Monaghan has long been an important county for pirate radio, with various stations over the years taking advantage of proximity to the Northern market. One late arrival to the 1980s pirate scene was Hot Hits KITS from Monaghan Town, which began test tranmissions at the end of 1987. The Anoraks UK Weekly Report of 20th December noted non-stop music and idents on 100.9 FM and the following edition reported that live transmissions began during Christmas week. Professional PAMS jingles were to be produced and the station was described as one of Monaghan’s two ‘border blasters’ along with KISS FM which was conducting tests at that time.
Original cassette label from Anoraks Ireland Collection.
In this evening show with Simon Dee, adverts and requests are heard from both sides of the border. The recording was made from 100.9 FM (announced as 101) on 27th April 1988 between 1812-1858. KITS also broadcast on 837 kHz AM and closed down permanently in the afternoon of 31st December 1988. The tape is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.
Paul Barnett at WABC in 1990 (courtesy Ken Baird and Ian Biggar).
Paul Barnett (RIP) was involved in pirate radio in Donegal and since the late 1990s was the operator of the long-running AM station Radio North until his death in October 2023. Another station associated with Paul was WABC, which he launched on FM in September 1987. WABC left the airwaves along with the other pirates at the end of 1988 but returned in mid-1989 from the village of Greencastle. The signal was beamed across Northern Ireland and could also be heard in parts of Scotland. The station even had two separate channels for a time, WABC Hot Hits and WABC Gold. Paul left Donegal in 1991 to pursue radio interests in the UK but returned to Ireland in the late 1990s when he revived WABC for a time and took over operation of Radio North.
WABC sticker from the late 1980s (courtesy DX Archive).
This recording of WABC from 101.7 FM was made between 1019 and 1105 on 7th July 1988 and features Paul on air, using the name Paul Bentley. It is courtesy of Ian Biggar.
Paul pictured near the WABC studios in 1991 (courtesy DX Archive).
It is with great sadness that we learned today of the death of Paul Barnett, aka Paul Burbank or Paul Bentley following a battle with cancer. Paul was the operator of long-running AM pirate Radio North from Donegal and previously ran another station from that county, WABC. We thank Ian Biggar for writing this tribute for Pirate.ie.
I first got in contact with Paul in late 1987 when I heard his station, WABC on 107 FM back home in the west of Scotland. I received a friendly letter from Paul giving full details of his radio station that was broadcasting from north Donegal. Paul was from Mansfield in the English midlands and had moved with his Irish-born wife and family to set up a business in Coleraine. With Paul’s background in pirate radio it was a given that he would start a station and thus WABC was born, aiming its signal towards Coleraine and the Causeway coast.
WABC built up a strong audience over the next year, but like others had to close with the introduction of the broadcasting bill in Ireland on 31st December 1988. However, with the continuation of Radio North, Paul took the initiative and put WABC back on the air in mid June 1989. The station was now located in the family home in Greencastle.
We visited the station in May 1990 when Paul was running two formats, namely WABC Gold on 101.2 MHz and WABC Hot Hots on 101.5 MHz. It was always great to meet Paul as his enthusiam for radio was always infectious. I often was able to listen to both stations back at home on the west coast of Scotland.
In March 1991 I received a note from Paul saying that due to family commitments he and his family were returning to Mansfield. Paul then got involved with commercial radio with Gem AM in Nottingham and was a regular presenter. However, by the late 90s Paul was back in Donegal and running Radio North on 846 kHz and in time brought back WABC. However, his time was focused on Radio North which continues its format of country, oldies and religious programming on 846 kHz. Let’s hope Radio North can carry on and therefore continue Paul’s legacy.
RIP Paul and thank you for playing your significant part in the Irish era.
The recording is of the announcement by DJ Steven Lynch of Paul’s death on Radio North on Friday 27th October 2023. It is courtesy of Neil Sweeney.
Studio photo of Erneside from 1987, unidentified DJ (courtesy Andy Carter).
Erneside Community was one of several pirates broadcasting from Co. Cavan during the 1980s. It was a strong supporter of local country and western artists throughout its four years on air. Erneside began test transmissions in January 1985 and started full programming on 25th February, broadcasting on 1251 kHz (announcing 240 metres). A detailed report by Seán Brady of Cavan Community Radio in the Anoraks UK Weekly Report of 31st March 1985 described the ‘Cavan Radio Explosion’ and noted that Erneside broadcast from 8am to midnight, specialising mostly in Irish country and western music. Erneside also had an outside broadcast unit that had travelled to Counties Cavan, Leitrim and Fermanagh and carried community notices each day. The station later added FM and continued to broadcast until 30th December 1988.
This tape was recorded in the English midlands and is of DX quality, with plenty of deep fading and interference. No times were noted on the cassette, but it was made during the afternoon of 13th November 1985 as winter darkness fell. There are adverts from both sides of the border in the run-up to the busy Christmas period. The first DJ is Brian Gold and he is followed by Don Woods.
This recording is from the Leon Tipler Tapes Collection, donated to us by Steve England.
Radio Star Country banner from the station’s website.
This short recording of Monaghan station Radio Star Country from 1997 reflects the linedancing craze that was sweeping rural Ireland at the time, particularly among country music fans. Following the syndicated news from IRN in Britain, a promo airs for a linedancing competition sponsored by Radio Star Country in a pub in Armagh. The extract also includes adverts for local businesses and a station advertising promo. The presenter is Country Girl Claire, who continues to broadcast on Radio Star Country to this day.
The broadcast was recorded on the island of Sotra in western Norway and quality worses towards the end, reflecting the distance from the transmitter on the Irish border. The recording was made sometime in November 1997 between 0858-0910 from 981 kHz. It is kindly donated by Svenn Martinsen.
