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Border series: Saturday afternoon on Radio Sligo

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Border series: Saturday afternoon on Radio Sligo
Radio Sligo t-shirt featuring station logo (courtesy Ian Biggar)

The history of pirate radio in Sligo is complicated by the existence of different stations of the same name during various periods, with no clear link to each other. The first period dates began in 1979 with two pirates based in the town – the first station calling itself Radio Sligo on 1166 kHz and the other called Radio City on 1300 kHz, which renamed itself Community Radio Sligo by 1980. Neither station was mentioned in the August/September 1980 edition of Sounds Alternative, so there may have been no pirates operating in the town at that time.

The second period is from autumn 1981 when a new Radio Sligo was logged on 1260 kHz, announcing 237 metres. This station featured in pirate radio listings in the Sunday Journal from late 1981 into 1982. The Danish Shortwave Clubs International Irish radio reports gave an address of 4 Castle Street, Sligo for this station. It continued to be logged in various sources up to 1984.

The third period is from 1985 with the arrival of another station called Radio Northwest, which later renamed itself Radio Sligo. According to a list published by Anoraks Ireland on 7th October 1985, this was also based at 4 Castle Street, so it may have been connected with the previous station of the same name, although probably not with the original Radio Sligo from 1979.

This short airchecked recording of Radio Sligo is from the second period and features an unidentified DJ and adverts for local businesses in Sligo. It was recorded from 1745-1805 on Saturday 29th January 1983 from 1260 kHz. The tape is from the Leon Tipler Collection, donated to us by Steve England. Thanks to Ian Biggar for additional background information.

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Border series: More oldies on Radio North

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Border series: More oldies on Radio North
An undated photo of Paul Barnett (RIP) at Radio North (courtesy Steven Lynch).

This is another recording of former Radio North manager the late Paul Barnett’s popular morning oldies show on Donegal pirate Radio North. On a sunny autumnal morning, Paul has an electic mix of oldies from across the decades and a quiz with a cash prize up for grabs. Reflecting changing technology, listeners can phone in their answers or send a text. The first correct answer comes from Islay in Scotland, underlining the wide coverage area achieved by Radio North on AM. There are the usual adverts for small businesses in Counties Derry and Antrim, also voiced by Paul.

The recording was made in Scotland on 30th October 2006 from 846 kHz AM between 0955-1040 and is courtesy of Ian Biggar.

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Border series: Paul Barnett plays oldies on Radio North

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Border series: Paul Barnett plays oldies on Radio North
Paul Barnett at the Radio North site in the 2010s (courtesy Steven Lynch).

This recording of Donegal pirate Radio North features former station manager Paul Burbank (Paul Barnett, RIP) with an edition of his popular daily oldies show from 2005. Copious adverts for small businesses in Counties Antrim and Derry are voiced by Paul who also reads news at the top of the hour.

The tape was made from 1050-1135 on Tuesday 15th February 2005 from 846 kHz AM and is donated by Ian Biggar.

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Border series: Oldies show on Radio North

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Border series: Oldies show on Radio North
Radio North flyer from 2001 including Paul’s oldies show (courtesy Ian Biggar).

This recording of Donegal pirate Radio North features an oldies show rather than the usual conutry and Irish music long associated with the station. Former station manager Paul Barnett (RIP) is at the helm on a bright but chilly New Year’s Eve, and the professional presentation is reminiscent of his early 1990s station WABC Gold, also based on the Inishowen peninsula. Adverts for Northern businesses only are voiced by Paul and the absence of advertising from Donegal is likely due to a clampdown in the Republic at the time on the pirates and on businesses buying commercials on them.

The recording was made in Ayrshire on 31st December 2001 from 846 kHz AM between 1000-1130 and is kindly donated by Ian Biggar. Audio quality is generally good with some interference, as would be expected during daytime DX reception at the time of year. 

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Border series: ‘the new Radio North’ from 1999

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Border series: 'the new Radio North' from 1999

After the shortlived change to Radio North 2000 in 1998, the Donegal pirate dumped the reference to the millennium and relaunched itself as ‘the new Radio North’ in 1999. Owner Paul Barnett (RIP) maintained the focus on American country music and the station developed a more polished sound and concentrated on FM (103.9 and 104.4), while running a parallel AM service for religious music and programming, Gospel 846.

This recording from summer 1999 gives a flavour of the new Radio North, complete with a slick advertising promo and a huge number of adverts from both sides of the border, many of them voiced by Paul Barnett. The DJ is Steve Marshall, who had been involved in previous Irish pirate stations in the 1980s. Among the straplines used are ‘the northwest’s fasting growing station’ and ‘the only station that’s increasing its audience’. There’s also a syndicated news service from IRN at the top of the hour.

The tape is courtesy of Ian Biggar and was made on Tuesday June 1st 1999 between 1405-1535 from 103.9 FM.