In January 1978, Radio Dublin began a full daytime schedule, a change that shook up the Dublin radio scene and ushered in a new era of increased competition and rising standards. This recording was made around lunchtime and features DJ Sylvia with good tunes, an album of the week feature and live-read adverts. The iconic 253 jingle is aired a few times and Sylvia is followed by DJ Lee in the afternoon slot.
The recording is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection and was made from 1187 kHz, announcing 253 metres, between 1342-1403 sometime in 1978.
Radio Dublin car sticker from 1986 (courtesy DX Archive).
Pirate stations often became embroiled in politics not just because they were broadcasting without licences but also due to the unregulated nature of the radio scene. One issue that caused friction was Section 31 of the Broadcasting Act that prohibited broadcast interviews with spokespersons for Sinn Féin and the IRA. Although RTÉ implemented the law strictly, the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) opposed it on the grounds of media censorship. As they operated outside the law anyway, some pirate stations ignored Section 31 and occasionally paid the consequences. For instance, in 1982 the Radio Leinster presenter Gavin Duffy announced that he would interview Gerry Adams and other senior Sinn Féin figures. The station received a warning from the Department of Posts and Telegraphs and Duffy was fired. Another consequence was that politicians who appeared on the pirates were blacklisted by RTÉ, depriving themselves of coverage at election time. In a direct challenge to Section 31, temporary pirate stations supporting Sinn Féin or H-Block candidates also popped up from time to time.
This recording of a late-night talk show on Radio Dublin was made a few days before the general election on 17th February 1987 and is an example of how rules about balance in political coverage often did not apply to the pirates. Presenter Pat Jennings – himself a member of the NUJ – states that he is opposed to the broadcasting ban and interviews Paul Davidson (Tony Donlon, RIP) of Anoraks Ireland about how it plays out in the pirate world. There are also live calls from listeners giving their views on the election and in studio are former H-Block candidate Tony O’Hara and Dublin City Councillor Seán Dublin Bay Rockall Loftus. The owner of Radio Dublin, Eamon Cooke, was well known for his republican sympathies and the station was one of a handful that did not broadcast a minute’s silence in November 1987 after the IRA bombed the war memorial ceremony in Enniskillen.
The label states that the recording was made from 105 FM on Saturday 14th February 1987 between 0045-0133, but it sounds like there are a few edits. The tape is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.
Radio Dublin letterhead from 1977 using the Ranelagh address (courtesy Ian Biggar).
This is a rare early recording of Radio Dublin (1966-2002) featuring the legendary Don Moore (RIP) on a test transmission in 1975. By this time, the Dublin pirate scene was quiet following a raid on Radio Empathy in 1974 and Radio Dublin had been off the air for a year. By 1975, pirate activity had shifted to shortwave, believed to be of less interest to the authorities than medium wave, and Dr Don was operating Radio Westside (later Westside Radio International). However, both he and Prince Terry (Roger Lloyd) were determined to put Radio Dublin back on medium wave and began testing with a new transmitter in October, covering the northside of the city on 30 watts. That summer, Capitol Radio had appeared on 1358 kHz (announcing 220 metres) and with the return of regular weekend broadcasts by Radio Dublin, the new activity ultimately paved the way for the rapid expansion of pirate radio in the late 1970s and 1980s.
In this short recording, Dr Don sends best wishes to Capitol Radio on 220 metres and also mentions that another shortwave pirate, Radio Valleri would return soon. Don signs off by saying that he will shortly be testing on his own shortwave station, Radio Westside. We estimate the date of this untimed recording to be Sunday 12th October 1985. It was made by Gary Hogg from 1183 kHz (off-channel, announcing 253 metres). Thanks to Ian Biggar for the donation.
Radio Dublin was one of Ireland’s longest running pirate stations, on air from 1966 to 2002. This recording was made in Broughton-in Furness on the Cumbrian coast and features Gerry Stevens with the end of the breakfast programme, which was also broadcast on Radio Dublin Channel 2. Gerry announces that Channel 2 is coming on the air with separate programming at 1000 and he is followed by Adrian St James (Nolan) with the Morning Call International programme on the main Radio Dublin frequencies on AM, FM and shortwave. The phone is out of order but Adrian still shares requests from listeners, presumably dropped into the station in Inchicore or received by post. The daily Golden Hour slot begins at 1030 and there’s a promo for the weekly Lebanon Requests Show with DJ Angie.
There is good AM groundwave propagation on the recording despite the distance of over 230 kilometres from Dublin to Cumbria. The tape was made from 1188 kHz (253 metres) on 26th June 1983 between 0936-1037. It is from the Leon Tipler Collection, donated to us by Steve England. Adrian Nolan continues to broadcast on Irish radio to this day.
Radio Valleri was one of the pioneering early Irish pirates, broadcasting first on medium wave and then on shortwave. Its first broadcast was on Sunday 23rd July 1972 on 196 metres (1525 kHz) from a garden shed on the northside of Dublin, with taped programmes presented by the station’s founders Derek Jones and Mike Anderson. Sunday broadcasts continued on medium wave until September of that year and were augmented by additional programmes with Arno St Jude (Declan Meehan) and Edward LeRoy. Radio Valleri moved to shortwave in 1973, appearing on 6317 kHz on October 21st and then using 6260 and later 6210 each Sunday morning for a year. It closed on 7th December 1975 due to increased interest by the Irish authorities but returned on May 16th 1976 and continued into 1977 for 3 hours every Sunday. In a report in the magazine Free Radio Waves in February 1977, Mike Anderson wrote that in the previous 5 years, Radio Valleri had received over 500 reception reports from around Europe and as far away as the Soviet Union.
This recording of Radio Valleri was made on 19th October 1975 and is a repeat of a programme broadcast a year earlier featuring the history of Irish free radio. It kicks off with Mike Anderson who gives a potted history of early Irish stations such as Radio Santa Monica (1965), Radio Caroline Dublin (1969), Radio Eamo (1970), Radio Vanessa (1970) and Radio Melinda (1972). Mike is followed by Derek Jones who plays crackly recordings of the early stations, including Radio Melinda (featuring Arno St Jude), Radio Caroline Dublin and Radio Dublin. Other stations mentioned are Radio North Dublin, Radio Galaxy and Radio Jacqueline, which later became Channel 70. Derek also shares a musical history of Radio Valleri from its launch in 1972. This programme appears to be a studio copy rather than recorded from shortwave and is courtesy of Ian Biggar.
