Radio Caroline Dublin (1990s) Archives - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

28th October 202420th October 2024

Radio Caroline Dublin on October bank holiday 1990

Radio Caroline Dublin was one of the longest-running pirates in the capital in the post-1989 period, when new legisation was supposed to silence the unlicensed operators. Based in Sutton in northeast Dublin, it broadcast on a part-time basis from 1989-1992 and then introduced a full schedule, operating every evening and all day at weekends. Reception was local at the start but eventually a transmitter site in the Dublin mountains gave good coverage of the city. The station did not take advertising but instead generated income from DJ subscriptions and occasional fundraisers. Radio Caroline Dublin was involved in an unsuccessful application for a community radio licence in 1996 and continued broadcasting until 2000.

In its first two years, Radio Caroline broadcast only on bank holiday Mondays, so about six times a year. The same people were also behind other occasional stations in the Dublin 13 area such as Suburban Radio and ARD. This recording is of Radio Caroline on the October bank holiday Monday 1990 and features one of the station founders Bobby Gibbson (aka Brian Greene of Pirate.ie). He comments on the forthcoming Irish presidential election, reminisces on the 1990 World Cup and laments the state of broadcasting in Ireland. The broadcast ends with the original ‘love and good music’ jingle of the offshore Radio Caroline and then the TX is switched off.

The recording is from the Pirate.ie collection and was made from 94 FM from 2203-2303 on 29^th October 1990.

4th October 20243rd October 2024

Another Alternative Radio Dublin from post-1989

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ARD (Alternative Radio Dublin) was one of the biggest stations in the early years of the pirate era, first broadcasting in 1976 on 217 metres. It was set up by Declan Meehan, Mark Story and Davitt Kelly (RIP). Following a split at Radio Dublin, the late Don Moore (Dr. Don) joined ARD in 1977 and it moved to 1161 kHz (announcing 257 metres), next to its old rival on 253 metres. Competition between Radio Dublin and ARD forced up standards and led to greater professionalism among the pirates and a shift from hobby to full-time broadcasters.

It is said that imitiation is the best form of flattery so we were interested to discover a recording of another Alternative Radio Dublin, based in the north Dublin suburb of Bayside in the second wave of pirates following the new laws that came into force in 1989. This ARD was one of the occasional hobby stations operated by the people behind Radio Caroline Dublin, a long-running pirate that broadcast from 1989 to 2000 from the same part of Dublin. Brian Greene of Pirate.ie was one of the founders. From the same stable, ARD played indie/alternative music on weekday evenings between 10pm and midnight. All shows were pre-recorded rather than live and power output was about 30 watts on FM through a half-wave dipole with no elevation, so coverage was very local. It is not clear how often ARD was on air but it was most likely heard on only a handful of occasions in 1989/1990. Another more regular hobby station run by the same people was Suburban Radio, broadcasting in the same late-night timeslot before Radio Caroline became a more full-time operation. This recording of ARD features Dave Walsh (aka Daragh O’Sullivan) on air and was made from 94 FM from 2208-2338 on 24^th July 1990. It is from the Pirate.ie collection.

Radio Caroline Dublin and ARD/Suburban Radio had their origins in other local stations in northeast Dublin such as Centre Radio (1986-1988) and Big Beat Radio (1986). Radio Caroline broadcast on bank holiday Mondays in 1989 and on weekends in 1990/1991 before introducing a full-time schedule from 1992. It was one of the longest continuous pirates of the 1990s, a significant achievement given the new stricter legal regime in place.

9th July 20226th October 2024

Interview about Radio Caroline Dublin (1990s)

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Radio Caroline Dublin (1989-2000) was one of the longest running stations of the second wave of the pirates following legalisation. It was set up by Brian Greene (Bobby Gibbson on air) and Tom Berry (RIP) who had previously run Centre Radio from Bayside in 1987-1988. Radio Caroline Dublin began broadcasting on bank holiday Mondays in 1989 and went full-time in January 1992. The station settled on 102.5 FM and increased its signal overtime but ran into difficulties with the authorities when Lite FM (later Q102) was licensed for 102.2 in 2000. Radio Caroline Dublin changed its name to WXTC but closed soon afterwards.

Radio Caroline Dublin was typical of pirate stations of the era. The Broadcasting and Wireless Telegraphy Act 1988 forced pirate from the high street and hotels into garden sheds for the majority of the 1990s. Radio Caroline Dublin never ran adverts and did limited fundraisers. Its core funding was through vigorous adherence to DJ subscriptions. Weekly and monthly subs were collected with two tiers for waged and unwaged. The subs from 25+ volunteers funded the very best of club DJing equipment in studio and a Dublin Mountains TX site. The subs were directly linked to democratic involvement in purchasing decisions. Ownership structure was more akin to 1970s AM pirates but there was a not-for-profit ethos from the start.

Full time hours were 5pm-12am Monday-Friday and 9am-1am at weekends. The station was involved in an unsuccessful licence bid for a community radio licence in 1996, and was a constituent group in the formation of Dublin-wide community of interest station Anna Livia FM, but then never got involved with that station as they were busy building Radio Caroline Dublin.

This interview with Brian Greene was conducted by Pete Reid (Simon Maher) and Gerard Roe in July 1998 in the Radio Caroline Dublin studio. It was featured in Anorak Hour #151 on 2^nd August 1998 on Phantom FM and repeated during Anorak Hour #249 on 17^th September 2000. This donation is with thanks to Gerard Roe.

23rd December 20187th March 2023

Interview: Derek Jones (Radio Valleri)

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One of Ireland’s longest serving DJs and radio operators, Derek Jones sat down to tell his radio story, from AM Raidió Bhaile Átha Cliath (Radio Dublin) in the 1960s, to his long running SW station Radio Valleri, to Christmas FM and Retro FM. Derek also discusses his favourite radio memories including his nine years on Radio Caroline Dublin in Sutton.