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Big D and Radio Dublin from 1978

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Big D and Radio Dublin from 1978
Big D sticker (courtesy of Bill Ebrill).

This is a recording of part of a bandscan of stations from Dublin as heard on Sunday, 23rd April 1978 in Drogheda, Co. Louth. It includes Davitt Kelly (RIP) presenting ‘The Soul Service’ on the Big D, followed by John Paul and part of the sponsored Chariot Inn programme. The recording ends with DJs Johnny Casey and Pat Stewart on Radio Dublin, who announce the address of 3, Sarsfield Road, Dublin 10 for letters.

Big D and Radio Dublin from 1978
Big D sticker (courtesy of DX Archive).

Big D was formed as a result of a staff mutiny at Radio Dublin in April 1978 and there was great rivalry between both stations. This bandscan, which also includes snippets of British stations heard on the east coast, gives a great sense of the AM radio scene at the time. We thank Eddie Caffrey for his donation.

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40 years since the launch of KELO

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40 years since the launch of KELO
KELO advertising flyer (courtesy of DX Archive).

40 years ago today (15th March 1981) a new pirate called KELO began testing from Swords in north Co. Dublin. KELO was a short-lived but important pirate because its music policy broke the mould: Top 40 and album tracks played back to back with minimal talk. Its frequency of 1233 kHz (244 metres) got out well and in the advertising flyer above, KELO claimed to be audible throughout Leinster and on the northwestern coast of Britain. It changed its frequency to 1566 kHz probably on July 8th 1981, only to return to 1233 kHz after a few days. When DX Archive visited the station in mid-August, it was definitely on that frequency. Following the arrival of Radio Nova, the Dublin radio scene became more competitive in 1981 and many smaller stations fell by the wayside. According to Airsounds Newsletter from December 1981: ‘KELO Radio from Dublin closed down on 244 metres on November 11th. Apparently, the rig was reclaimed by Peter Gibney as he was not paid for it, so he just came and took it away! It may have been sold to another station for use from a hotel in the north suburbs of the city’.

40 years since the launch of KELO
Dave Kelly in the KELO studio (photo courtesy of DX Archive).

This recording features Davitt Kelly (RIP) on 15th March 1981 starting at 1234, the day before official programming started. It was recorded by Ken Baird in Scotland, hence the DX reception. Thanks to Ian Biggar for assistance with research.

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Interview: Declan Meehan (part 1: 1970-1982)

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Interview: Declan Meehan (part 1: 1970-1982)
Declan Meehan and John Walsh at the studios of East Coast FM in Bray, where Declan has worked since 1994.

We met one of Ireland’s most experienced broadcasters Declan Meehan recently to discuss his significant contribution to Irish pirate radio history and Irish radio in general over the past 50 years.

In the first part of a long interview, Declan discusses the early years of his involvement in the Dublin pirate scene spanning small stations such as Radio Vanessa and Radio Milinda and larger, more professional operations like ARD. He describes his unhappy move to the new RTÉ Radio 2 in 1979 and how he went on to work for the first of the superpirates, Sunshine Radio, where he met Chris Cary.

The interview includes references to many of the best-known names in Irish radio over the past half-century.