Pirate.ie proudly supports An Cailín Ciúin

Pirate.ie proudly supports An Cailín Ciúin
An Stoirm Chiúin, adapted from Q102 advert in 1985

In February 2021, the director and writer of an Irish language film to be known as Fanacht contacted Pirate.ie about using clips from our archive as ‘radio filler’. Colm Bairéad told us that the film was based on Claire Keegan’s novel Foster and set in Louth and Waterford over the summer of 1981. In order to give a flavour of local radio from that era, he said that they would like to use audio of DJs and adverts on Radio Carousel and ABC Radio from the early 1980s. We were more than happy to support this and wrote back to Colm in Irish and English with information about using or adapting the clips.

Two years later and what is now known as An Cailín Ciúin (The Quiet Girl) has become a huge hit in Ireland and across the world and is the most successful Irish language film ever. It received numerous awards and was nominated for the 95th Academy Awards in the ‘International Feature Film’ category of the Oscars. An Cailín Ciúin is supported by TG4’s Cine4 scheme, an exciting initiative that has boosted several new films in Irish in recent years. Screen Ireland and the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland also provided assistance. Pirate.is is proud to have contributed to the film’s success in a small way and we are delighted that Irish pirate radio audio from our archive has been heard at film festivals and cinemas throughout the world as an authentic representation of the cultural and audio history of Ireland in the 1980s.

Pirate.ie proudly supports An Cailín Ciúin

To mark the occasion, we have adapted a 1985 poster by the then new Dublin pirate station Q102, which used the tagline ‘the Quiet Storm’ in its early months on air. Q102 was the newest ‘super-pirate’ in the city, a large and professional operation that went on to enjoy commercial success until it closed down at the end of 1988 in line with new broadcasting legislation. An Cailín Ciúin is also ‘an stoirm chiúin’ – the quiet storm – that has taken the cinema world by storm and made (radio) waves in Ireland and abroad.

Déanaimid comhghairdeas ó chroí le Colm Bairéad, an léiritheoir Cleona Ní Chrualaoich agus aisteoirí agus criú uile an tsárscannáin An Cailín Ciúin. Tá ‘stoirm chiúin’ spreagtha agaibh i saol na scannánaíochta agus na Gaeilge in Éirinn agus ar fud na cruinne agus táimid fíorbhródúil asaibh.  

Pirate.ie interviewed for podcast about pirate border signals

Pirate.ie interviewed for podcast about pirate border signals
Cross-border transmitter built by Sean McQuillan, installed by Tom O’Dea and Frank Sweeney at the CCA as part of the Ballads of Rhinestones and Newcomers exhibition.

In 2022, Pirate.ie collaborated with an exhibition at the Centre for Contemporary Art in Derry about how analogue radio and television signals spilled across the Irish border in the past. The exhibition, Ballads of Rhinestones and Newcomers, covered differing experiences of the border at a time when the implications of Brexit are being felt. As part of the exhibition, the film 2 Channel Land illustrated how pirate radio and television deflector signals could be heard on both sides of the border in times past. Created by artists Frank Sweeney and Tom O’Dea, the exhibition was presented as a radio sculpture and visitors could move through the gallery with handheld radios and learn about the technology and culture of signal overspill.

As part of the project, Frank and Tom interviewed John Walsh of Pirate.ie for a podcast about the background to our archive, with particular attention to recordings of border stations. The podcast was first published in February 2023.

Interview about Brooklyn pirate radio

Interview about Brooklyn pirate radio
Postcard advertising the Brooklyn Pirate Radio Sound Map (courtesy David Goren).

Although Irish pirate radio is our main interest, today we explore the lively pirate scene in the Brooklyn area of New York City. The Brooklyn Pirate Radio Sound Map is a fascinating project established by radio producer and audio archivist David Goren and provides interactive maps and historical and contemporary recordings of the many unlicensed stations in Brooklyn.

This is a longer version of an interview by John Walsh with David Goren first featured in Wireless, a series about radio, audio and media on Flirt FM in Galway. It covers the history of pirate radio in Brooklyn and New York generally, attempts to crack down on the unlicensed stations, the role of low-powered FM, the background to the Brooklyn Pirate Radio Sound Map itself and plans for the future. Many thanks to David for taking the time to explain this fantastic project for us.

