Posted on

Interview: Kieran Murray (Part 2)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Interview: Kieran Murray (Part 2)
Kieran Murray in the Boyneside Radio Kells studio (photo courtesy of Kieran Murray).

In this second part of the interview, Kieran Murray tells Brian Greene about his move from Radio Carousel to its biggest rival, Boyneside Radio, in 1983. Like Carousel, Boyneside had become a regional network and Kieran took over management of its satellite station in Kells, Co. Meath, which had its own opt-out programming.

Interview: Kieran Murray (Part 2)
A rate card for Boyneside Radio Kells (courtesy of Ian Biggar/DX Archive).

Kieran also describes his involvement with Radio Rainbow International, a hobby station set up by Boyneside co-owner Eddie Caffrey. Rainbow could be heard far and wide due to its powerful shortwave signal and Kieran presented a weekly FRC programme which attracted correspondence from across Europe. Part 2 ends with Kieran’s memories of returning to Dublin to work for Liberty 104 at the end of the pirate era in 1987-88.

Interview: Kieran Murray (Part 2)
A QSL for Radio Rainbow International signed by Kieran (courtesy of Ian Biggar/DX Archive).

There’s an interview with Eddie Caffrey about Radio Rainbow International here. We’ll bring you recordings of Rainbow at a later stage in our series about the pirates of the northeast.

Posted on

Full recording: LLCR (Dublin)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Full recording: LLCR (Dublin)
LLCR sticker courtesy of DX Archive

Liberties Local Community Radio (LLCR) was launched on the 4th of April 1986 from Weaver’s Square in the heart of the Liberties area of inner-city Dublin. This recording is from 96.7 FM on the 15th of April and is of Des Hogan on the breakfast show from 0852 to 0937. There are jingles and a few commercials including a professionally-made advert for local self-defence and one for Sam’s shop next door to LLCR voiced by the ubiquitous Tony Allan (Sammy Prendergast was the station owner). Des Hogan announces that the next show Workers’ Playtime will be presented by Gerry Ryan (no relation to the RTÉ broadcaster) but slips up and gives his real name, Gerry Marsden, at a later stage. At 0930 there is a half-hour insert of The Fureys and Davie Arthur while ‘technicians work in the studio’.

This recording is from the Skywave Tapes Collection. Skywave Radio International broadcast a shortwave station in the 1980s from Baldoyle in northeast Dublin.  Other LLCR recordings are available here.

Posted on

First day of Liberties Local Community Radio

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

First day of Liberties Local Community Radio
Car sticker for LLCR courtesy of DX Archive

This is a recording of the first day of Liberties Local Community Radio (LLCR) from 4th April 1986. The presenter is Paul Barrett and this is aircheck includes jingles and a helpful interjection from Brian Greene who informs us that the FM transmitter on 96.7 was running 50 watts. There’s a change in sound quality half-way through, when it seems the source was switched from FM to the AM transmitter on 1035 kHz.

LLCR broadcast from Weaver Square in the Liberties until the end of 1988 during which time it changed format and name several times. You can hear LLCR jingles here. This recording is from the Pirate.ie collection.

Posted on

Jingles: Liberties Local Community Radio

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Jingles: Liberties Local Community Radio
Image courtesy of DX Archive

Liberties Local Community Radio (LLCR) began broadcasting in April 1986 from Weaver Square in Dublin 8. It was run by Sammy Prendergast who was well known for installing aerials for pirate stations. LLCR broadcast on 1035 kHz AM using the old Capitol Radio rig which had been on 1017 kHz until shortly before then. It was also heard on 104 FM at a later stage.

Although LLCR began by emphasising its community roots in the Liberties, it never sounded like long-standing community stations such as BLB and NDCR. There was a lot of chopping and changing in Weaver Square during its two years on air but the station had its followers nonetheless. One of its most popular programmes was a hip-hop show presented by Tony Christie.

There was a lot of variation in the station’s name as these jingles and idents indicate, from LLCR to Liberties Radio to Liberty Radio. The station also announced Liberty 104 for a while and was known as Gold 104 in the second half of 1988. The poor-quality jingles for ‘Super Rock 104’ seem to be from that period.

Various LLCR jingles from 1986
Top of the hour ident (1987) announcing Liberties Radio
Top of the hour ident (1988) announcing Liberty Radio

You can hear an aircheck of Teena Gates reading news on Liberty 104 here.

Posted on

Interviews: launch of pirate radio exhibition

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In 2018 broadcast historian Eddie Bohan launched his exhibition of Irish pirate radio history. The exhibition is travelling around Ireland during 2018 and 2019 to commemorate the end of the pirate era and the start of licensed radio.

Here’s an interview with Eddie Bohan about the exhibition and the importance of pirate radio history. The exhibition was launched at the South Dublin County Library in Tallaght in May 2018. The interview was first broadcast on Wireless on Flirt FM in April 2018.

Here’s a selection of interviews with some of those who came along to the launch of the exhibition in Tallaght: Jimmy McCabe (Radio Milinda), Dermot Butler (Radio Dublin and KIC FM), Chris Murray (Radio Dublin and now LMFM) and Eric Moore (LLCR and Smile FM and now RTÉ Gold). This report was first broadcast on Wireless on Flirt FM in May 2018.