Anoraks Ireland Collection Archives - Page 34 of 44 - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

15th September 202218th September 2022

Gerard Roe on Radio Annabel (10 June 1984)

Radio Annabel began broadcasting in September 1983 and soon became the new home for Gerard Roe’s popular Free Radio Campaign (FRC) show. Facilities and coverage were better than at Radio Dublin Channel 2 and the FRC moved to a Sunday afternoon slot. In this recording from summer 1984, Gerard begins with a recap of news from the same week the previous year, which included the renowned £6,000 giveaway by Radio Nova. There’s also a recording of Andromeda Independent Radio from Manchester and a feature about the use of pirate radio for political reasons. Radio Sinn Féin is reported to be on air in advance of the European elections and Gerard notes previous radio activity by Republicans, including disruption to existing pirates. The show also covers the 20th anniversary of Manx Radio.

Our recording was made from 98.3 FM from 1405-1507 on Sunday, 10^th June 1984. It is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson. Listen here to Pirate.ie Podcast #10 featuring our interview with Gerard Roe about his memories of pirate radio, including the move from Radio Dublin to Radio Annabel.

14th September 202218th September 2022

Gerard Roe on Radio Dublin Channel 2 (21 September 1983)

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This recording of Gerard Roe’s Free Radio Campaign (FRC) show was made from Radio Dublin Channel 2 in the autumn of 1983. As usual, the FRC starts with news from the same week the previous year and there are archive recordings of KELO, Capitol Radio and Radio Dublin itself. A promo for Anoraks Ireland is voiced by Kieran Murray. Interestingly, Gerard refers to the newly launched Radio Annabel on 1035 kHz, which began regular programmes the previous weekend. He would soon move to Radio Annabel and bring his FRC to a bigger audience because of the superior signal to Channel 2.

The tape was made from 98.7 FM on 21^st September 1983 from 2000-2108. There is some bleedthrough from the main Radio Dublin transmitter and audio levels are variable. The recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson. Listen here to Pirate.ie Podcast #10 featuring our interview with Gerard Roe about his memories of pirate radio.

12th September 20222nd May 2024

Gerard Roe on Radio Dublin Channel 2 (18 May 1983)

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This recording of Gerard Roe’s Free Radio Campaign (FRC) show on Radio Dublin Channel 2 was made on one of the most dramatic days in Irish pirate radio history, 18^th May 1983. That morning, Radio Nova and KISS FM were raided and put off the air, and Sunshine Radio would be closed the following day. The rumour mill was in overdrive and as panic spread among pirate stations, many closed temporarily in case of further raids.

After starting the FRC with his customary look back at news from the same week the previous year, Gerard then notes that Channel 2 is off FM as a precaution. He plays recordings of coverage of the raid on Radio Nova as heard on RTÉ and Sunshine Radio and predicts that it was unlikely that Nova would be back for a few weeks. In, fact Nova returned the following morning on low power. The FRC also includes tapes of Big D on 14^th November 1980 about interference on the AM band in Dublin and of Declan Meehan on Sunshine Radio on 5^th July 1981.

The recording was made from 1152 kHz, announcing 269 metres, from 1958-2104. It is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson. Listen here to Pirate.ie Podcast #10 featuring our interview with Gerard Roe about his memories of pirate radio.

9th September 202212th August 2023

Gerard Roe on Radio Dublin Channel 2 (13 April 1983)

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This is another Free Radio Campaign (FRC) programme presented by Gerard Roe on Radio Dublin Channel 2 in April 1983. The FRC includes a recording of the launch of Channel 2 two years previously in April 1981. Gerard plays a tape of the Community Broadcasting Cooperative (CBC) announcing a summer schedule of temporary stations for Sandymount, Ringsend, Mount Merrion, Wicklow, Ashbourne, Rathcairn, Glasnevin and Donnybrook. He informs listeners that a senior source in Radio Leinster has said the station will close in a few weeks due to financial difficulties – that would prove to be a prescient warning. There’s also part of a BBC history of pop radio including offshore stations and a report from UK radio magazine Airspec News on the Irish scene. A listener to the shortwave relay in Belfast writes in to say that the 1983 World Radio and TV Handbook includes the Irish pirates for the first time.

Once again there is bleedthrough from Radio Dublin Channel 1, meaning that audio quality is poor in places. This tape was made from 1152 kHz, announced at 269 metres, from 2000-2108 on 13^th April 1983. It is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson. Listen here to Pirate.ie Podcast #10 featuring our interview with Gerard Roe about his memories of pirate radio.

7th September 20224th September 2022

Gerard Roe on Radio Dublin Channel 2 (6 April 1983)

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This edition of Gerard Roe’s Free Radio Campaign (FRC) show on Radio Dublin Channel 2 from 1983 includes a recording of Olwen Dixon of Bray Local Broadcasting (BLB) outlining the philosophy of community radio, as heard on Concord Community Radio in north Dublin. Both stations were strongly associated with the growing community radio movement and would later lead the National Association of Community Broadcasters (NACB). The show also features a recording of new station Finglas Community Radio. Gerard notes that Channel 2 has been off FM for the previous two weeks due to poor weather conditions but reminds listeners that the FRC would be repeated on Westside Radio International on shortwave on Sunday morning.

The tape was made on 6^th April 1983 from 2000-2108 from 1152 kHz, announced as 269 metres although that wavelength equates to 1116. Audio quality is poor in places due to bleedthrough from the main Radio Dublin channel. This recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

Listen here to Pirate.ie Podcast #10 featuring our interview with Gerard Roe about his memories of pirate radio.