ERI Archives - Page 2 of 5 - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

29th January 20216th August 2021

More live overnight ERI from 1985

Live overnight radio is a thing of the past with some stations automated from early evening. Pirates big and small were on air around the clock, with a early example being Radio Dublin’s famous marathon broadcast from 1977 which set a new standard for the capital’s growing radio scene.

Some of the Cork pirates did round-the-clock live programming also, as in this recording of Tony Ashford (Ciaran Brannelly) on the graveyard shift on ERI. Emer Lucey (Lucy Potter Coogan) is heard every hour with ‘ERI News Review’, a pre-recorded bulletin of the previous day’ top stories. The recording was made from 96.7 FM and runs from 0438-0602 on Wednesday 23^rd October 1985. At the end of his shift, Ciaran hands over to Hugh Browne (RIP), a well-known name on many 1980s pirates.

ERI (1982-1988) also broadcast on 1305 kHz (announcing 225 metres) and could be heard over much of Munster and beyond. We thank Ciaran Brannelly for his donation.

6th January 20216th August 2021

Live overnight ERI from 1985

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Overnight radio is almost always automated these days and while many pirates also put out tapes in the early hours or closed down for the night, a sizable number of stations ran live programming around the clock. One such station was the Cork super-pirate ERI (1982-1988). This is a recording of part of a live overnight show on ERI from 1985. Tony Ashford (Ciaran Brannelly) is on the long graveyard shift playing music through the night until 6am.

Emer Lucey (Lucy Potter Coogan) is heard every hour with ‘ERI News Review’, a pre-recorded bulletin of the main stories from the previous day. The recording was made from 96.7 FM and runs from 0145-0240 on Wednesday 23^rd October 1985. ERI also broadcast on 1305 kHz (announcing 225 metres) and could be heard over a large area.

We thank Ciaran Brannelly for his donation.

16th December 202015th December 2020

The Pirate.ie Podcast #3

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We’re delighted to announce episode #3 of the Pirate.ie podcast which explores themes covered in our growing archive of Irish pirate radio.

The 1980s can be described as the decade that Ireland changed from black and white to colour and pirate radio was very much part of that social change. While many pushed for liberalisation, conservative forces opposed moves towards opening up Irish society and pirate radio reflected such tensions. Larger commercial stations were dominated by men’s voices while women and minority groups were better represented in specialist and community radio. Community radio itself developed a more inclusive model of participation and access and even large commercial stations practised corporate social responsibility from time to time. Religion also played a key role, with several pirates representing Catholic values which were still powerful in Irish society.

In episode #3, John Walsh and Brian Greene explore the social influence of pirate radio during its heyday.

5th December 20206th August 2021

Through the ether: Don Allen on Cork pirate ERI

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The Canadian DJ Don Allen (1939-1995) gained fame on this side of the Atlantic on stations such as Radio Caroline and Radio Northsea International before moving to Ireland in the 1980s. He was a familiar voice on Irish pirate radio, working at stations such as Radio Carousel, Radio West, Cavan Community Radio, Royal County Radio and ERI in Cork .

This recording of Don on ERI was made on 21^st November 1983 by Leon Tipler at his home in the English midlands. Unlike Tipler’s other tapes of night-time ERI, in this case the signal is much fainter and the whole experience is a bit of a DXer’s dream with faint traces of ERI fading in and out from time to time. Perhaps the 5 kW transmitter was on lower power that night, but it’s all part of the joy of pulling in pirate signals from afar.

The recording is from the Leon Tipler Tapes Collection, donated to us by Steve England

4th December 20206th August 2021

John Blake (aka Creedon) on ERI

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John Creedon is a well-known RTÉ broadcaster and presents a nightly programme from Cork on Radio 1. Like so many high-profile broadcasters, he started his career in pirate radio and was known as John Blake on air. He joined the Cork super-pirate ERI in 1982.

This is a recording of the John Blake show during a frenetic outside broadcast from the Wilton Shopping Centre in Cork in 1983. The ERI stage is mobbed by excited kids, one of whom signs a station jingle to rapturous applause. There are mounds of requests from shoppers and listeners around Co. Cork, plenty of spot prizes and a charity event introduced by station boss Joe O’Connor.

The recording was made from 1305 kHz from 1503-1535 and 1638-1712 on 22^nd October 1983. It is from the Leon Tipler Tapes Collection, donated to us by Steve England. ERI was among the Cork stations featured in Tipler’s documentary series ‘The Irish Pirates’ which is available on our site here.