Fionnuala Sweeney Archives - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

Charity fundraising weekend on KISS FM — KISS FM flyer (courtesy Ian Biggar).

Over the St. Patrick’s weekend 1986, Dublin station KISS FM (1985-1986) organised a charity fundraiser for the Irish Society for Autistic Children. Listeners were invited to pledge £1 or more and station DJs collected money on the streets of Dublin near the KISS FM studios in Foley Street in the north inner city. The highlight of the weekend was a disco dancing marathon at the nearby North Star Hotel.

This airchecked recording includes live links with station manager David Baker from the city centre, using what seems to be first generation of mobile telephony in Ireland. David refers to the imminent arrival of an outside broadcasting unit from Radio West in Mullingar but for the moment, listeners have to tolerate telephonic audio quality. There are links with the disco event in the nearby North Star Hotel, presumably using an FM or VHF link, and plenty of interactions with listeners. Other voices heard are Colm Mooney, Gareth Scully, Bryan Lambert, Clem Francis, Suzanne Duffy, Keith Shanley and Rachel Walsh (aka Fionnuala Sweeney, who went on to bigger pirates and eventually RTÉ and CNN). The recording also includes occasional snippets from Radio Nova, which would close down a few days later.

The tape was made on Sunday 16^th March 1986, presumably from KISS FM’s main transmitter on 104.1 FM although no frequency is logged. It is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.

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KISS FM prepares for charity fundraiser — KISS FM advert in The Sunday World in 1986 (Anoraks Ireland Collection).

Countless Irish pirates were called KISS FM in the 1980s and 1990s, including a station based in Foley Street in Dublin’s north inner city for about 18 months in 1985 and 1986. This KISS FM had its origins in Dublin Community Radio, set up in 1984 in nearby North Frederick Street. The new station was owned by two German businessmen and was managed by Dublin pirate stalwart David Baker. KISS FM aimed for high production standards and carved out its own corner in the competitive Dublin radio market, going through a number of format changes during its short time on air. On 3^rd October 1986, KISS FM was the first Irish pirate to be raided in several years as a result of complaints due to interference and it closed down shortly afterwards.

One highlight of KISS FM’s time on air was its charity campaign on behalf of the Irish Society for Autistic Children over St. Patrick’s weekend 1986, which culminated in a disco dance marathon in the North Star Hotel around the corner from the station. This recording gives a sense of the lead-up to the charity weekend with David Baker doing live link-ups from the streets of Dublin in an attempt to drum up support for the charity fundraiser. Audio quality on the links is poor to fair at best and it sounds as if the first generation of mobile phone technology was used (Telecom Éireann had established the Eircell network the previous December). An interesting aspect of the recording is the re-cut of an ARD ident from the late 1970s, itself based on a jingle from KACY 1520 in California. KISS FM’s AM frequency at the time was 1116 kHz, announced as 273 metres.

Other voices include DJ Gareth Scully and newsreaders Rachel Walsh and Maurice Nevin (RIP). Rachel Walsh, whose real name is Fionnuala Sweeney, went on to other larger pirates and eventually a career in RTÉ and CNN. Another feature of note is the occasional jingle or insert from other pirates including Radio Nova, which was on the verge of closing down. This fact is mentioned in one of the KISS FM news bulletins, which regrets the departure of Nova from the Dublin radio scene.

This airchecked recording tape is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection and was made on Tuesday 11^th and Friday 14^th March 1986. No frequency is noted but presumably the tape was recorded from 104.1 FM. KISS FM also broadcast on 94.8 FM and on AM.