Dublin Archives - Page 5 of 82 - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

13th November 202418th November 2024

Southside Radio FRC programme from 1981

Southside Radio was one of the early Irish medium wave pirates of the late 1970s and early 1980s, based in various places in north Wicklow and south Dublin. It began broadcasting in December 1978 from a caravan to Bray for a few hours daily before extending its coverage. Southside Radio was raided in 1979 but a rate card and schedule from December that year showed an ambitious full-time schedule including accomplished broadcasters such as Bryan Dobson, Cathy Cregan, Sybil Fennell, Hugh Browne (RIP) and Paul Nicholas (Andy Ruane). Southside claimed to be the ‘major radio station on the southside of Dublin’ and said it had a community emphasis in its programmes. In spring 1980, a lightning strike and a break-in damaged equipment and disrupted broadcasts. In June that year, Southside moved to the Victor Hotel in Dún Laoghaire and became a round-the-clock operation. A report by DX Archive from April 1982 said that Southside was on its last legs and that the station closed the following month for good.

Of interest in the Southside schedule was the weekly Free Radio Campaign (FRC) show by Mark Boland on Sunday mornings, which was also relayed on shortwave stations Westside Radio International and Radio Condor and therefore heard well beyond Ireland. This recording is of an edition of the FRC that includes free radio and station news, a report from Liverpool, a tape of Australian station OZFM and Radio Caroline jingles from the 1960s. There are plenty of adverts for local businesses on the southside, including the voice of Tony Allan (RIP), who also features on station idents.

The tape was made on Easter Sunday 19^th April 1981 between 1133-1305 from 999 kHz, announcing 300 metres. It is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.

11th November 20249th November 2024

Interview with Aidan Cooney on Radio Dublin in 1979

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English radio anorak Leon Tipler (RIP) returned to Ireland in August 1979 to record more of the Irish pirates and interview some of those involved in the expanding scene. This original recording from his collection features a visit to Radio Dublin and an interview with Aidan Jay (Aidan Cooney) about how the station was faring, its coverage area and plans to go on FM in the coming weeks.

A shorter version of this interview was included in Tipler’s acclaimed documentary series The Irish Pirates. This recording was made on 30^th August 1979 and is donated to us by Steve England. Aidan Cooney continues to broadcast on radio to this day.

4th November 20243rd November 2024

Tony Allan on ARD in 1979

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Continuing our series on recordings made by English radio anorak Leon Tipler in Dublin, today’s tape features the sounds of an August afternoon in 1979 after he returned to Ireland for another visit. Tipler put his microphone up against a radio in his hotel room and recorded snippets of the city’s leading pirate, Alternative Radio Dublin (ARD) and a commentary on his impressions of the city at the time. This extracts were later used in his acclaimed documentary series The Irish Pirates that can be heard on this website.

The recording features the voice of the legendary Tony Allan (RIP) presenting the afternoon show on ARD and reading news headlines on 28^th August 1979. Tipler was staying in the Ormond Hotel overlooking the River Liffey and gulls and passing traffic can be heard in the background. Audio quality is variable due to degradation of the cassette. We thank Steve England for donating Leon Tipler’s collection to us.

28th October 202420th October 2024

Radio Caroline Dublin on October bank holiday 1990

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Radio Caroline Dublin was one of the longest-running pirates in the capital in the post-1989 period, when new legisation was supposed to silence the unlicensed operators. Based in Sutton in northeast Dublin, it broadcast on a part-time basis from 1989-1992 and then introduced a full schedule, operating every evening and all day at weekends. Reception was local at the start but eventually a transmitter site in the Dublin mountains gave good coverage of the city. The station did not take advertising but instead generated income from DJ subscriptions and occasional fundraisers. Radio Caroline Dublin was involved in an unsuccessful application for a community radio licence in 1996 and continued broadcasting until 2000.

In its first two years, Radio Caroline broadcast only on bank holiday Mondays, so about six times a year. The same people were also behind other occasional stations in the Dublin 13 area such as Suburban Radio and ARD. This recording is of Radio Caroline on the October bank holiday Monday 1990 and features one of the station founders Bobby Gibbson (aka Brian Greene of Pirate.ie). He comments on the forthcoming Irish presidential election, reminisces on the 1990 World Cup and laments the state of broadcasting in Ireland. The broadcast ends with the original ‘love and good music’ jingle of the offshore Radio Caroline and then the TX is switched off.

The recording is from the Pirate.ie collection and was made from 94 FM from 2203-2303 on 29^th October 1990.

25th October 202421st October 2024

More of Dublin’s Capitol Radio in summer 1979

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Capitol Radio compliments slip (courtesy lan Russell)

Today’s recording is a short excerpt of one of the Dublin pirate stations of the late 1970s, Capitol Radio, as recorded by English radio anorak Leon Tipler during a visit to Ireland in July 1979. Station co-founder Alan Russell reminds listeners of a chance to win a bottle of wine and gives a postal address on the South Circular Road, or people can drop into the studios on Bachelors Walk. Coming up after Alan is another co-founder of the station, Chris Barry. At the very end is a quick tune around AM, giving a taste of the amount of broadcasters on the band at the time.

The recording is undated but is likely from 19^th or 20^th July 1979 and begins shortly before 1000. It was recorded from 1332 kHz, announcing 226 metres. Capitol Radio broadcast initially on a part-time basis for a few months in 1975 but returned as full-time operation in 1978, offering a mixture of music, talk and specialist programmes. Thanks to Steve England for sharing Leon Tipler’s recordings with us.