Eddie Caffrey at Boyneside in 1986 (courtesy of Eddie himself).
Eddie Caffrey is one of Ireland’s longest-serving broadcasters, having spent a decade with the Drogheda pirate, Boyneside Radio, before moving to licensed local station LMFM. This recording is of his daily Afternoon Delight programme from summer 1984. It includes the Golden Hour, news on the hour with Shane Harrison (who went on to a career with the BBC), the tea break feature with three songs by Queen, racing results and the birthday spot. The large number of requests reflects the popularity of Eddie’s programme with listeners. Also of interest is an advert for a Drogheda venue hosting the Radio Nova Night Out, a popular club arranged by the Dublin pirate.
The airchecked recording runs from 1400-1620 on Thursday 16th August 1984 from 98.1 FM. It was made originally by Kieran Murray and is part of the Anoraks Ireland Collection.
The Boyneside studio c. 1983 (courtesy Declan McGowan).
By 1984, the Drogheda station Boyneside Radio was 6 years on air and had grown into a large regional station with offshoot services across the northeast. This recording features the end of Daire Nelson’s breakfast show followed by the mid-morning programme presented by Don (Donagh) McKeown. Donagh would go on to present the first show on border station Zee 103 in 1986 and later worked for Downtown Radio in Belfast. News is read by Shane Harrison, who later had a career with the BBC in Belfast and Dublin.
The airchecked recording was made by Kieran Murray from 98.1 FM between 0930-1103 on Monday 13th August 1984 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.
The Boyneside Radio North transmitter right on the border (courtesy Eddie Caffrey).
Boyneside Radio North was one of several satellite services of the main Drogheda station, aimed at listeners north of the border as far as Belfast. This was the most successful of the offshoot stations, broadcasting continuously from late summer 1982 to 31st December 1988. The studios of Boyneside Radio North were located at Killeen, just south of the border, and AM and FM transmitters were situated on the border itself. There were local programmes from Killeen for long parts of the day, with the remainder of material relayed from Drogheda.
This recording of Boyneside Radio North was made on Easter Sunday 1988 and features an unidentified DJ with a mixture of pop and oldies. Requests are mostly from the Northern counties of Down and Armagh. Adverts feature businesses around the Newry area and an advertising promo contains Northern phone numbers. News at 1500 is read by Gerry Malone from Drogheda.
The tape is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection and was made from 1419-1508 on 3rd April 1988 from the 106.1 FM transmitter located at Edentubber, just on the border. Boyneside Radio North also broadcast on 1233 kHz (244 metres) to Newry.
Oliver McMahon (aka Big O) on Radio Carousel Northern Ireland c1986 (courtesy Eddie Caffrey).
Border Weekend Radio was a short-lived pirate broadcasting in January and February 1989 after the introduction of new legislation that was supposed to silence the unlicensed stations. Based in Carrickcarnon on the Louth/Armagh border, it was a reincarnation of Rainbow Radio that had broadcast from the same location since August 2nd 1987 until 31st December 1988. Border Weekend Radio was run by the same operators, Oliver McMahon (Big O) and Eugene Markey, both formerly of Boyneside Radio North.
The first log of Border Weekend Radio in the Anoraks UK Weekly Report was on 28th January 1989. It was noted that a new local radio station with some well-known voices heard previously on Rainbow Radio was heard the previous weekend on 1152 kHz AM and 98.5 FM, the former frequencies of Rainbow Radio. According to Weekly Report, Border Weekend Radio began broadcasting on the afternoon of Friday 20th January on AM only. FM followed on Saturday morning and programming continued until midnight on Sunday. There were no adverts but blocks of programming were sponsored by local businesses. The station was logged again on Saturday 4th February on 1152 kHz, using a Newry telephone number. However, in Weekly Report of 18th February 1989, it was noted that following the second raid on Radio Dublin on February 11th, both Border Weekend Radio and another Louth pirate Zee 103 seemed to have left the air for good. Border Weekend Radio would in fact return briefly as Summertime Sounds later in 1989.
This recording was made from 98.5 FM on 22nd January 1989 between 1030-1350, with the final section partially edited. First up is Jolly Ollie (Oliver McMahon) with country and Irish music, followed by Mr Wonderful with a more mixed bag. The sheer volume of requests and mentions of local businesses underline the ongoing demand for local radio that was unserved in the vacuum caused by the closure of the pirates. Thanks to Ian Biggar for the donation.
Radio Carousel antenna at the Boyne Valley Hotel in Drogheda (courtesy Bill Ebrill).
The Louth station Radio Carousel developed many satellite stations during its long existence (1978-1988). Apart from the headquarters in Dundalk, at various times it had stations in Navan (Co. Meath), Drogheda (Co. Louth), Castleblayney (Co. Monaghan) and on the border aimed at Newry (Co. Armagh/Co. Down). The model was for satellites to run their own programming but link up with Dundalk for certain programmes, for instance Country Call presented by station owner Hugh Hardy (RIP). The first satellite service was opened in Drogheda in 1982 and claimed coverage of south Co. Louth and north Co. Dublin. The studios were based in the Boyne Valley Hotel but it was difficult for the station to gain a hold in Drogheda due to the dominance of Boyneside Radio in the town.
This short recording of Radio Carousel Drogheda features a familiar voice on the station, Kieran Murray, presenting an afternoon musical mix, interspersed with adverts and community announcements. The airchecked recording was made by Kieran from around 1500 on Wednesday 19th May 1982 from 99.4 FM and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection. Radio Carousel Drogheda also broadcast on 1413 kHz, announcing 215 metres.
