Radio Leinster advert a few weeks before it closed down (Anoraks Ireland Collection).
Radio Leinster was a specialist and middle-of-the-road station offering an alternative to Dublin listeners accustomed to the diet of chart music on many pirates. Launching on 29th April 1981 on 738 kHz, announcing 406 metres, it liked to claim that it wooed listeners from RTÉ Radio 1 rather than Radio 2. Despite making inroads in the Dublin radio market over its two years on air, Radio Leinster became collateral damage in the raids on large pirate stations, closing down suddenly on May 19th 1983.
This tape was made a few days before the closedown and features the Late on Leinster show presented by Gerry Wilson. There are plenty of requests, reflecting the desire for live late-night radio, now sadly a thing of the past. Adverts include the Sunday World newspaper, a staple on all commercial pirate stations during the 1980s. The airchecked recording was made on Saturday night/Sunday morning 14th and 15th May between 2230 and 0130 from 93 FM. It is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.
Radio Leinster sticker (Anoraks Ireland Collection).
Radio Leinster was a multi-format station broadcasting to Dublin and surrounding areas from 1981-1983. The music style was MOR/easy-listening and there were also specialist programmes covering a wide range of genres.
This recording features a familiar voice on the Dublin pirates, DJ Lee, presenting the evening Bumper to Bumper show. The programme includes traffic reports, a listeners’ competition, featured albums, the Ramble Around Dublin slot, TV movies and a city events guide. Adverts are heard for businesses throughout Dublin and news on the hour is read by Gary Miley, who would later work for Sunshine Radio and eventually RTÉ. News at 1900 is edited out but Lee is followed by Conor Brooks with a Top 40 show, presumably one of Radio Leinster’s specialist programmes. Conor would later be heard on alternative/indie station Capitol/Nitesky 96.
Original cassette inlay from Anoraks Ireland Collection.
Radio Leinster broadcast on 738 kHz AM (announcing 406 metres), using a professionally-built 1kW transmitter, and on 93 FM. It closed suddenly on 19th May 1983, following the raids on Sunshine and Radio Nova. This recording was made from FM on Tuesday 18th January 1983 between 1730 and 1908 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.
Radio Leinster sticker (courtesy Svenn Martinsen).
Radio Leinster was an easy-listening and talk-based station broadcasting to the Dublin area in the early 1980s. It launched on 29th April 1981 and closed suddenly on 19th May 1983 following the raids on the main Dublin stations Radio Nova and Sunshine Radio. This recording of Late Night Leinster was made about a week before the station left the airwaves and features the managing director Justin James presenting laid-back music. There are few adverts reflecting the time of night and Justin announces that Radio Leinster will close down for the night at 0200.
Original cassette label from Anoraks Ireland Collection.
The recording is from the Anoraks Ireland collection and was made from 93 FM on Wednesday 11th May 1983 from 0037 to 0146. Radio Leinster also broadcast on 738 kHz AM, announcing 406 metres medium wave. Its elevated site in Sandyford overlooking the city and professional transmitter gave it good coverage by day but the station suffered co-channel interference after dark.
Radio Leinster sticker from 1983 (courtesy Svenn Martinsen).
Radio Leinster was a specialist Dublin station with an easy listening and talk format in contrast with the diet of pop preferred by most pirates. It broadcast from 29th April 1981 until 19th May 1983, closing down suddenly as panic spread following the raids on super-pirates Radio Nova and Sunshine Radio. Radio Leinster was situated on an elevated site in Sandyford with an excellent view of the city from its studios. The professionally-made 1 kW transmitter on 738 kHz (406 metres) gave good coverage by day but suffered co-channel interference after dark.
This short recording from Sunday 13th September 1981 features part of a religious programme presented by Fr. Michael Conaghty, who reads headlines from the Catholic Universe. Some of Radio Leinster’s distinctive interval signals are also heard. The clip was recorded in Malahide, north Co. Dublin and is from the Leon Tipler Tapes Collection, donated to us by Steve England.
Radio Leinster newspaper advert just a few weeks before it closed down (Anoraks Ireland Collection).
Radio Leinster was one of Dublin’s niche pirates, featuring an easy listening and chat format in contrast with the chart music played on many stations. It began on 29th April 1981 from an elevated site in Sandyford overlooking the city. A professional 1 kW transmitter on 738 kHz travelled well by day but was subject to interference at night.
These recordings are of interest because they are from the last day of Radio Leinster, 19th May 1983. Like many other stations, Radio Leinster was spooked by the raids on Radio Nova and Sunshine and closed down suddenly at lunchtime. The first recording above begins at 1020 and gives no impression of a crisis, with DJ Mike Moran even announcing a competition. News at 1100 is read by Anna Craig (Anna Chisnall, who would later work in RTÉ). Sadly, Radio Leinster was never to return but future pirates in the same easy listening vein would be Magic 103, KISS FM (for a period) and KLAS.
Radio Leinster presenters included many experienced broadcasters and launched the careers of others. One of the station’s presenters was Gavin Duffy who led the consortium to be awarded the local radio licence for counties Meath and Louth in 1989. Peter Mulryan’s book Radio Radio (1988) reports that in 1982 Duffy announced that he would interview senior Sinn Féin figures including Gerry Adams, in breach of Section 31 of the Broadcasting Act. The station received a warning from the Department of Posts and Telegraphs and Duffy was fired.
Original cassette label from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.
The recording below is part of Al Dunne’s final show on Radio Leinster from 1124-1159 on 19th May, who says he will be on air until 2pm. There are indirect references to the raids and Al plays Les Crane’s ‘Desiderata’, the song used by Sunshine Radio at closedown every night. Sunshine had been raided a few hours previously. Listen here to the sudden closedown of Radio Leinster at just after 1pm.
Al Dunne’s show from 1100.
These recordings were made from 93 FM and are from both the Skywave Tapes Collection and the Anoraks Ireland Collection.
