Cork Archives - Page 9 of 18 - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

9th April 202212th April 2022

Nightline with Nick Richards on South Coast Radio

Nick Richards was born in London and worked in land-based UK pirates and the offshore Radio Caroline, only leaving the boat just before it sank on 20^th March 1980. After coming to Ireland, he worked at Southside Radio in Dublin before moving to Cork, doing his first show on South Coast on 16^th April 1982. Nick was later heard on the short-lived but highly successful KISS FM (1988), a ‘border blaster’ pirate based in Monaghan Town. These days he is a presenter on Cork’s C103.

This is a recording of Nick presenting his ‘Nightline’ show on South Coast from just after midnight on Wednesday 9^th June 1982. There’s no chance of falling asleep with plenty of loud rock in the first hour. Part 1 above runs from 0008-0053 and Part 2 below from 0053-0136.

Part 2 from 0053

With so much evening and overnight radio automated these days, it’s refreshing to hear a live DJ reading out requests from listeners. Some of the listeners on that night back in 1982 had impeccable pirate radio credentials: Barry and Ruth Johnson of Anoraks UK in Blackpool, Gary Hogg in Leeds, Stuart Clarke of ABC Radio in Tramore and Prince Terry of shortwave station Westside Radio in Dublin.

This recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated by Paul Davidson. You can find more material from the collection on Radiowaves and the Irish Pirate Radio Archive.

Listen here to an interview with Nick about his time at KISS FM in Monaghan.

8th April 202212th April 2022

Peter Madison on South Coast breakfast

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The late Peter Madison was a familiar voice on Irish pirate stations of the 1980s, including South Coast Radio in Cork, Boyneside Radio in Drogheda and Radio Nova, Magic 103 and Sunshine Radio in Dublin. In this recording, Peter can be heard presenting various editions of the South Coast breakfast show in early 1982 not long after the station’s launch.

Peter was a real professional and clearly put a lot of work into his shows. It’s all very up-beat and there are plenty of zany sound effects and corny jokes, some of which are a bit off-colour by the standards of today. Adverts are cut, but the voice of the other late great radio legend Tony Allan can be heard on some of them.

The first part of the recording dates from 13^th April but it is clear that a few editions of the show are included. Although the label refers to June, Peter Madison left South Coast in late April 1982 so this is a mistake. The recording was made from 104 FM in mono and audio quality is fair with some wobble in places. It is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson. You can find more material from the collection on Radiowaves and the Irish Pirate Radio Archive.

26th March 202227th March 2022

Keith York on South Coast Radio

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Originally from Yorkshire, the late Keith York (‘Yorkie’) worked with many Irish pirate stations on both the engineering and presentation side, including the first South Coast Radio in Cork. In this recording, he presents the drivetime show on South Coast from 5pm on Tuesday 13^th April 1982, a few weeks after the station’s launch. News on the hour is read by Mark Lawrence and a promo for the ‘jobline’ service is voiced by another late radio legend, Tony Allan. In the licensed era, Keith worked as chief engineer with Midlands 103 and was well known in the midlands. He died prematurely in 2010.

Part 1 of the recording above runs from 1659-1746 and part 2 below from 1746-1833.

Part 2 from 1746

Both were made from 104 FM in stereo and are from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

23rd March 202230th March 2025

Alan Reid on South Coast Radio

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Alan Reid (real name Henry Condon, known later on radio as Henry Owens), worked in Irish and British radio from the late 1970s until his untimely death in 2013. He began his radio career in the Cork Broadcasting Company (CBC) in 1978, moving to Cork City Local Radio (CCLR) in 1979 and Radio City in 1980 where he held the popular Afternoon Delight slot. After joining South Coast Radio in 1982, Henry presented evening and late-night shows before taking over the breakfast slot after the departure of Peter Madison. Following South Coast, he moved to super-pirates Radio Nova and Q102 in Dublin and later enjoyed a successful career in licensed radio in Ireland and the UK.

Henry is heard here on South Coast from 2204-2304 on Easter Monday, 12^th April 1982, recorded from 104 FM in stereo. The recording and photo were kindly donated by Lillian O’Donoghue.

11th March 202210th March 2022

Night-time on South Coast Radio

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This is a recording of two night-time DJs on South Coast Radio in its early days in 1982. Recorded from 104 FM on 13th April, it runs from 2130-2305 and features John Kenny for the first hour, followed by the late Alan Reid (Henry Condon). John began broadcasting with Dublin pirates including Radio City and Big D at the end of the 1970s before moving to Cork in 1982. He worked with Q102 in Dublin in the mid-1980s and has been a journalist and broadcaster with RTÉ Sport since 1987.

After South Coast, Henry moved on to Dublin super-pirates Radio Nova and Q102 later in the 1980s where he was known as Henry Owens. After the pirate era he worked for longwave giant Atlantic 252 and UK stations over the next decade before returning to Ireland in 2001 to set up Cork station Red FM. He later worked for Cool FM and Downtown Radio in Belfast and died in 2013 at the age of 52.

Thanks to Ian Biggar for this donation.