Radio Dublin car sticker from the mid-1980s (courtesy of DX Archive).
Tony Christie was a familiar voice on many pirates in the 1980s including Liberty 104, Radio Dublin and KISS FM in Co. Offaly to where he moved in 1987. Here he is on Radio Dublin from 105 FM on Sunday 24th August 1986 from 1512-1600 with a show sponsored by the No Name Fashion Depot in Walkinstown. Along with regular live promos for No Name, the voices of Robbie Robinson and Tony Allan can be heard on ads. Tony Christie is now a broadcaster on Midlands 103.
This recording is from the Skywave Tapes Collection. Skywave Radio International was a shortwave station broadcasting from Baldoyle in northeast Dublin.
A Radio Snowflake flyer from c. 1986 (courtesy of Ian Biggar).
Radio Snowflake was the original Christmas station, set up by Dave Reddy of the Community Broadcasting Co-operative (CBC) in 1982. The CBC rang temporary festival stations around Dublin in locations such as Glasnevin, Ringsend and Donnybrook and also broadcast Radio Snowflake around Christmas each year.
This recording was made from 1512 kHz AM on 15th December 1984 from 1345-1430. David Baker, a well-known voice of CBC and other pirates, is on air with his usual mix of easy listening music and community news. There is plenty of co-channel mixing, possibly from Wicklow Community Radio on the same frequency. 1512 or 1530 were the usual AM frequencies for CBC with various low-powered FM channels in operation. 99.9 MHz is announced in this recording.
David Baker continued to run Radio Snowflake online until 2019, using many of the original presenters. Christmas FM comes on air every year on a temporary licence in various cities and towns across Ireland. The recording is from the Skywave Tapes Collection. Skywave Radio International was a shortwave station broadcasting from Baldoyle in northeast Dublin.
Daphne Mitchell at Radio Leinster in 1982 (photo courtesy David Baker).
Radio Leinster stood out from the other Dublin pirates of the early 1980s because of its diet of easy listening music and chat as opposed to the pop played by most stations. In his documentary ‘The Irish Pirates’, British radio enthusiast Leon Tipler commented that while the majority of the Dublin stations were in direct competition with RTÉ Radio 2, Radio Leinster seemed intent on attracting listeners from Radio 1.
Radio Leinster began broadcasting in late April or early May 1981 from the city centre before moving to an elevated site in Sandyford overlooking Dublin. A professional 1 kW transmitter on 738 kHz (406 metres) travelled well by day but was subject to interference at night. The station closed suddenly on 19th May 1983 as panic spread following the raids on Sunshine Radio and Radio Nova and never returned.
Tipler was particularly interested in the niche offering of Radio Leinster and made several recordings of it during his visit in September 1982. The recording above was made from 738 kHz and is an aircheck of part of Daphne Mitchell’s afternoon programme beginning at 1556 on Friday 10th September. It includes a letter from a listener and a lengthy community notice board. The voices of Richard Crowley and Anna Chisnell, both of whom would go on to work in RTÉ, can be heard on ads. Daphne Mitchell was also heard on BLB in Bray in the 1980s.
David Baker on Radio Sandymount in 1984 (photo courtesy of Dave Reddy).
The recording below is from 93 FM on Monday 13th September 1982 and features a young David Baker reading the sports bulletin on his breakfast programme. David’s breakfast shift from 0700-0900 meant that he arrived late for school each morning!
These recordings are from the Leon Tipler Tapes Collection, donated to us by Steve England.
Sunshine Radio was the first Dublin station to earn the label of ‘super-pirate’ when it launched in September 1980. With massive investment, professional equipment and a powerful transmitter, it shook up the Dublin radio market and the pirate scene would never be the same again.
Peter Madison on Radio Nova (photo courtesy of DX Archive).
Peter Madison (RIP) was another talented broadcaster who joined Sunshine in the early days and would later broadcast on other pirates such as Boyneside Radio and Radio Nova. He is heard here at the end of his shift from 1442-1500 on Sunday 19th October 1980 and is then followed by another broadcasting giant, Tony Allan (RIP) from 1500-1525.
The original Sunshine studio in 1981 (photo courtesy of Ian Biggar).
The short recording below is of Peter Madison a few days earlier, 16th October 1980, from 1206-1227. Quality is poor due to electrical interference but Peter can be heard telling listeners that he has cycled 10 miles to the studio in Portmarnock!
These recordings from 531 kHz AM were made in Ayrshire, Scotland by Ken Baird. We thank Ian Biggar for sharing them with us.
Early Sunshine car sticker (courtesy of Ian Biggar)
Today we bring you another recording from the first few weeks of Sunshine Radio, the station which broke the mould of Irish pirate radio when it launched officially on 29th September 1980.
The recording runs from 0953-1006 and again from 1013-1041 on 19th October 1980. It’s a cold and sunny Sunday morning and Jason Maine is in a relaxed vibe. The early Sunshine slogan ‘the dance station of the 80s’ is heard intermittently. This was used until around Christmas when the format changed to Top 40 and oldies. There are ads voiced by Tony Allan for the Sands Hotel where Sunshine was based and Tamango’s Nightclub next door. Jason also announces thousands of pounds’ worth of prizes in the coming week, a sign that Sunshine meant business.
Declan Meehan in the Sunshine studio in 1981 (photo courtesy of Ian Biggar).
This recording was made from 531 kHz by Ken Baird in Ayrshire in Scotland and co-channel interference can be heard from the Swiss German station underneath. Many thanks to Ian Biggar for sharing it with us.
