Tag: Ronan Collins

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More 1980 Dublin radio including Radio 257

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More 1980 Dublin radio including Radio 257
The Crofton Airport Hotel where Radio 257 was located (courtesy Noel Hiney).

This is another recording made by English anoraks Leon Tipler in summer 1980 during one of his frequent visits to Dublin to document the Irish pirate radio scene. From AM, it includes clips of Radio City from Capel Street in the city centre. Logs from that year mention Radio City slightly off channel on 1164 kHz. The adverts for businesses in the Capel Street area are voiced by the late Tony Allan. There are also snippets of Southside Radio on 999 kHz, Big D on 1116 kHz and Radio Dublin on 1188 kHz with plenty of distortion. From FM, we heard adverts and news from RTÉ Radio 1 followed by the start of the Gay Byrne Show and part of the Ronan Collins show on Radio 2.

The recording concludes with a longer clip of Jason Maine on the Radio 257 drivetime show, including a holiday giveaway to the Isle of Man and plenty of adverts. 257 news at 1700 is sponsored by the Weekend Star newspaper. The tape was made on 29th July 1980 and is from the Leon Tipler Collection, donated to us by Steve England.

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Ronan Collins and Ian Dempsey on ARD

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Ronan Collins and Ian Dempsey on ARD
Ian Dempsey in the ARD/Radio 257 studios at the Crofton (courtesy Noel Hiney)

This is a selection of adverts, promos and clips from popular Dublin station ARD in 1979, including part of the station’s final day before relaunching as Radio 257 at the beginning of 1980. Included is a promo for a phone-in show presented by Ronan Collins who went on to become a household name in RTÉ. Part of Ian Dempsey’s final show on ARD is heard on 31st December 1979. There are also clips of Sylvia on the final day and of Dave Cunningham on the new Radio 257.

This recording was made by Kieran Murray from both FM and AM and is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.

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Ronan Collins on ARD in 1979

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Ronan Collins on ARD in 1979
The ARD logo as featured in Kieran Murray’s ‘Offshore Echos’ from 1978 (courtesy of Ian Biggar).

Many of Ireland’s broadcasters of the future cut their teeth in ARD and Radio 257. This is a recording of longtime RTÉ presenter Ronan Collins, reading the 4pm news on ARD on 7th May 1979. Ronan presented a show every afternoon from 2-4pm, as the daytime schedule below shows.

Ronan Collins on ARD in 1979
Extract from the ARD schedule in ‘Offshore Echos’ magazine in 1978 (courtesy of Ian Biggar).

The station was still located at Belvedere Place at this stage. It moved to the Crofton Airport Hotel and relaunched as Radio 257 on New Years’ Day 1980 but reverted to the ARD name later that year. We thank Dave Reddy for his donation of this recording.

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

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Interview: Declan Meehan (part 1: 1970-1982)
Declan Meehan and John Walsh at the studios of East Coast FM in Bray, where Declan has worked since 1994.

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.