Laois Archives - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

25th December 202214th November 2023

Laois Community Radio on Christmas Day

Laois Community Radio (LCR) broadcast from early 1982 for six years from the town of Mountrath, closing down on 31st December 1988 along with the vast majority of the other pirate stations. This recording was made on Christmas Day 1987 and features Jimmy Hayes with the Nashville Sound show. The music is country and bluegrass and there are Christmas requests and a promo urging listeners to support the businesses advertising on LCR. At the time, the station broadcast daily from 9am to 11pm on 1242 kHz and on 101.5 and 102 FM.

The recording was made from one of LCR’s two FM frequencies from 1713-1800 (the times on the label are incorrect) on 25^th December 1987. It is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated by Paul Davidson.

2nd July 20211st July 2021

Keeping it local on Laois Community Radio

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Laois Community Radio (LCR) broadcast from early 1982 for six years from the town of Mountrath, closing down on New Year’s Eve 1988 along with most other pirates. This recording is from the early days of the station and gives a sense of a station putting down roots as a truly local operation. It’s Sunday 31^st October 1982 and the unidentified presenter plays easy listening music and reads out plenty of community notices, including one inviting local groups to use LCR to get their message across. The recording, made from 88.8 FM, starts at around 1130 but it seems some of the music has been airchecked. Audio quality is fair and there is some fading at times, possibly due to distance from the transmitter.

We thank Ian Biggar and DX Archive for this recording.

30th June 202130th June 2021

Radio Amore from Portlaoise

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Radio Amore was a shortlived station broadcasting from Portlaoise, Co. Laois in 1982 and 1983. It was logged by DX Archive on 1143 kHz (announcing 263 metres) in December 1982 but there is no mention of it in their April 1983 list. The arrival of Laois Community Radio in Mountrath around this time probably contributed to Radio Amore’s demise.

This recording is from 104.5 FM of Francis McNally at 9pm on Saturday 26^th of February 1983, so Radio Amore must have disappeared soon after that date. There are requests from Portlaoise itself and Ballybrophy over 30 km away. Audio quality is poor with variable levels and due to the bad condition of the cassette, it was necessary to aircheck the recording. The incorrect spelling “Radio A’Moore” is on the cassette label, but in fairness to whoever typed it, Radio Amore was a strange choice of name for a station broadcasting from Portlaoise.

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

28th June 202128th June 2021

Laois Community Radio from Mountrath

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LCR logo (courtesy of Ian Biggar).

Laois Community Radio (LCR) broadcast from the town of Mountrath in Co. Laois from 1982 to 1988. It was first logged by DX Archive in April 1982 on 1160 kHz, slightly off-channel. It later moved to 1170 kHz before settling on 1242 kHz from late 1986 onwards, where it remained until the closedowns at the end of 1988. LCR was one of a small number of pirates that broadcast right up to the midnight deadline on December 31^st. FM frequencies logged over the years included 88.8, 102.3 and 102.8 FM. This short recording of LCR was made on 26^th February 1983 from 1306-1320. The DJ is unidentified.

Laois Community Radio from Mountrath — A view of Mountrath today (photo by John Walsh).

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