Limerick Archives - Page 3 of 5 - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

27th April 202226th April 2022

Shannonside Community Radio from Limerick

Shannonside Community Radio was a short-lived pirate broadcasting to Limerick city in 1987. Information about the station is scant but it appears that it started around February of that year and broadcast on 97.5 FM with an address at 37 Catherine Street in the city centre.

The first recording above is a series of airchecks and is undated, but estimated to be from March 1987. DJs include Leonard Scott, Mark Young and Johnny Reggae (John Dronay), who had previously worked on popular Limerick pirate Big L. Aspiring DJs are asked to send a demo tape to the station. The second recording below is from 2^nd March 1987 and begins with the Wonderworth sponsored programme, presented by Johnny Reggae. Other DJs are Mike Patton and Liz Dronay, who possibly had a connection with John.

Recording from 2nd March 1987

There was plenty of competition in the Limerick radio market in early 1987. The bigger stations were Sound Channel and City Centre Radio, both aimed at younger listeners, and Raidió Luimní which focused on speech content and music for older cohorts. Shannonside Community Radio does not feature in listings by Anoraks Ireland from July 1987 so it appears that it lasted only a few months. It is not to be confused with the similarly named Shannonside Local Radio, that broadcast from north Kerry from 1987-1988.

These recordings are from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

24th December 202114th November 2023

Closedown of Raidió Luimní, Christmas Eve 1988

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When it closed just before Christmas in 1988, Raidió Luimní brought ten unique and memorable years of broadcasting to a close. While many Limerick stations came and went, Raidió Luimní was a constant presence in the city throughout the pirate era and had a huge following due largely to the unconventional style of its owner, John ‘the Man’ Frawley. It also had listeners well beyond Limerick city, thanks to an efficient Irish-made transmitter on 1125 kHz.

The station closed down a week earlier than other the pirates at the end of 1988, leaving the air at 0130 on Christmas Eve. This recording is of the final half-hour of the station with Alf de Lacy who says a long goodbye to Raidió Luimní listeners and staff and even thanks local Gardaí for their hard work over Christmas! A few bars of Denis Allen’s song ‘Limerick, You’re a Lady’ are played and then the national anthem brings Raidió Luimní to the end of its colourful life.

The recording was made from 103 FM from 0100-0130 on 24^th December 1988. We thank John Breslin for the donation. You can listen here to John the Man’s final show.

A comprehensive overview of the 1988 closedowns is available on the Radiowaves site.

23rd December 202124th December 2021

John the Man bids farewell on Raidió Luimní

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Raidió Luimní was one of the longest-serving pirates in the country, broadcasting from Limerick City from 1978 to 1988. It had a large following of loyal listeners in counties Limerick, Tipperary and Clare due to the eccentric broadcasting style of its owner, the late John ‘the Man’ Frawley. Raidió Luimní was a community station with a difference featuring all sorts of local characters and unusual programming. It was also one of the first stations to feature death notices, a tradition that continues on local radio today.

This is part of John the Man’s final show on 23^rd December 1988, the station’s last day of broadcasting. There are letters and requests from loyal listeners who are sad to see Raidió Luimní close and an emotional farewell from one of the more memorable pirate broadcasters of the 1980s.

The recording made from 1033-1118 from 103 FM and is kindly donated by John Breslin.

23rd July 202114th July 2021

Limerick Broadcasting Company

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Limerick Broadcasting Company (LBC) was a late-1970s pirate based in Limerick City. Information is scant, but the station is included in an update on the Irish scene by John Dowling, published in Sounds Alternative in December 1979, which lists it on 270 metres medium wave or 1110 kHz, so off-channel. The report says: ‘LBC was very cautious when dealing with us and reluctantly allowed us a look around the studios. We were asked not to publicise any information about the station, especially its location’. LBC continued to be logged until the spring of 1981 but we have no further information about it.

This recording of LBC is from 1st August 1979 from 1623-1710 and features DJ Jeff Steele with music and requests. 270 metres and 1110 kHz are announced on air. Only one advert is heard in the entire recording, so it’s clear that LBC wasn’t operating on a commercial basis. The heyday of the 1980s was yet to come, and most Irish pirates were small or part-time operators at this time. There’s a break in audio towards the end but we’re not sure if this is due to a technical issue at LBC or a problem with the cassette.

We thank John Breslin for his donation of this recording.

16th June 20206th August 2021

Documentary: The Irish Pirates (Volume 7)

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Continuing with Part 3 of Leon Tipler’s documentary ‘The Irish Pirates’, we hear more from the Cork radio scene in 1983 and also learn about the Limerick pirates. The hour begins with a visit to the 10 kW South Coast Radio AM transmitter site in Cork in the company of John Lewis. That is followed by a visit to ERI and an interview with veteran broadcaster Don Allen. There is also a rare insight into the earliest days of the Cork pirates in an interview with Con McParland. Tipler then continues to Limerick where he calls into two local stations, Big L and Raidió Luimní. The episode concludes with interviews with Mike Richardson of Big L and the popular John ‘the Man’ Frawley of Raidió Luimní.

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

Index to Volume 7

00:00 Visit to South Coast Radio TX site
09:11 Visit to ERI studios
16:30 Interview with Don Allen
25:00 ERI heard in UK
26:10 John Lewis on South Coast Radio
27:45 Interview with Con McParland of Radio Sundown
30:00 Visit to Limerick
30:50 Raidió Luimní
33:00 Big L
35:00 Visit to Big L
36:50 Interview with Mike Richardson
44:05 John ‘the Man’ Frawley on Raidió Luimní
46:06 Visit to Raidió Luimní
49:00 Interview with John ‘the Man’ Frawley