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Hugh O’Brien and David Dennehy on ARD

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Hugh O'Brien and David Dennehy on ARD
ARD’s aerial at the Crofton Hotel in 1981 (courtesy Noel Hiney).

This recording of Alternative Radio Dublin (ARD) was made on a Saturday afternoon in 1981. Hugh O’Brien is on air with mostly oldies and is joined by David Dennehy with sports news. Both would be heard on other pirates throughout the 1980s and on licensed radio thereafter. The recording includes a news flash about the highjacking of an Aer Lingus plane in Paris.

There are plenty of adverts including one for Channel 3 television, later to be known as Channel D. Channel 3 was one of a handful of short-lived pirate television stations broadcasting in the 1980s. It was set up by Don Moore of ARD and Michael Tiernan of the National Independent Broadcasting Organisation, a grouping of commercial pirate stations. Other voices heard on adverts are Paul Vincent, Dave C. and Tony Allan. The cassette has become degraded over time and there is some audio distortion.

Hugh O'Brien and David Dennehy on ARD
Original cassette label from Anoraks Ireland Collection.

The recording was made from 99.9 FM from 1659-1745 on 2nd May 1981. It is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

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Radio Nova from September 1982

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Radio Nova from September 1982
Bryan Dobson’s Nova ID card – although they misspelled his name! Image courtesy of Bryan himself.

Continuing our focus on the tapes of British radio enthusiast Leon Tipler, this is a recording of Radio Nova that he made during a trip to Ireland in September 1982. The recording runs from 1728-1808 on Saturday 11th September and features DJ Hugh O’Brien followed by Bryan Dobson (one of RTÉ’s leading journalists up to his retirement in 2024) and Michael O’Brien reading news. After the news is the US syndicated show The American Country Countdown with Bob Kingsley. Nova was announcing 846 kHz AM and 88 FM at the time.

Ads are heard for Hickson Holidays, the Sunday World newspaper, Tiger shoes and the newly-released film Bladerunner with Harrison Ford. This recording is from the Leon Tipler Tapes Collection, donated to us by Steve England.

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Interview: Declan Meehan (part 2: 1982-1989)

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Interview: Declan Meehan (part 2: 1982-1989)
Declan Meehan and John Walsh at East Coast FM in Bray where Declan has worked since 1994.

In the second part of our extended interview, long-time broadcaster Declan Meehan discusses his move from Sunshine to Radio Nova in 1982 which was by then the biggest station in Dublin. He tells us how Chris Cary copied the sound of KIIS FM in Los Angeles to bring a new broadcasting style to Ireland. Despite his love for Radio Nova, Declan left the station because of the bitter NUJ strike in 1984. Although he moved into licensed radio in the UK and Ireland after that, Declan’s involvement with the pirates didn’t quite end there. The interview concludes with Declan’s thoughts on the pirate legacy and his views on the state of radio today.

You can hear the first part of this interview here.