Afternoon show on Radio Carlow

Afternoon show on Radio Carlow
An undated photo of Radio Carlow (courtesy Bill Ebrill).

Radio Carlow broadcast on AM and later also on FM between 1981 and 1984. Local anorak John Dowling logged its first location as Ballyhide, which is just on the Laois side of the border with Carlow but it later moved into Carlow Town. A frequency listing from summer 1984 listed Radio Carlow on 1413 kHz AM (212 metres) and 103.8 FM. The station continued into 1986 but discontinued AM towards the end.

Afternoon show on Radio Carlow
Part of the original cassette label from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.

This is a short recording of Radio Carlow from Sunday 17th June 1984. Pat Scully is on air with an afternoon requests show. The tape runs from 1715-1800 and is airchecked. There is some wobble due to the degradation of the cassette after almost 40 years. The recording was made originally by Kieran Murray and is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

Full recording: Radio Carlow

Full recording: Radio Carlow
The Radio Carlow mast in 1981, faintly visible in the distance (photo courtesy of Ian Biggar).

Radio Carlow began broadcasting in 1981 on 1413 kHz. A report dated 19th July 1981 by local radio enthusiast John Dowling gave its location as Ballyhide, Co. Carlow but Ballyhide is actually just across the border in Laois. He went on: ‘This station has been on the air three or four months from a rented house two miles from Carlow town. A 70 feet high mast is used to support the aerial. The day’s programmes run from 0630 to 1900 hours GMT’.

Full recording: Radio Carlow
Radio Carlow transmitter in 1981 (photo courtesy of Ian Biggar/DX Archive).

DX Archive visited Radio Carlow in 1981 as part of a tour of Ireland. They recorded the station and took the photos featured here. The recording above was made from 1454-1610 on 19th August 1981 and features John Dempsey on air. Radio Carlow added FM at a later stage and was on air until 1986. Thanks to Ian Biggar for donating the recording and for background information.

Full recording: Radio Carlow
Radio Carlow studio (photo courtesy of Ian Biggar).

Leon Tipler recorded the station from 104 FM as he passed through Carlow in September 1983, on his way to Kilkenny. A snippet of that recording is included in ‘Hello Again’, part 3 of his documentary The Irish Pirates. The original recording, including ads, links a jingle and music, was made on 4th February 1983 and can be heard below. Other than the date, we have no further information.

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

Documentary: The Irish Pirates (Volume 5)

Documentary: The Irish Pirates (Volume 5)
Just some of the hundreds of cassettes in the Leon Tipler Collection (photo by Brian Greene)

Part 3 of Leon Tipler’s documentary ‘The Irish Pirates’ is entitled ‘Hello Again’, and features a return visit to Ireland in September 1983. In this episode, Volume 5 of the 8-part series, Tipler begins with a bandscan of Irish AM and FM from Aberystwyth on the west-Wales coast in August 1983. Returning to Dublin a month later, he comments on the improved sound of Treble TR before boarding a train to Kilkenny and Waterford. Kilkenny Community Radio and Suirside Radio are featured in depth and as usual there are several interesting bandscans.

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

Index to Volume 5

00:00 Irish bandscan from Aberystwyth August 1983
00:30 1983 raids
01:23 ERI
02:00 Radio West
04:10 South Coast Radio
06:00 FM DXing from Aberystwyth
07:00 Arklow Community Radio
08:31 Radio West
09:05 Kilkenny Community Radio
11:00 September 1983 visit
12:00 Treble TR
15:50 Radio Carlow
16:30 Visit to Kilkenny
17:15 Kilkenny Community Radio
27:45 Visit to KCR – community radio ethos
41:00 Visit to Waterford
42:05 WLR
42:50 Suirside Radio
43:25 ABC Tramore
46:00 Suirside Radio
48:30 Visit to Suirside Radio