Automated shows on Charisma Radio (Dublin)

Automated shows on Charisma Radio (Dublin)

Charisma Radio was a low-power station broadcasting from various locations in Dublin in 1985 and 1986. Our recording from 98.1 FM is from the 9th of April 1986 and includes announcements that the station broadcasts to the neighbouring areas of Ranelagh, Rathmines and Rathgar on the southside of the city. The Anoraks Ireland report of the 19th of April 1986 lists Charisma FM as an irregular station on 97.9 FM from Blackrock/Phibsboro. It operated from a top flat at 11 North Circular Road for a period but had in fact moved to Ranelagh by that time. Charisma on 98.1 pops up in the Anoraks UK Weekly Report from June 1986 but by October, Ranelagh Community Radio is being reported on the same frequency. This was Charisma under another name because RCR is listed by Anoraks Ireland in 1987 and again in 1988 at the same address: 19 Dunville Avenue, Ranelagh, Dublin 6. There’s a scratchy RCR jingle below based on the original Royal County Radio package. Under either guise the station seems to have operated in the evenings only.

This recording of Charisma is an automated broadcast complete with periods of dead air. It begins with music and idents and after that is an American Baptist religious programme. Listeners are invited to write to the programme in Arkansas but that is followed by an announcement of Charisma’s Dublin address offering to forward letters to the US. Dublin had its own dedicated Christian pirate stations throughout the 1980s but American religious programmes popped up on smaller stations such as Charisma presumably for economic as much as for religious reasons.

One of the presenters on Charisma from North Circular Road was Colm O’Gorman, now Executive Director of Amnesty International Ireland, who remembers feeding the electricity meter to keep the station on air. Colm told us: ‘It played sermons on reel-to-reel as a revenue stream but all the DJs were gay men and played lots of high energy and house music. I always played Bronski Beat “It ain’t Necessarily So” after I had to put out one of the sermons!’

Reception is weak on the recording with plenty of interference but this is as the low-powered signal would have been heard on the northside of the city, well outside the target area. The recording is from the Skywave Tapes Collection. Skywave Radio International broadcast a shortwave station in the 1980s from Baldoyle in northeast Dublin. 

Full recording: Raidió Luimní (Limerick)

Full recording: Raidió Luimní (Limerick)
1988 clipping from the Limerick Leader about John ‘the Man’ Frawley, courtesy of Eddie Bohan

One of the longest-serving pirates in the country from 1978 to 1988, Raidió Luimní had many loyal listeners in its core area of Limerick, Clare and Tipperary due largely to the unique broadcasting style of its owner the late John ‘the Man’ Frawley. After installing a new AM transmitter on 1125 kHz in 1985, the signal could be heard further afield, adding to the station’s listenership and Frawley’s popularity.

Here’s another recording of John ‘the Man’ from the 5th and 6th of November 1984 featuring his quirky mixture of gossip, news and music which was unrivalled on Irish radio at the time or arguably since. In the first part of the recording, Frawley lends his support to the local campaign against the water tax in advance of a court case on November 6th. He attempted to enter politics himself, standing in the 1981 and February 1982 elections but polling poorly despite his popularity as a broadcaster.

The recording is from the Skywave Tapes Collection. Skywave Radio International broadcast a shortwave station in the 1980s from Baldoyle in northeast Dublin. You can hear more of the Limerick pirates here.

Full recording: Radio Zodiac (Dublin)

Full recording: Radio Zodiac (Dublin)

Radio Zodiac was a short-lived station from the Castleknock area of Dublin. They were first noted by the Anoraks UK Weekly Report in August 1984 (where the name was misheard as ‘Radio Maniac’ due to poor modulation) and used a variety of frequencies around the 1400-1530 kHz area of the medium wave band. They were last noted in January 1985 and seemed to have settled around 1410 kHz by then. Radio Zodiac’s transmission times seemed to be irregular and it falls more into the hobby pirate category than a commercial operation. According to on-air announcements a ‘Zodiac Roadshow’ was in existence.

The owner of Zodiac Ciaran Brannelly told us that they started around June 1984 and were based in a concrete shed in a yard on Dunsink Lane. The AM transmitter operated at about 300 watts and the aerial ran up a tall television mast and across the yard. They converted the shed into a studio and by July they had a full schedule of DJs from 8am to 12 midnight and sometimes 24 hours a day. The music format was open so DJs played whatever music they liked. The average age was 15 to 17 and there were about 25 DJs throughout the week. Zodiac had professional voice drops made in the UK and carried a few local ads to cover rent and ESB costs. The core of listeners was based in Castleknock, Blanchardstown and Finglas but they often got calls from further afield.

