Tag: David Baker

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Pop-up community radio: Radio Sandymount

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Pop-up community radio: Radio Sandymount
The late Tony Boylan pictured in the Evening Herald, 18th August 1986.

Radio Sandymount was the first of several pop-up community radio stations run by the Community Broadcasting Co-operative (CBC) in different parts of Dublin between 1982 and 1988. Set up by Dave Reddy and Al O’Rourke, it and other stations such as Radio Donnybrook and Radio Ringsend were regular summer features on the Dublin airwaves during that period. In an interview with Pirate.ie, Dave said that the first such station was in Sandymount in 1982 but proved so popular that other community groups wanted their own version.

Radio Sandymount broadcast to coincide with the Sandymount and Merrion Community Week in late May or early June. This recording is of a test transmission on 29th April 1984 made from 270 metres/1116 kHz from 1135-1220. Among the presenters mentioned are David Baker, a well-known name on the Dublin pirate scene, John Murray and Charlie Sheehan who was a postman in Sandymount.

Pop-up community radio: Radio Sandymount
Charlie Sheehan in the Radio Sandymount studio (photo courtesy of Dave Reddy).

The recording also includes part of a simulcast of the 78s Show on Radio Galaxy, presented by the veteran pirate broadcaster Tony Boylan and his wife Fran. In 1945, Tony had set up one of Ireland’s earliest pirate stations, the Killeen Home Service, from his bedroom and continued to experiment with transmitters after the war. In 1955, he set up Radio Galaxy and specialised in playing his large collection of 78s records every Sunday for a few hours.

The 78s Show was very different to most of what was offered by pirate radio at the time and Tony and Fran’s engaging style and deep passion for the music earned them a loyal following. In 1986, they retired to the Isle of Man and became involved in setting up community radio there. Fran Boylan died in 2007 and Tony passed away in 2010.

Peter Mulryan paid tribute to Tony Boylan in his 1988 book, Radio Radio: ‘Tony Boylan’s pioneering broadcasts were amazing feats of personal and electronic achievement, and they were well ahead of their day. While Tony proved that pirate radio was technically possible, it would take younger men another ten years to prove its economic feasibility, and they were still at school’. Broadcast historian Eddie Bohan inducted Tony into his Alternative Irish Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2015.

Pop-up community radio: Radio Sandymount
L-R David Baker, Paula Walsh (Miss Sandymount) and Dermot Lacey in 1986 (photo courtesy of Dave Reddy).

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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Aircheck: Radio Donnybrook (Dublin)

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Aircheck: Radio Donnybrook (Dublin)

Radio Donnybrook was one of three temporary community stations which broadcast in the 1980s to celebrate local festivals in Dublin. Radio Sandymount, Radio Ringsend and Radio Donnybrook were all set up by Dave Reddy under the banner of the Community Broadcasting Cooperative and broadcast on various frequencies such as 981, 1116 or 1134 kHz as well as low power FM. This is a loop recording from 981 kHz on the 10th of June 1984 of David Baker announcing the imminent opening of Radio Donnybrook.

There’s another short recording of Radio Donnybrook here and you can listen to an interview with Dave Reddy about Radio Sandymount here.

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‘Summer sounds you want to hear’: KISS FM from Foley Street

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'Summer sounds you want to hear': KISS FM from Foley Street
KISS FM compliments slip, courtesy of Ian Biggar.

There were so many pirates called KISS FM that it’s hard to untangle all their stories. We’ve done our homework on this one but as ever we welcome corrections and additional information. The origins of this KISS FM were in Dublin Community Radio, which began in 1984. KISS started testing in May 1985 and eventually settled on 1116 kHz AM and 94.8 and 104.1 FM. The station was owned by two German businessmen based in Cavan and located in the impressive sounding ‘Kiss Broadcasting Centre’ in Dublin 1. Well-known Dublin radio presenter David Baker was the manager but remembers how run-down Foley Street was at the time. Over St. Patrick’s weekend 1986, KISS organised a Disco Dance Marathon in the nearby North Star Hotel in aid of the Irish Association for Autistic Children with the help of the Radio West outside broadcast unit. Later that year the station introduced an easy listening format using former presenters from Radio Leinster. On 3rd October 1986, KISS was the first pirate to be raided for years when officials from the Department of Communications arrived in Foley Street complaining about interference. There’s a detailed account of the raid in Peter Mulryan’s book Radio Radio (1988). KISS never recovered and is not listed in an Anoraks Ireland report from November 1986.

We visited KISS in Foley Street in 1986 and remember a studio on a mezzanine level with a window in front of the DJ’s console looking down on an empty factory. This recording is from the 24th of June 1985 (6.35-7.20pm) and features continuous music with one announcement by an unidentified DJ that KISS had just returned to 105 FM. There are ads and professional jingles and the music sounds great after all those years.

Thanks to David Baker for help with details and to Ian Biggar for the image. 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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Full recording: KLAS 98

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Full recording: KLAS 98
L-R: DJ Lee and David Baker (photo courtesy of DX Archive).

The Dublin pirates were not all about pop and some stations served niche audiences or specific demographics. One station playing easy listening and classical music was KLAS which broadcast on 98.5 FM from November 1986 until the end of 1988. The station was established by Radio Carousel boss Hugh Hardy from his home in the suburb of Sutton but after a change in management it changed its name slightly to Class Radio and moved to the city centre.

This recording is from early 1987 (we don’t have an exact date) and features David Baker on air. There are also agency ads and jingles. Thanks to David for the recording.

You can hear an interview with David Baker about his involvement in KLAS here. Co-founder of this site John Walsh was also involved in KLAS and has recorded his memories here.

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Jingles from Radio City (Dublin)

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Jingles from Radio City (Dublin)
The Radio City transmitter (courtesy of DX Archive).

Radio City went on the air in late 1979 and broadcast from Capel Street in Dublin on 1145, 1161 and 1165 kHz. In this jingle package from the early 1980s, the legendary Tony Allan (RIP) announces 257 meters. These jingles were donated by David Baker, who begins this interview by describing his time at Radio City.