Boyneside Radio Archives - Page 5 of 12 - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

12th May 202110th March 2024

Sunday morning bandscan from 1982

This is a bandscan of Dublin radio by British radio enthusiast Leon Tipler during a visit to Dublin in 1982. It was made from about 0800-0930 on the morning of Sunday 12^th September 1982 and features both AM and FM stations. The bandscan begins with Bryan Dobson reading the news on Radio Nova and is followed by the start of that day’s broadcasting on the brand new Nova offshoot KISS FM. Some of Nova’s main service on 88 FM is also heard. There are snippets of Boyneside Radio, Radio City and Radio Dublin, including a promo for the Lebanon Requests Show presented by DJ Angie. There’s also a short extract of ‘RTÉ Radio 1 on VHF’ and BBC Radio Scotland on FM as well as an unidentified English station on AM.

The recording concludes with part of a Christian programme on Radio Nova called ‘Good News Tracks’, featuring religious music and reflections. Nova experimented with such specialist programmes in the early days, and Tipler’s documentary refers to another religious show on the station.

This recording is from the Leon Tipler Tapes Collection, donated to us by Steve England.

10th May 20217th August 2021

The breakfast show on Boyneside Radio

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The history of Boyneside Radio has already been well-documented in our special Northeast Series and numerous full recordings, airchecks and jingles can be heard here. This newly-digitised recording is of the original tape of Boyneside made by British radio enthusiast Leon Tipler during a 1982 trip to Ireland and featured in his documentary ‘The Irish Pirates’.

The date is Monday 13^th September and Mike Cluskey is on the breakfast programme, standing in for Daire Nelson. The recording begins at 0818 and includes news headlines and plenty of ads, including one for units to let at Donaghy’s Mill in Drogheda, where Boyneside was based. 225 metres medium wave and 98 and 99 FM are announced.

There is interference towards the end of the recording, which was made in Dublin. This was the beginning of a period of growth for Boyneside after the station was reunited with the breakaway Community Radio Drogheda in the summer of 1982.

This recording is from the Leon Tipler Tapes Collection, donated to us by Steve England.

22nd November 202022nd November 2020

The Pirate.ie Podcast #2

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We’re delighted to announce episode #2 of the Pirate.ie podcast which explores themes covered in our growing archive of Irish pirate radio.

AM broadcasting, widely used by the pirates up to the end of the 1980s, allowed radio signals to travel far and wide beyond the borders of the state. Even small stations could be carried long distances thanks to the magic of night-time AM propagation but dozens of pirates along the border deliberately beamed their signals northwards. With 50 kW of power at its peak, the Dublin super-pirate Radio Nova aimed specifically at the northwest coast of Britain. Ireland also had many hobby shortwave pirates which could be heard thousands of miles from home.

In episode #2, John Walsh and Brian Greene explore how AM spillover, both accidental and deliberate, brought the Irish pirates to a bigger audience.

23rd October 20207th August 2021

Northeast series: Boyneside Radio jingle compilation

As part of our northeast series, we’re delighted to share a video of Boyneside Radio jingles and photos of the station over the years. This was compiled by Kieran Murray who spent many years working on stations in the northeast, including Boyneside. Kieran’s website of pirate memories was sorely missed when it went offline but is now hosted here on Pirate.ie.

For more recordings featuring Kieran, including our extended interview with him, click here.

21st October 20201st July 2026

Northeast series: Michael Gerrard of Boyneside Radio

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Michael Gerrard was a well-known voice on late-night Boyneside Radio in the station’s later years and gained a large following on his Radio Romance and Night-Time Music slots. Like so many pirate presenters, Michael joined Boyneside when just a teenager and in this interview with John Walsh from 2020, he shares his memories of the station with us. After 1989, Michael worked with the local licensed station LMFM until 2026.

We also thank Michael for sharing with us two of his final recordings in the run-up to the closedown of Boyneside on 31^th December 1988. The first is an aircheck of the final Night-Time Music show on 23^rd December.

The second features the final half-hour of Michael’s programme on Friday 30^th December 1988, the penultimate day of broadcasting. Some of this has been airchecked.

Both recordings include a farewell message for Boyneside listeners voiced by Eddie Caffrey.