Local radio documentary on Capitol Radio in 1979

Local radio documentary on Capitol Radio in 1979
L-R: Chris Barry, Alan Russell and Dave Lee at Capitol in 1978 (courtesy Alan Russell).

This is a documentary about local radio in Ireland as broadcast by Dublin station Capitol Radio in May 1979. Presented by one of the station’s founders Alan Russell, it was aired before the local and European Parliament elections on 7th June and includes interviews with Fianna Fáil politicians as heard on Radio Tralee. There are also clips of early Dublin pirates and audio of a raid on Capitol by the Department of Posts and Telegraphs in 1978. We thank Alan Russell for donating this unique recording and for providing the following background to Capitol.

Imagine if you will – a world with no Twitter or Facebook, Netflix or the other internet bells and whistles, no satellite TV or mobile phones. That was the world less than 50 years ago and perhaps one of the reasons radio entertainment was more diverse and popular than today. It was a time prior to independent radio licencing and dozens of stations were operating throughout the country in an unregulated ‘pirate’ capacity,  providing local news, entertainment and advertising for local businesses. In Ireland it was a time of social change and crossing the threshold into a new decade, the 1980s.

It’s over 40 years since Capitol Radio – one of Dublin city’s pioneering AM radio stations – closed in March 1981 after three years of daily programming. Capitol had previously broadcast on a weekly basis between July and December 1975 and with assistance from music promoters had aired interviews with musicians and bands, including Phil Lynott, Status Quo, Chris De Burgh and Horslips in their weekly programmes. At the time there was just the one national radio channel – Radio Éireann (now RTÉ) and minimal airtime was provided for contemporary music. RTÉ Radio 2 – now 2FM – was launched in 1979 mainly in response to the pirate stations, which were securing a considerable audience nationally.
The station founders Chris Barry, Ed Mc Dowell and Alan Russell had previous airtime experience, Ed having operated Radio Empathy some years before. Another station Director, Tommy Hogarty, secured initial financing from a Dublin publican which helped lease a studio premises.

Local radio documentary on Capitol Radio in 1979
Alan Russell in Capitol in 1980 (courtesy of Alan).

After carrying out test transmissions in March 1978 Capitol launched  daily programmes in April from studios on Bachelors Walk, 100 yards from O’Connell Bridge. Our first aerial was an ambitious quarter-wave dipole which ran from near the Ha’penny Bridge to the roof of our premises and the nearby Bachelor Inn – in exchange for daily adverts! The station frequency was 1358 kHz or 220 metres (later changed to 226 metres) and was heard in the UK and Europe. After the dipole aerial system was repeatedly damaged by nuisance neighbours we changed to an inverted L which was in a more secure area, although we lost the skywave bounce for long distance listeners.

Capitol’s alternative music format was album-oriented and a selective top-40 playlist, with nightly specialist music programmes including jazz, new wave, rock, Irish folk and trad, rockabilly and country and western. From 9pm, free public service broadcasts were aired for the Samaritans, Alone and similar voluntary organisations. Interviews with local singers/authors/celebrities etc. were also a regular feature of daytime programmes. A news service was a later addition, headed by Adrian Horsmann.

The Pirate.ie Podcast #7

The Pirate.ie Podcast #7
A collage of pirate radio in Northern Ireland from 1969-1975 (courtesy of Eddie Bohan).

In episode #7 of the Pirate.ie podcast, we look at aspects of the history of pirate radio in Northern Ireland. Brian Greene and John Walsh talk to broadcast historian Eddie Bohan about his research into the pirates of Derry and Belfast during the period 1969-1975. At that time, pirate radio was a tool of both nationalist/republican and unionist/loyalist communities during the turbulent early years of the Troubles.

The Pirate.ie Podcast #7
A map of Belfast’s pirate stations at the time (courtesy of Eddie Bohan).

The podcast covers stations such as Radio Free Derry, Radio Free Belfast, Radio Shankill and Radio Orange and describes how they fanned the flames of violence and sectarianism. Pirates on both sides were popular in their communities but were a headache for the British authorities and no-one was ever prosecuted for involvement in them.

We thank Eddie Bohan for sharing his fascinating research with us which will be presented in a book in the near future. See his blog for further updates about his work.