Radio Nova Archives - Page 5 of 12 - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

28th July 202123rd July 2021

Declan Meehan’s brekkie trekkie on Radio Nova

This is a recording of Radio Nova made by British radio enthusiast Leon Tipler on 14^th September 1982 during one of his visits to Dublin. Recorded from 88 FM from 0911-0956, it features part of the ‘brekkie trekkie’ with Declan Meehan. The music mix is mellow and presented in Nova’s pioneering ‘clutterfree’ format . The late Terry Wogan’s voice is heard on a well-known advert for Bargaintown. News headlines are read by Sybil Fennell and the job spot is also aired.

This recording is from the Leon Tipler Tapes Collection, donated to us by Steve England.

26th July 202123rd July 2021

Tony Gareth on Radio Nova

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Here are two short clips from Radio Nova on Sunday 10^th October 1982. The one above features part of the 10am news read by Roland Burke (RIP) followed by the weather with Tony Gareth, aka Gareth O’Callaghan who would become one of Ireland’s best-known broadcasters.

The second clip below is from the religious programme Life is a Celebration, which was launched on Nova on that day. Presented by two priests, it featured music and spiritual reflections and was an example of the early experimentation in specialist programming by Chris Cary.

We thank Paul Buckle for his donation of both recordings, which were made from 88FM near Belfast.

24th July 20212nd May 2024

Colm Hayes on Radio Nova

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This is a recording of Colm Hayes on his Saturday afternoon show on 9^th October 1982 from 1530-1609. Ads include the Sunday World newspaper, the Nova Country Club in Rathfarnham and the Savoy Cinema. Bryan Dobson, who went on to become one of RTÉ’s best-known journalists, voices an ad for pub lunches. There are sports results during Colm’s show and again after the 4pm news which is read by Cogey Clarke.

This recording was made from 88 FM near Belfast and hence the slight hiss, but it shows how far the Nova FM signal travelled in those days. We thank Paul Buckle for this donation.

21st May 202112th May 2021

Interview with John Clarke of Radio Nova

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This is the original full recording of an interview by Leon Tipler with veteran DJ John Clarke on Radio Nova in September 1982. It was conducted in studio in the busy period leading up to 6pm and John chats away in between lining up music and ads on carts. An edited version was included in the documentary series ‘The Irish Pirates’.

He speaks about the history of Nova and describes the differences between it and its great rival, Sunshine Radio. Chris Cary wanted to begin broadcasting on FM and pushed a ‘clutter-free’ format with sweeps of music. The reaction from listeners was very positive from the start and Nova was soon a hit in boutiques, shops and factories with advertising flooding in. AM came later and the powerful signal increased the station’s popularity even more.

John also discusses the recent RTÉ jamming of Nova and a survey that established Nova’s dominance in the Dublin market. He says that most listeners to Nova and Sunshine were unaware of their pirate status because of the stations’ professionalism. The interview concludes with a mention of Kieran Murray’s Free Radio Campaign and the importance of logging pirate radio history. We’ll second that!

This recording is from the Leon Tipler Tapes Collection, donated to us by Steve England.

20th May 202120th May 2021

Pirate.ie in three minutes

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This three-minute clip gives a sense of the variety of content in the Pirate.ie archive. It covers stations big and small, in Dublin and elsewhere, playing mainstream pop or featuring specialist programming. The first segment features Ireland’s best-known pirate Radio Nova and its ‘Dublin Today’ programme on 30^th August 1983, the day of the giveaway.

The second segment is from the Irish Christian Broadcasting Service from 3^rd September 1983, just four days before a divisive referendum about inserting a ban on abortion into the Irish constitution. The presenter announces an interview with a US campaigner.

The third segment features a promo for community radio broadcast in 1987 on Bray Local Broadcasting south of Dublin. Among the voices is the then Minister for Communications, the late Jim Mitchell, whose party did not favour community radio. BLB was a leading member of the National Association of Community Broadcasters.

The next segment is a jingle for Boyneside Radio (1978-1988) based in Co. Louth which became a regional station covering an area stretching from Belfast to Dublin. The station had transmitters along the border and an opt-out service aimed at Northern Ireland.

The next segment features one of Ireland’s best-known pirate broadcasters, the late John ‘the Man’ Frawley opening Raidió Luimní on 20^th April 1983. The station broadcast from Limerick for ten years from 1978-1988 and the popular Frawley had listeners over a wide area. He begins by greeting listeners in Irish.

Finally we hear the late Bob Gallico reading the news on New Year’s Day 1988 on Energy 103, a popular professional station that emerged from the ashes of Radio Nova in 1986.