Dave Cunningham Archives - Page 3 of 3 - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

Northeast series: Boyneside Radio (1985) — A view from the Boyneside FM site at Tullyesker near Drogheda (photo courtesy of Eddie Caffrey).

By the mid-1980s, Boyneside had established itself as one of the main radio stations in Co. Louth and a successful regional station in its own right, with satellites in Kells, Co. Meath and on the border. Its main AM transmitter on 1305 kHz was heard far and wide throughout the northeast of Ireland and beyond and Boyneside was describing itself as the largest regional radio station in Ireland.

This recording is of the main Boyneside station in Drogheda from 0945-1030 on 19^th February 1985. Its features the end of Daire Nelson’s breakfast show, complete with comedy inserts, followed by news headlines at 10 o’clock. The late Dave C (Cunningham) then takes over for the mid-morning slot.

This recording is from the Skywave Tapes Collection. Skywave Radio International broadcast a shortwave station in the 1980s from Baldoyle in northeast Dublin.

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Northeast series: Boyneside Radio (1983) — Boyneside Radio sticker (courtesy of Ian Biggar/DX Archive)

Today we bring you two more recordings of Boyneside Radio in 1983. The first recording was made from 2003-2030 on 1^st July 1983 and features Áine Ní Ghuidhir on news followed by Neil O’Brien presenting the ‘Night Flight’ programme. There’s an ad for the popular Bubbles disco in Drogheda which regularly featured Boyneside DJs. Requests are received from north and south of the border, reflecting Boyneside’s large catchment area.

The second shorter recording below is the last part of a show presented by Dave C (Cunningham) from 1152-1200 on 28^th June 1983. Dave C was one of the pirate pioneers of the 1970s and involved in stations such as Radio Dublin and Alternative Radio Dublin (ARD). He was a director of Radio 257 and following its closure in 1982, he moved to Boyneside.

These recordings are from the Leon Tipler Tapes Collection, donated to us by Steve England. Both are from AM and sound as if they were recorded some distance from Drogheda, possibly on the west coast of the UK.