

1st May 202329th April 2023

Northeast series: first broadcast of Radio Rainbow International

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Radio Rainbow International was a high-powered shortwave pirate broadcasting on Sundays from Co. Louth between the summer of 1985 and the end of 1988. It was operated by Boyneside Radio DJ and engineer Eddie Caffrey and several other Boyneside presenters were also involved. In an interview with Pirate.ie, one such DJ, Kieran Murray, described Radio Rainbow as the ‘Radio Nova of shortwave’, such was its high power output in contrast with other Irish shortwave pirates of the era. Using the tagline ‘broadcasting from the east coast of Ireland’, Radio Rainbow put out about 1 kW of power on 6240 kHz in the 48-metre band. The station received reception reports from all over Europe during its three years on air.

Northeast series: first broadcast of Radio Rainbow International — Original cassette label from Anoraks Ireland Collection.

This is a studio recording of the first broadcast of Radio Rainbow International on Sunday 28^th July 1985. The DJ is Jim Agnew on his first shortwave broadcast. There are no times and the tape is airchecked. It was made by Kieran Murray and is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated by Paul Davidson.

24th April 202322nd April 2023

Radio Carousel reports on Bisto Soapbox Derby

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Soapbox derby competitions began in the United States in the 1930s and were revived in Ireland in the 1980s where they are often known as go-karting. The All-Ireland Soapbox Derby was held in Dunleer, Co. Louth in 1982 and sponsored by gravy company Bisto. Dundalk pirate station Radio Carousel was at the event and broadcast a special half-hour programme in the Carousel Tonight slot on Monday 16^th August. Presented by Kieran Murray, the programme consisted of interviews with organisers and participants at the event, including with local TD Bernard Markey and a representative of Bisto. As the pirates gained listeners during the 1980s, political parties attempted to prevent elected representatives from being interviewed on the pirates but politicians knew that they would gain publicity if heard on their local station.

This is a studio copy of the programme provided by Kieran Murray. It is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson. Watch an RTÉ television report on the same event here.

21st April 202317th April 2023

Saturday shows on Smile FM

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Smile FM began broadcasting from the suburb of Ballyfermot in west Dublin in January 1987 and continued until the pirate closedowns at the end of 1988. It was set up by former Radio Dublin manager Brian Paige and first noted around 94 FM by Anoraks UK in its Weekly Report of 11^th January 1987. The edition of the following week reported that an easy listening format was planned originally but that Smile FM had opted for Top 40 music instead.

In this recording from about six weeks before the closedown of Smile FM, we hear airchecks of Saturday morning and evening shows. First up is Rob Davis from 10am with chart hits, adverts for small local shops and businesses and a community noticeboard. An announcement advises about the impending closedown of pirate radio and invites listeners to express their support for Smile FM. A promo is aired for a Sunday Anoraks Programme about the radio scene, a feature on various pirate stations of the era. Links from the drivetime show with Graham Turner are heard towards the end of the recording, featuring a more easy listening format. Station idents are voiced by Seán Ashmore.

This recording was made on 12^th November 1988 from 94.3 FM by Kieran Murray, who is mentioned by the DJs. It is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.