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Margaretta D’Arcy on Radio Pirate Woman

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Margaretta D'Arcy on Radio Pirate Woman
Margaretta D’Arcy on Radio Pirate Woman in her home in 1991 (courtesy Stan Shields, Galway City Tribune).

Radio Pirate Woman was one of Ireland’s unique pirate radio stations, run by activist and dramatist Margaretta D’Arcy (RIP) from her home in Galway. It began as Women’s Scéal Radio in 1987 but changed its name to Radio Pirate Woman in 1989 to underline its illegal status in the new era after the introduction of new broadcasting legislation. The technical set-up was very basic and there was no studio as such, with women sitting around Margaretta’s table and discussing the news of the day. The low-powered FM transmitter covered only the city centre, but although Radio Pirate Woman’s geographical reach was limited, it was known in feminist and activist circles way beyond Galway.

Margaretta D'Arcy on Radio Pirate Woman
Radio Pirate Woman poster from the 1990s (courtesy Eddie Bohan).

In this recording, Margaretta is heard presenting a late-night programme with esoteric music and news items about women’s issues and human rights. She calls it ‘a bit of a random radio’ as she attempts to fix technical problems and rewinds cassettes on the air. Due to interference caused to her neighbour’s television, Margaretta announces that she is changing her broadcasting times to avoid upset. The recording ends with part of a cassette from WINGS (Women’s International News Gathering Service) based in Austin, Texas, a common feature on the station.

The tape was made from 102 FM on 26th November 1999 between 0015-0100 and is courtesy of John Breslin. Radio Pirate Woman continued intermittently until about 2010 and Margaretta D’Arcy died in 2025 at the age of 91.

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Galway’s County Sound welcomes 1988

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Galway's County Sound welcomes 1988
Jon Richards in the County Sound studio in 1988 (courtesy Big Sam).

County Sound broadcast to Galway from 17th March 1987 until 31st December 1988 and built up a loyal listenership during its time on air. Based originally in the town of Tuam, County Sound moved into Galway City in January 1988 and slogged it out with another pirate Coast 103 for local advertising revenue. Both stations were professional operations and dominated the Galway radio market at the end of the pirate era. This recording was made exactly a year before County Sound closed down and features regular overnight presenter Jon Richards bidding farewell to 1987 and welcoming 1988. He looks back at the pop music highlights of 1987, reviews the year’s films and previews cinematic releases for the new year. Jon Richards continues to broadcast on local station Galway Bay FM.

Galway's County Sound welcomes 1988
Original cassette label from Anoraks Ireland Collection.

This recording was made from County Sound’s Tuam transmitter on 94.3 FM between 2345 and 0030 on 31st December 1987 and 1st January 1988. It is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

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Paul Vincent on Galway’s WLS

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Paul Vincent on Galway's WLS
Exterior of WLS studios in Prospect Hill Galway in 1986 (Anoraks Ireland Collection).

Paul Vincent (aka Brendan Mee) was a DJ on the Galway pirate WLS and later did stints on the border pirate Zee 103 and the offshore station the Voice of Peace. This airchecked recording is of him on an undated show from July 1986, which includes a detailed events guide for Galway for the late summer and autumn. The clip below is of Brendan reading the WLS midday news bulletin on Thursday 19th June 1986.

WLS news on 19.06.1986

Thanks for Brendan Mee for the donation.

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Breakfast on Galway’s Coast 103

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Breakfast on Galway's Coast 103
Coast 103 sticker (Anoraks Ireland Collection).

Coast 103 was a popular Galway station broadcasting from the middle of 1987 until the end of 1988. Run by Keith York and Steve Marshall who had been involved with previous Galway stations Atlantic Sound and WLS, Coast later merged with Limerick station Hits 954 and eventually claimed to cover a large area from Galway to the outskirts of Cork City. This recording was made towards the end of Coast’s run and features Ger Sweeney’s upbeat breakfast show, sponsored by the Happy Spud. A promo refers to Coast being heard in Limerick, Tipperary, Kerry and Cork but all of the adverts are from Galway. Ger must have been in a rush to leave as there is continuous music at the end of his show before Shane Martin takes over.

Breakfast on Galway's Coast 103
Original cassette label from Anoraks Ireland Collection.

The recording was made from 102.95 FM on 8th November 1988 from 0836-0924. It is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

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Evening show on WLS from Galway

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Evening show on WLS from Galway
WLS flyer from 1985 (courtesy Ian Biggar).

This recording of Galway pirate WLS dates from summer 1986, when the station was well established as the city’s main local broadcaster. Paul Vincent (aka Brendan Mee) presents a late-night show and adverts feature a mixture of local businesses and national companies. There’a also a promo for fellow DJ Richie O’Shea doing a local disco. The station identification at the top of the hour claims that the ‘West’s local station’ is growing with Galway.

The recording was made from 102.7 FM on 5th July 1986 from 2217-2303. There is some wobble in places due to the age of the cassette. Thanks to Brendan Mee for the donation.