Border Archives - Page 8 of 18 - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

9th February 202429th January 2024

Border series: Sunday afternoon on KTOK

This recording of Donegal station KTOK was made on a Sunday afternoon in the winter of 1987. On air is Dave James, formerly of offshore station Radio Caroline, with a mix of chart music, requests, community notices, entertainment guide and the Bargain Basement buy and sell slot. There are plenty of adverts in the busy pre-Christmas period from the core listening area of Counties Donegal and Sligo. John Breslin reads the news, which is dominated by that morning’s IRA attack near the cenotaph in Enniskillen, in which 12 people were killed. As a border station, KTOK was of course also audible in Co. Fermanagh.

Part 1 of the recording above runs from 1431-1603 and Part 2 below from 1605-1738.

Part 2 of the Dave James show.

The tape was made on Sunday 8^th November 1987 from 103.9 FM. KTOK also broadcast on 96 FM and 1566 kHz AM. The recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

31st January 202422nd January 2024

Border series: Saturday sounds on KTOK

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This recording of Donegal Town station KTOK features Saturday programmes in the winter of 1987. Up first is Brian McLoughlin and he is followed by station owner Russ Padmore with the weekly northwest Top 40, sponsored by a local hifi company. There are plenty of adverts from around Donegal and Sligo, including a promo for a weekly KTOK club night in Glenties. News is read by John Breslin and there are also some local community announcements. The DJs announce the main channel of 96FM but in order to cover the hilly terrain, KTOK also broadcast on other FM frequencies and on AM.

KTOK broadcast from the middle of 1987 until the end of 1988, when it closed in line with new broadcasting legislation. The recording was made on Saturday 7^th November 1987 from 103.9 FM. Part 1 above runs from 1006-1140 and Part 2 below from 1317-1348.

Part 2 of Top 40.

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

24th January 202421st January 2024

Border series: mid-morning on Donegal’s KTOK

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KTOK was one of several stations broadcasting from Co. Donegal during the pirate era. It was established in Donegal Town in the summer of 1987 by Russ Padmore, who worked previously for North West Community Radio in Buncrana. KTOK broadcast on 1566 kHz AM and on 96, 98 and 103 MHz FM. As well as Donegal, it claimed to have listeners in Sligo and Leitrim as well as across the border in Derry, Fermanagh and Tyrone. The station closed down in line with new broadcasting legislation on New Year’s Eve 1988. Russ Padmore now works for the BBC.

This recording of KTOK was made on a Wednesday morning in the winter of 1987 and features Paul Cooke on air. There are plenty of adverts for businesses in Sligo and Donegal, many featuring the voice of Russ Padmore. Paul also presents a buy and sell section and local entertainment guide. News on the hour is read by John Breslin, with a half-hourly update by the DJ.

The tape was made from 96 FM from 1104-1247 on 4^th November 1987 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

18th December 202317th December 2023

Hits and requests on KITS from Monaghan

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KITS car sticker (Anoraks Ireland Collection).

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 20^th 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.

Hits and requests on KITS from Monaghan — 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 27^th April 1988 between 1812-1858. KITS also broadcast on 837 kHz AM and closed down permanently in the afternoon of 31^st December 1988. The tape is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

28th October 202328th October 2023

Paul Barnett (RIP) on WABC

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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.

This recording of WABC from 101.7 FM was made between 1019 and 1105 on 7^th July 1988 and features Paul on air, using the name Paul Bentley. It is courtesy of Ian Biggar.