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Airchecks: Radio Nova

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Airchecks: Radio Nova
A Nova envelope from 1982 (courtesy of DX Archive).

There’s plenty of Radio Nova material available online already and we don’t intend to compete with that. Here is a selection from our the Pirate.ie collection of airchecks of Radio Nova from 1984 to 1986. We also include two recordings from the Nova satellite service from the UK in 1988 which was relayed on FM in Dublin and used as an overnight service by some stations.

A Radio Nova holiday giveaway from 1985. The presenter is Dave Harvey.
The famous Radio Nova £10 giveaway from 1985. These two examples are followed by the top of the hour ident and a weather forecast from John O’Hara.
A promo for DJ Rick Dees of KIIS-FM in Los Angeles whose Weekly Top 40 was syndicated on Nova. This is from 1986.
A Bill Mitchell ident for the Radio Nova satellite service from the UK, as relayed on 94.9 FM in Dublin in 1988.
A top of the hour jingle and the IRN service followed by an aircheck from the Radio Nova satellite service as relayed on 94.9 FM in Dublin in 1988.

Listen to interviews with former Nova presenter Tom Hardy (RIP) here and newsreader Bryan Dobson here. You can hear historian Eddie Bohan describe the growth of Radio Nova here.

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Aircheck: Liberties Local Community Radio

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Aircheck: Liberties Local Community Radio
LLCR car sticker (courtesy of DX Archive).

Liberties Local Community Radio (LLCR) began broadcasting in March 1986 from Weaver Square in Dublin 8. It was run by Sammy Prendergast who was well known for installing aerials for pirate stations. LLCR broadcast on 1035 kHz AM using the old Capitol Radio rig which had been on 1017 kHz until shortly before then. It was also heard on 104 FM at a later stage.

In this aircheck from our own collection made on 30th August 1988, Teena Gates announces ‘Liberty 104’ and reads the news. Teena can still be heard on radio in Dublin today.

You can hear jingles from LLCR here.

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Aircheck: Radio Anita

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Aircheck: Radio Anita

Radio Anita was a hobby station operated by Frank Williams (aka Frank Decker) from Howth in north Co. Dublin and broadcast sporadically in the late 1980s, taking advantage of the height offered by its site on Howth Head. Frank was also involved in Centre Radio in Bayside and Baldoyle, a youth station that operated mostly during school holidays from 1986 to 1988.

Here’s a short aircheck of Radio Anita from 1987 or 1988 (we don’t have a precise date) recorded from 94.6 FM. This is from our own collection.

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Jingles: North Dublin Community Radio

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Jingles: North Dublin Community Radio
NDCR poster (courtesy of Dave Daly).

North Dublin Community Radio (NDCR) began broadcasting from Coolock in northeast Dublin in 1983 and was one of the leading community stations of the time, broadcasting on 1008 kHz AM and 100 FM. Many of those involved in NDCR went on to establish NEAR FM, the current licensed community station for northeast Dublin. Here’s a selection of NDCR jingles and promos from 1987 and 1988.

This station ident is from late 1988 when NDCR had dropped its AM service.
A jingle from 1988.
A station promo from 1988.

You can hear an interview with NDCR founder Jack Byrne here and with former presenter Declan Ralph here.

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Jingles: Radio City

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Jingles: Radio City
The Radio City transmitter (courtesy of DX Archive).

Radio City went on the air in late 1979 and broadcast from Capel Street in Dublin on 1145, 1161 and 1165 kHz. In this jingle package from the early 1980s, the legendary Tony Allan announces 257 meters. These jingles were donated by David Baker, who begins this interview by describing his time at Radio City.

You can listen to other interviews about Radio City here and here.