Overnight Nova as heard in Britain

Overnight Nova as heard in Britain
The massive AM aerial at the Nova Park site in 1983 (courtesy DX Archive).

The boss of Dublin super-pirate Radio Nova, Chris Cary, made various attempts to reach the west coast of Britain through the use of high-powered AM transmitters. At various times in the station’s existence, weather reports referred to northwest England, southern Scotland and the Isle of Man and Nova opened an advertising office in Liverpool in 1984. Expansion plans were dealt a severe blow in May 1983 when the authorities raided Nova and when the station returned to full-time broadcasting a days weeks later, power was reduced significantly.

Overnight Nova as heard in Britain
Nova newsreader Ken Hammond (courtesy Noel Hiney).

This recording was made from Nova’s AM frequency about a month before the raids and gives a flavour of how the station sounded in the English midlands outside the intended listening area on the west coast. It begins with Dennis Murray finishing his Saturday night show and the extended midnight news read by Ken Hammond, who would go on to become an RTÉ journalist. The overnight DJ is the late Roland Burke. The recording continues with a Sunday morning show presented by Mike Moran and news read by Bryan Dobson, who also went on to a career with RTÉ News.

The night-time recording contains lots of fading consistent with AM propagation in the hours of darkness and the daytime section is typical of groundwave reception. Made from 819 kHz, it begins at 2350 on Saturday 9th and continues from 0937 on Sunday 10th April 1983. The recording is from the Leon Tipler Tapes Collection, donated to us by Steve England.

Dennis Murray on Liberty 104

Dennis Murray on Liberty 104
Liberty 104 car sticker (courtesy DX Archive).

By 1988, Liberty 104 had attracted some high-profile Dublin broadcasters to its studios in the heart of the Liberties district and the station was gaining listeners. One experienced DJ who had previously been heard on Radio Nova and its offshoot KISS FM was Dennis Murray, who in this recording presents a drivetime show. Music is a mixture of chart hits and classics and there is a listener competition based on identifying three songs. A promo for factory requests underlines how stations like Liberty 104 catered for this cohort of the population. Confusingly, Dennis refers to 103 FM on a few occasions despite the 104 branding, although there was a lot of variation in the station name during its almost 3 years on air. News at the top of the hour is read by Michael Mahon.

Dennis Murray on Liberty 104
Original cassette inlay from Anoraks Ireland Collection.

The recording was from 1723-1809 on Monday 4th April 1988 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson. Audio quality is good to fair with some hiss. It is not clear from which FM frequency the tape was recorded but Liberty 104 broadcast on 103.5 and 103.9 FM at this time as well as 1035 kHz AM.

Big D rings in New Year 1980

Big D rings in New Year 1980
Big D sticker (courtesy DX Archive).

This is a recording of Dublin station the Big D in the early hours of New Year’s Day 1980. To mark the occasion, there is a link-up with Dennis Murray by a poor quality phone line to a pub at John’s Lane Church in the city centre. Revellers, many of them worse for wear, come on the line to talk to Vincent Stewart in the studio. Clearly Big D is delighted at the departure of rival station ARD, judging by the canned laughter when Vincent announces that the other station has just closed down.

Other DJs and staff are in the studio with best wishes for the new decade. There are pleas for peace given the ongoing horrors of the Troubles and the broadcast ends with the Garda Síochána choir singing ‘Let There be Peace on Earth’. This is followed by pre-recorded music through the night. The recording was made from 273 metres (1116 kHz) from 0054-0120 on 1st January 1980. Thanks to Shay Geoghegan for the donation.

ARD and Big D on New Year’s Eve 1979

ARD and Big D on New Year's Eve 1979
ARD flyer (courtesy DX Archive).

The late 1970s was a key period of growth for pirate radio in Dublin, with hot competition developing between Radio Dublin and rival breakaway stations ARD and the Big D. This recording from the medium wave band on 31st December 1979 gives a flavour of how the pirates rang in the new decade that would prove so crucial for Irish radio. It runs from 2351-0035 and switches between ARD on 273 metres, which was due to close down that night, and the Big D on 273 metres.

Paul Vincent winds down ARD in the company of the late Dave C and financial backer Bernard Llewellyn, who explains that the station is closing down in order to apply for a licence. Optimistically, he predicts that local radio will be legalised by June 1980. The late Don Moore, who invited Llewellyn into ARD, is also heard in the background and one of the DJs to say his goodbyes is none other than Ian Dempsey. ARD left the airwaves just after half past midnight but pretty much everyone involved in it – bar Llewellyn – returned in the form of Radio 257 within a few days.

The recording also includes snippets of the Big D’s New Year’s Eve celebrations, including a scratchy phone connection with Dennis Murray who is in the company of drunker revellers in the city centre. We thank Shay Geoghegan for his donation.