Dublin Archives - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

31st August 202623rd August 2026

More 1980 Dublin radio including Radio 257

This is another recording made by English anoraks Leon Tipler in summer 1980 during one of his frequent visits to Dublin to document the Irish pirate radio scene. From AM, it includes clips of Radio City from Capel Street in the city centre. Logs from that year mention Radio City slightly off channel on 1164 kHz. The adverts for businesses in the Capel Street area are voiced by the late Tony Allan. There are also snippets of Southside Radio on 999 kHz, Big D on 1116 kHz and Radio Dublin on 1188 kHz with plenty of distortion. From FM, we heard adverts and news from RTÉ Radio 1 followed by the start of the Gay Byrne Show and part of the Ronan Collins show on Radio 2.

The recording concludes with a longer clip of Jason Maine on the Radio 257 drivetime show, including a holiday giveaway to the Isle of Man and plenty of adverts. 257 news at 1700 is sponsored by the Weekend Star newspaper. The tape was made on 29^th July 1980 and is from the Leon Tipler Collection, donated to us by Steve England.

26th August 202623rd August 2026

Listeners’ Top 100 on Energy 103

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Energy logo from a newspaper advert in 1986 (Anoraks Ireland Collection).

On the August bank holiday weekend 1986, Dublin pirate Energy 103 broadcast the Listeners’ Top 100. Presented by Gareth O’Callaghan, the marathon broadcast lasted the entire day and was based on phone votes from listeners. News on the hour is read by Cathy Kelly.

The tape was made from 103 FM between From 1540-1628 and 1636-1724 on Monday 4^th August 1986 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.

24th August 202624th August 2026

Dublin AM and FM bandscan from 1980

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This recording consists of a selection of snippets from radio as heard in Dublin in summer 1980 by English anorak Leon Tipler on one of his many visits to Ireland. These and other recordings were the raw material for his acclaimed documentary series The Irish Pirates. Tipler tunes up and down the AM band and comes across items such as a legal advice slot on Radio 257 from the Crofton Airport Hotel, Radio Dublin with DJ Lee and various clips of the Big D, including the 6pm news bulletin. Some UK stations are also received on AM.

Of note from the pirates is an advert for the Stardust nightclub, which was destroyed in February 1981 in a devastating fire in which 48 people died. There is also an advert for Tamango’s nightclub at the Sands Hotel in Portmarnock, later to be home of Sunshine Radio. On the relatively empty FM band are RTÉ Radio 1, Radio 2 and Raidió na Gaeltachta. The 6.30am opening of Radio 1 is heard with the O’Donnell Abú interval signal and an early music show presented by Eileen Dunne, who would go on to become one of the station’s main newsreaders. Radio 2 DJs in the recording include Jim O’Neill and Dave Fanning.

The recording was made on and around 29^th July 1980 and is from the Leon Tipler Collection, donated to us by Steve England.

17th August 202616th August 2026

Early evening show on Radio Caroline Dublin

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This recording of Radio Caroline Dublin was made towards the end of the station’s 11-year run in 2000. Travis and Tony are in the early evening slot with mostly current tunes and a few from the 1970s-1990s. There are plenty of requests for listeners and in-jokes between the two presenters. Reflecting changing technology, a mobile number is given out for requests and a station promo contains an email address. There is some interference in places so the recording may have been made outside Caroline’s core reception area.

The tape was made from 102.5 FM between 1625-1810 on 17^th May 2000 and is courtesy of Ian Biggar. Radio Caroline Dublin was based in Sutton in northeast Dublin and broadcast occasionally from 1989 and daily from 1992-2000.

14th August 202613th August 2026

Sunshine Radio during jamming campaign

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This short recording of Sunshine Radio was made during a night-time slot in the spring of 1984, when RTÉ was relentlessly jamming the station’s signal as part of its campaign against the pirate. First up is the end of the Radio Romance slot with David Dennehy. News at midnight is presented by Justin McKenna and includes reference to the jamming, which was causing serious problems for Sunshine by this time. The iconic Desiderata, which used to be played before closedown of Sunshine every night, is heard before the midnight news as the station had long since moved to round-the-clock broadcasting. After news is Paul Vincent with the overnight show.

The recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection and was made from 100.5 FM between 2352-0015 on Thursday 22^nd into Friday 23^rd March 1984.