A flyer advertising Radio Leinster from c. 1983. This was donated by Alan McSimoin (RIP).
Here is a selection of jingles, promos and idents from Radio Leinster in 1983. The sound quality isn’t great as the recording is from AM (738 kHz) but it gives a flavour of the station in its heyday. Radio Leinster was one of the easy listening and talk-based stations serving Dublin in the 1980s. It closed suddenly on the 19th of March 1983 as panic spread among the pirates following raids on the bigger stations. You can hear a recording from that day here.
This recording is from the Skywave Tapes Collection. Skywave Radio International broadcast a shortwave station in the 1980s from Baldoyle in northeast Dublin.
L-R: Ken Murray, Eric Vaughan, Gavin Duffy & Eddie Caffrey at Boyneside in 1981 (photo courtesy Eddie Caffrey)
In this interview, journalist Ken Murray recalls his memories of pirate radio in Louth and Dublin in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1979, he began working with Local Radio Drogheda which evolved into Boyneside Radio.
While in Drogheda, Ken set up ‘The Green Scene’ which is now the longest running programme on Irish commercial radio, presented on LMFM by Eddie Caffrey. Ken then moved to the Dublin station Radio Leinster which closed down suddenly in 1983 during the period of raids against the larger stations Sunshine Radio and Radio Nova. He went on to work as a journalist for RTÉ, LMFM and Independent Radio News and is now editor of EC Radio Ireland. Ken is interviewed by Mary Ryan.
The former site of Boyneside Radio in Mill Lane, Drogheda
Eddie Caffrey was himself a leading figure in the Louth pirates of the 1970s and 1980s. Listen here to him in a panel about the Louth pirates and here to an individual interview about his involvement in shortwave pirates.
In this interview, Daragh O’Sullivan talks to Ken Harley who worked on Big D, ARD, Radio Nova, Q102 and Radio Leinster. He also worked in Bay City Studios making adverts for Nova.
The interview was conducted on 20th October 2018 at the Ballsbridge Hotel in Dublin at a meet-up of people involved in Irish pirate radio over the years.
David Baker on Radio Sandymount in 1984 (photo courtesy of Dave Reddy).
David Baker was a well-known voice on Irish pirate radio in the 1980s and worked in or managed a large number of stations including ARD, Radio City, Radio Leinster, the Community Broadcasting Co-operative, KISS FM, Heartbeat and KLAS.
In this interview, John Walsh caught up with David Baker and talked about his pirate days, with a particular focus on the easy listening station KLAS. John worked with David in KLAS from 1986-1988.
The garage at the back of 312 Sutton Park, Dublin 13, the location KLAS first broadcast from (photo John Walsh).
On July 29th 2017, East Wall History Group held the Sarah Lundberg Summer School, an event set up to commemorate the life of Sarah Lundberg, an activist, historian and scholar who was involved in the group. One of Sarah Lundberg’s interests was pirate radio and that was the focus of the 2017 Summer School.
Undated flyer (possibly 1990) about Radio Pirate Woman (courtesy of Eddie Bohan).
In this edited interview Alan MacSimoin (RIP) talks to Maureen Maguire about her memories of political pirate radio in Ireland, including the unique Galway station Radio Pirate Woman, run by left-wing activist Margaretta D’Arcy from the 1980s.
The Woodquay area of Galway from where Radio Pirate Woman broadcast (photo by John Walsh).
Maureen Maguire was also involved with Radio Sinn Féin which broadcast on 298 metres (1008 kHz) in 1983. The station was one of several set up by the party as a protest against Section 31 of the Broadcasting Act which banned interviews with members of certain organisations including Sinn Féin.
Article about Radio Sinn Féin from An Phoblacht/Republican News, November 1983 (Alan MacSiomoin collection).
There were several such stations during the 1980s including many supporting Republic prisoners on hunger strike who stood in the general election of June 1981 under the Anti H-Block banner. A short recording of Radio H-Block based in Dublin can be heard here (courtesy Skywave Collection) It also broadcast on 298 metres.
