Anoraks Ireland Collection Archives - Page 9 of 54 - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

24th January 202524th January 2025

Wedding package giveaway on Class FM

Class 98.5 FM (formerly KLAS), was an easy-listening station broadcasting from Dublin from 1986-1988. Set up by the founder of Radio Carousel, Hugh Hardy (RIP), it was later sold to television aerials salesman John Maye. Based in the up-market Harcourt Street area for the last part of its existence, Class was popular with older listeners not catered for by the chart music played on many pirate stations.

This recording of Class was made in the station’s final month and begins with Bryan Lambert presenting an evening show sponsored by Clearvision. Music is a mixture of easy-listening and classical and there are news headlines at the top of the hour. News is followed by station owner John May to announce the winner of a wedding package worth £2,000 sponsored by various Dublin businesses. The voice of Hugh Browne (RIP), who had previously broadcast on pirate radio in Cork, is among those heard on adverts and there is also a promo for a special classical music show in aid of the National Children’s Hospital, presented by Nella Allen. Nella had previously presented classical shows on Radio Leinster (1981-1983), which bore certain similarities to Class in its offering to listeners.

The recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection and was made from 98.5 FM between 1747-1833 on Monday 5^th December 1988.

22nd January 202519th January 2025

Border series: Mid-morning show on WABC

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This recording of Donegal pirate WABC was made following the resumption of the twin services Gold and Hot Hits in autumn 1990. Declan Gill presents the mid-morning show on WABC Hot Hits with plenty of good tunes and requests from listeners, mostly in Co. Derry. There are adverts for businesses in Derry and Antrim, including an event in Belfast, and promos for local entertainment venues. The Beg, Steal or Borrow feature is a free small ads service and news on the hour is read by Krissi Carpenter.

The recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection and was made from 101.7 FM on 18^th October 1990 between 1112-1244.

19th January 202519th January 2025

Late-night on hobby station Q107

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Q107 was a part-time hobby pirate station broadcasting in Dublin in the 1980s. Information about the station is scant, but it seems that Q107 appeared sporadically between 1984 and 1988. In common with many other hobby stations, it spent a longer period on air towards the end of 1988 as the deadline for the closure of the pirates approached. Based in Ballyfermot in west Dublin, Q107’s owner was Ray Brennan, reportedly a nephew of the legendary pirate pioneer Don Moore (RIP), who provided studio gear for the hobby station. This recording was made in the final few weeks of 1988 and features Ray Brennan himself, using his on-air name Alan Byrnes. Callers to Q107 include Paul Davidson (Tony Donlon, RIP) of Anoraks Ireland, who says he has plans to record the closedown of every one of the 128 pirates still on air at the end of the year.

This recording was made from 107 FM from 2343-0029 on Sunday and Monday 11^th and 12^th December 1988 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection. Alan Byrnes closes down the station for the night and says it will return later that morning at 0700. Thanks to Ian Biggar for additional information.

15th January 20259th January 2025

Border series: afternoon show on Donegal station WABC

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Returning to 1990 and the story of Donegal pirate WABC, today’s recording is from the autumn of that year following the resumption of the twin services WABC Gold and WABC Hot Hits. Tina James is in the afternoon slot on the Hot Hits station with plenty of chart music interspersed by idents claiming to play 10,000 hits in a row. News on the hour is read by Declan Gill and adverts are heard for businesses in Derry and Antrim, including one from as far away as Belfast.

The tape is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection and was made between 1500-1705 on 17^th October 1990 from 101.7 FM.

12th January 202518th January 2025

Denis Murray on Liberty 104

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By 1988, Liberty 104 had attracted some high-profile Dublin broadcasters to its studios in the heart of the Liberties district and the station was gaining listeners. One experienced DJ who had previously been heard on Radio Nova and its offshoot KISS FM was Denis Murray, who in this recording presents a drivetime show. Music is a mixture of chart hits and classics and there is a listener competition based on identifying three songs. A promo for factory requests underlines how stations like Liberty 104 catered for this cohort of the population. Confusingly, Denis refers to 103 FM on a few occasions despite the 104 branding, although there was a lot of variation in the station name during its almost 3 years on air. News at the top of the hour is read by Michael Mahon, formerly of Energy 103.

The recording above was made from 1548-1721 on Monday 4^th April 1988 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson. The final section below runs from 1723-1809.

Final section from 1723-1809

Audio quality is good to fair with some hiss. It was recorded from 103.5 FM. Liberty 104 also broadcast on 103.9 FM as well as 1035 kHz AM at this time.