Anoraks Ireland Collection Archives - Page 44 of 48 - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

11th May 202226th January 2025

Easy listening on KLAS 98

KLAS 98 (later Class Radio) was an easy-listening music station serving Dublin from November 1986 until the end of 1988. Set up by Hugh Hardy, founder of the popular Dublin station Radio Carousel, KLAS stood out in a market dominated by chart music pirates vying for the youth audience. Aimed more at poaching listeners from RTÉ Radio 1 than Radio 2, KLAS broadcast a range of middle-of-the-road music and also featured jazz and classical. It was was first based in a garage behind Hugh Hardy’s home in the northeastern suburb of Sutton, but used the up-market Hume Street in the city centre as a postal address.

KLAS was later sold to television aerial salesman John May and rebranded as Class Radio, moving its operations to Harcourt Street in the city centre. Many high-profile presenters passed through its doors including David Baker, Pat Courtenay, Bryan Lambert, Chris Barry and Suzanne Duffy. Co-founder of Pirate.ie John Walsh was also a presenter and newsreader. In 1989, Class Radio was involved in an unsuccessful application for one of the Dublin licences.

Our recording is of the early days of KLAS when the station was based in Sutton. It was made from 98.5 FM on Tuesday, 28th November 1986 and features Nick Adams presenting his lunchtime show and reading news. Nick would later be heard on RTÉ. Part 1 above runs from 1117-1205 and part 2 below from 1301-1349. There are plenty of agency advertisements, a sign of the promise of KLAS in its early days.

Part 2 from 1301

This recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

8th May 20228th May 2022

Peter Madison and Alan Reid on South Coast Radio

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This is a recording of the very early days of South Coast Radio, the Cork super-pirate that broadcast from 1982-1984. It begins with the late Peter Madison with the final minutes of his Saturday oldies breakfast show on 6^th March 1982 from 1050 to 1100. Peter is followed by the late Alan Reid (Hendy Condon, known later on other stations as Henry Owens) from 1100-1135. South Coast was only on air for three days at this stage, having launched officially on 3^rd March 1982. This tape was made from 102.15 FM stereo, announcing 104. South Coast also broadcast on 1557 kHz AM, announcing 194 metres.

The recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated by Paul Davidson. Thanks to Lillian O’Donoghue for the photo.

6th May 20226th May 2022

Dublin religious station Hope FM

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Hope FM was a nominally religious station that broadcast to Dublin for the last few months of the pirate era at the end of 1988. It launched on Monday 12^th September 1988 on 104.2 FM and soon moved to 104.4.

Hope FM came about when its owners bought another station CAU FM that had broadcast from November 1987 until July 1988, aiming mostly at the southside of the city. Some of the DJs on CAU FM were also heard on Hope FM and the same equipment was used. Using the strapline ‘the newest voice of Dublin’, the AOR music format was interspersed with various short reflections about life, although not overtly religious.

This recording was made on Monday 21^st November and is an aircheck of morning and evening programming. It begins with Greg Edwards (aka Locky Butler, former owner of CAU FM and previous southside stations) on breakfast from before 9am and includes a competition, adverts and a promo for a daily job spot. The drivetime show from about 5.30pm is presented by an unidentified DJ and includes traffic news sponsored by a taxi company and a Christmas children’s toy appeal. News is read on the half-hour.

This recording was made originally by Kieran Murray and is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated by Paul Davidson.

27th April 202226th April 2022

Shannonside Community Radio from Limerick

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Shannonside Community Radio was a short-lived pirate broadcasting to Limerick city in 1987. Information about the station is scant but it appears that it started around February of that year and broadcast on 97.5 FM with an address at 37 Catherine Street in the city centre.

The first recording above is a series of airchecks and is undated, but estimated to be from March 1987. DJs include Leonard Scott, Mark Young and Johnny Reggae (John Dronay), who had previously worked on popular Limerick pirate Big L. Aspiring DJs are asked to send a demo tape to the station. The second recording below is from 2^nd March 1987 and begins with the Wonderworth sponsored programme, presented by Johnny Reggae. Other DJs are Mike Patton and Liz Dronay, who possibly had a connection with John.

Recording from 2nd March 1987

There was plenty of competition in the Limerick radio market in early 1987. The bigger stations were Sound Channel and City Centre Radio, both aimed at younger listeners, and Raidió Luimní which focused on speech content and music for older cohorts. Shannonside Community Radio does not feature in listings by Anoraks Ireland from July 1987 so it appears that it lasted only a few months. It is not to be confused with the similarly named Shannonside Local Radio, that broadcast from north Kerry from 1987-1988.

These recordings are from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

22nd April 202221st April 2022

‘Media Network’ on Radio Rainbow International

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‘Media Network’ was a weekly radio programme broadcast on the international service Radio Netherlands Worldwide from the early 1980s until 2000. Produced and presented by Jonathan Marks, it covered various aspects of communication and broadcasting. Radio Netherlands Worldwide stopped broadcasting in 2012 after its budgets were slashed.

This 1988 edition of ‘Media Network’ features the Irish pirate radio scene as it was about to be regulated by new broadcasting legislation. It includes interviews with Eddie Caffrey about his Louth stations Boyneside Radio and Radio Rainbow International, and with the late Peter Madison who was heard on various pirates in the 1980s. Radio Nova’s satellite broadcasts from the UK are also covered on the show.

This programme was recorded on 6^th November 1988 from Radio Rainbow International on 6240 kHz shortwave. Reception is fair to good, with some fading. The recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.