Shane Keating Archives - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

27th December 202126th December 2021

Closedown of Galway’s KFM

KFM flyer (courtesy Ian Biggar).

KFM was the longest-running of the later Galway pirate stations, broadcasting from November 1986 until the end of 1988. It was first based in the village of Moycullen in Connemara and later moved into the city centre before returning to Moycullen towards the end of its run. The high transmitter site gave it good coverage over a wide area of Galway city and county.

This is the final hour-and-a-half of KFM on 31^st December 1988. The show is presented by Shane Keating, who was well-known to local anoraks because he presented a DX programme during the final months of the station. There are farewell messages and live requests phoned in by listeners and one of KFM’s founders Maureen Browne pays tribute to DJs, advertisers and supporters. It’s a low-key closedown compared to some other stations and KFM leaves the airwaves at exactly midnight following the national anthem.

The recording above is from 2238-2325 and the final 35 minutes are heard in the recording below. They were made from 95 FM in north Clare, outside the core reception area, so the signal is fair at times. Thanks to John Breslin for the donation. For a comprehensive account of the 1988 closedowns, see the Radiowaves site.

Final 35 minutes of KFM.

21st July 202114th July 2021

More shortwave DXing on Galway’s KFM

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This is another selection of undated excerpts from the DXers’ programme on Galway pirate KFM in the final months of 1988. Presenter Shane Keating chats to contributor John Breslin from north Co. Clare about shortwave DXing. John lists DX clubs and shortwave stations he has heard recently including Radio Budapest, Transworld Radio, Voice of Ethiopia and Radio Finland. Shane provides addresses of European stations so that listeners can request QSLs.

Shane Keating also presented a Saturday morning children’s programme on KFM and there are excerpts of this including phone calls from young listeners. The recording ends with Shane signing off for the last time on 31^st December 1988, the day that KFM closed and the Irish airwaves fell largely silent.

We thank John Breslin for his donation of this recording, which was made from 95.99 FM in north Clare. Reception is variable as it outside the core KFM coverage area.

19th July 202114th July 2021

DXers’ programme on Galway’s KFM

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KFM flyer (courtesy of Ian Biggar).

Programmes for radio anoraks or DXers were a feature of some Irish pirates during their 1980s heyday. One such station was KFM, which broadcast from 1986-1988 from a village near Galway before moving into the city itself. In the last few months of its existence from October to December 1988, KFM broadcast a weekly programme for DXers with a focus on the shortwave band.

This is a selection of airchecked undated excerpts from the DXers’ programme from that period, presented by Shane Keating. The programme is aimed at listeners new to the band and there are explanations of shortwave propagation, QSL cards and SINPO codes. A regular contributor to the programme was John Breslin, who is heard describing his experience of shortwave DXing during a phone-in to the show. There is also a recording supplied by John of Radio Berlin International from East Germany.

We thank John for donating this recording, which he made in north Co. Clare from 95.99 FM. Reception is fair because of the distance from the transmitter.

25th June 202026th December 2021

Full recording: KFM (Galway)

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KFM flyer, courtesy of Ian Biggar/DX Archive.

KFM, also known as Galway County Radio, broadcast from 1986 to 1988 from a village west of Galway before moving into the city itself. It was set up by Shane Martin and John Browne in November 1986 and broadcast initially on 99 FM for 12 and a half hours a day, from 7.30am to 8.00pm. The transmitter site was over 130 metres above sea level in Moycullen, a village 12 kilometres west of Galway, and this gave it a large coverage area. An entry from KFM in the Anoraks UK Weekly Report of February the 1st 1987 claimed that the station was covering an 80-kilometre radius and that it would soon be extended to specialist programming and community information. An AM channel was also promised although this never materialised.

By June 1987, KFM was broadcasting 24 hours a day and claiming to cover both Galway City and Co. Galway, including Connemara. The station told Weekly Report that it was aimed at the 20-50 audience and had a minimum of 15 percent programming in Irish and English, reflecting the fact that part of Connemara is a Gaeltacht area. KFM also produced a bilingual leaflet, in which it announced its intention to seek a licence.

Full recording: KFM (Galway) — Bilingual KFM flyer, courtesy of Ian Biggar/DX Archive.

At this stage KFM was on 95, 99 and 99.3 FM and was reported to be listenable as far east as Ballinasloe. There were also reception reports from as far south as Ennis in Co. Clare. In November 1987, KFM moved into Galway City, adding to the competition between the pirates there. Coast 103 were the most successful city station at the time but in early 1988 the Tuam station County Sound would also move into Galway. Like most other stations, KFM closed down on the 31st of December 1988.

This recording of KFM was made from 96 FM on 24th September 1988 from 2222-2310 and features Shane Keating on air. There are requests for ‘madly in love’ couples and a mixture of pop music and oldies. Keating was clearly a bit of an anorak: he mentions listening to RTÉ Radio 2 on AM in Birmingham and promises a new programme for DXers, with a special focus on shortwave. We thank Ian Biggar for the donation. This was originally recorded by John Breslin in Co. Clare and being outside the core coverage area, audio quality is fair. Thanks also to Shane Martin for further information.