Dublin Archives - Page 41 of 81 - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

22nd October 202121st October 2021

Prince Terry on Centre Radio

Centre Radio was a small FM-only youth station broadcasting from Baldoyle and Bayside in northeast Dublin from 1986-1988. It is especially important for us because it played a big part in our teenage lives: Brian Greene was one of the founders and a regular DJ and John Walsh had his own show also. Centre began broadcasting on 19^th December 1986 and was heard during school holidays only. From February 1988, it moved to Bayside and broadcast every weekday evening and all day long at the weekends. It was one of the last stations in Dublin to close at midnight on 31^st December 1988.

This recording was made from 94.2 FM on Sunday 13^th March 1988 from 1630-1800. It begins with pirate veteran Prince Terry (Roger Lloyd) presenting a once-off show. Prince Terry was the operator of Westside Radio International, a long-running shortwave pirate and indeed this show was recorded to be broadcast on shortwave the following Sunday. The music begins with oldies but later changes to heavy metal in line with Roger’s taste!

Dave Evans (Eamonn Roe) takes over at about 1740 with more music and community news. The recording was made by Roger Lloyd and is courtesy of DX Archive.

20th October 202118th October 2021

Peter Madison and non-stop Capitol 98 FM

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Capitol Radio on 98 FM was a short-lived radio experiment launched in the summer of 1982, aiming to provide an adult-oriented rock service to the greater Dublin area. Although some big names were involved including Tony Allan, Peter Madison, Steve Marshall, Scott Williams, Paul Allen, Eddie West and Lawrence John, Capitol ran into financial difficulties after a few months and closed down in September. Although Capitol proposed to also broadcast on 999 kHz AM, it was an FM-only station, a relatively rare choice in the early 1980s when medium wave was still an important platform.

This recording begins with a link from the late Peter Madison and is followed by non-stop music. There is no date but we estimate it to be from July 1982. Thanks to Shay Geoghegan for the donation.

18th October 202113th October 2021

Eddie West on late-night Nova

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This is a recording of the late Eddie West on the overnight shift on Radio Nova sometime in July 1982. The music ranges from mellow and rock and there is minimal talk in line with the ‘clutter-free’ format. Nova was broadcasting on 846 kHz AM at this time but still used ‘the mighty 890’ jingle from its brief period on 891 kHz in late 1981. The inconsistency didn’t matter to most listeners who didn’t have digital read-outs on their radios!

The recording was made from 88 FM and runs from 0010-0042 but is undated, although we could estimate a date because of references to the forthcoming Rolling Stones concert. Thanks to Shay Geoghegan for the donation.

12th September 202115th September 2021

The Pirate.ie Podcast #8: Our audio tribute to Robbie Robinson

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We’ve compiled an audio tribute to the radio legend Robbie Robinson who died on August 31^st 2021 at the age of 81 in Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. In episode #8 of the Pirate.ie podcast, colleagues, friends and listeners share their memories of Robbie and his station, Sunshine Radio, which transformed the Irish radio scene when it hit the airwaves in 1980.

Many thanks to everyone for taking the time to remember Robbie and honour his legacy in this way: Cathy Cregan, Aidan Cooney, David Baker, Lawrence John, Eddie Bohan, Cathy Dunne, John Fleming, Lillian O’Donoghue, Paul Allen, Simon Maher, Kevin Branigan, Pat Courtenay and Andy Preston.

8th September 20218th September 2021

Robbie Robinson closes 3rd Sunshine charity auction

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This is the final section of the 3^rd annual Sunshine Radio charity auction in aid of the Central Remedial Clinic (CRC). Station owner Robbie Robinson (RIP) auctions one of that year’s big prizes, a holiday to Portugal donated by Joe Walsh Tours. He then calls the founder of the CRC Lady Valerie Goulding to tell her that Sunshine has raised over £22,000 that year. As the letter above indicates, by 1985 the auction had brought in over £100,000 for the CRC, a considerable amount for the time and evidence of Sunshine’s commitment to charitable causes.

Another item of interest in this recording is a advert placed by the Association of Independent Broadcasters in Ireland, a group formed by some of the commercial pirate stations to represent the sector. News at 9pm is read by Caroline Callaghan.

This recording was made from 2054-2132 on 11^th April 1983. It is from the Leon Tipler Tapes Collection, donated by Steve England.