Radio Valleri Archives - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

27th January 202525th January 2025

History of Irish free radio on Radio Valleri

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 23^rd 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 21^st and then using 6260 and later 6210 each Sunday morning for a year. It closed on 7^th December 1975 due to increased interest by the Irish authorities but returned on May 16^th 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 19^th 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.

8th March 202310th March 2023

Sunday on Radio Valleri International

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Radio Valleri was a pioneering pirate station broadcasting from Dublin in the 1970s and 1980s. One of the early hobby operations in the city, it was set up in 1972 by Derek Jones and Mike Anderson and broadcast initially on medium wave from a garden shed in Drumcondra. In 1973, Radio Valleri switched to shortwave and was heard sporadically, often on Sunday mornings, on various frequencies in the 49-metre band over the following years. In the 1980s, the station became one of many to broadcast regularly on shortwave on Sunday mornings, by which time it had settled on 6400 kHz.

This tape is of one of Radio Valleri’s founders, Mike Anderson, with a Sunday show from 1200-1300 in April 1986 (the precise date is unknown). Mike announces broadcasting hours of 0900-1300 and gives a postal address in Baldoyle in northeast Dublin. That broadcast is to be followed by a QSO with another well-known Dublin shortwave pirate, Westside Radio, and Weekend Music Radio in Scotland.

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

10th April 20206th August 2021

Jingles: Radio Valleri International (Dublin)

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Radio Valleri was one of the long-running Irish shortwave pirates of the 1970s and 1980s. Founded by Mike Anderson and Derek Jones, it began testing in 1972 on 1525 kHz medium wave before moving to short wave. The station became a regular operator on Sunday mornings, one of many such pirates from Ireland in the 49 metre band. There’s a detailed history on the DX Archive pages. One of those involved at the beginning was Arno St Jude (Declan Meehan).

This recording from 1985 is of station jingles, voiced by Brian and Dónal Greene. The frequency announced is 6870 kHz.

11th July 201925th May 2020

Interview: Declan Meehan (part 1: 1970-1982)

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We met one of Ireland’s most experienced broadcasters Declan Meehan recently to discuss his significant contribution to Irish pirate radio history and Irish radio in general over the past 50 years.

In the first part of a long interview, Declan discusses the early years of his involvement in the Dublin pirate scene spanning small stations such as Radio Vanessa and Radio Milinda and larger, more professional operations like ARD. He describes his unhappy move to the new RTÉ Radio 2 in 1979 and how he went on to work for the first of the superpirates, Sunshine Radio, where he met Chris Cary.

The interview includes references to many of the best-known names in Irish radio over the past half-century.

30th December 20187th August 2021

Interview: Ken Sheehan speaks about Radio Dublin

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Radio Dublin was the longest running pirate station in Ireland, on air in various guises from 1966 until 2002. It was raided on numerous occasions and was one of a handful of stations to defy the deadline of New Year’s Eve 1988. In its earliest incarnation, it broadcast as ‘Radio Baile Átha Cliath’ every Sunday afternoon from the home of Ken Sheehan. In this interview from 1985, Mike Anderson of shortwave pirate Radio Valleri interviews Ken Sheehan about his involvement in the establishment of Radio Dublin, his views of the station in 1985 and of the pirate radio scene in general at that time. This is from our own collection.