In October 1984 the AM transmitter was revamped and a small 50-watt on 105 FM was built. By Christmas 1984 most of the original DJs had lost interest as the studio was in a remote location so new people came on board who were more interested in the radio scene at the time. By March 1985 Zodiac began merging with another station Castle K FM which was based in a house in Castleknock. Radio Zodiac closed around April 1985 and moved to another studio and became BFBS as Castle K had also shut. For obvious reasons it was decided that BFBS would stand for ‘Blanchardstown Frequency Broadcasting Service’ rather than British Forces Broadcasting Service, although the jingles were an edited version of the Cyprus branch of the UK armed forces radio station. BFBS had a good signal because it was relayed to a higher site and was estimated to be on 150 watts on 105.1 FM. By early 1986 BFBS had become Caroline 98 on about 500 watts.

This recording was made on the 29th of August 1984 from 1555-1640. The presenters are Brian Jones followed by Mark Wesley who also does news and there are elaborate home-made jingles based on American singer Roberta Kelly’s single ‘Zodiacs’ (1977). There’s some confusion about the frequency: the cassette label gives 1432 kHz, but 1450 is announced on air along with ‘214 kHz medium wave’ which is in fact metres but that would be equivalent to 1400 kHz. In the pre-digital days the listeners weren’t too bothered about such precision! Thanks to Ian Biggar for extra research. The recording is from the Skywaves Tapes Collection. Skywave Radio International was a shortwave station in the 1980s from Baldoyle in northeast Dublin. Radio Zodiac continues online.

Westside Radio (Dublin) at time of 1983 raids

Westside Radio (Dublin) at time of 1983 raids
Advertisement for Westside Radio in Irish Radio News (1983), courtesy of Ian Biggar.

Westside Radio broadcast on 290 metres (1035 kHz) and began its life as Double R Radio in Inchicore in the house of the late Seán Day (Murphy). It migrated between various hotels and pubs in the city. In early 1983, Gerard Roe reported in Irish Radio News that Westside had tested on a number of occasions on 290 metres from a site in Mulhuddart in the northwest of the city with a strong signal and good audio quality. They were later reported to have run into legal trouble and were told to vacate the pub in Mulhuddart from where they were broadcasting. This recording was made on the 18th of March 1983, the day of the raid on Radio Nova which led many stations to close down temporarily. Westside returned but not for long because Anoraks UK reported in July that it had closed down ‘due to interference with a computer’. According to Offshore Echoes in October 1983, one theory circulating was that as the station was based on licensed premises, the pub owner didn’t want to jeopardise their forthcoming licence renewal.

Westside merged with ABC Radio to become Radio Annabel, which began testing by September 1983 on 1035 kHz and 98 MHz FM. Some of those involved in Westside set up Blanchardstown Community Radio in a near-derelict building on the main street in the west Dublin suburb. The second undated clip below is also from 290 metres, although the very start is clipped. It is an advertising promo for Westside voiced by Gerry Marsden who took over management of the station in 1983 and would later work in Radio Dublin. There is no link with the long-running shortwave pirate Westside Radio International. Thanks to Ian Biggar and Paul Shepherd for additional information.

This recording is from the Skywaves Tapes Collection. Skywave Radio International was a shortwave station in the 1980s from Baldoyle in northeast Dublin.

Treble TR Radio during 1983 raids

Treble TR Radio during 1983 raids
Treble TR car sticker courtesy of DX Archive

Treble TR was Dublin’s country and Irish music station and broadcast from 1981 until the end of 1988 on 945 kHz and 99.5 FM. This recording is from the 18th of May 1983, the day of the Radio Nova raid when panic took root among pirates throughout the country. This recording (presenter unidentified) is of part of the Top 20 of country and Irish, a programme sponsored by none other than Nova Dry Cleaners! A barking dog also features but there is no mention of the Nova raid. Like many other stations, Treble TR closed temporarily the following day.

This recording from a noisy 945 kHz AM is from the Skywave Tapes Collection. Skywave Radio International broadcast a shortwave station in the 1980s from Baldoyle in northeast Dublin.