{"id":11352,"date":"2026-02-25T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/?p=11352"},"modified":"2026-02-22T12:47:33","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T12:47:33","slug":"politics-late-night-talk-radio-dublin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/politics-late-night-talk-radio-dublin\/","title":{"rendered":"Politics on late-night talk show on Radio Dublin"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_8935\"><!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('audio');<\/script><![endif]-->\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-11352-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/8043AI-192.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/8043AI-192.mp3\">https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/8043AI-192.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_links_mp3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1px !important;\">Podcast: <a href=\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/8043AI-192.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_pinw\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Play in new window\" onclick=\"return powerpress_pinw('https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/?powerpress_pinw=11352-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Play in new window<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/8043AI-192.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"8043AI-192.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"171\" src=\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ireland_dublin_radio_dublin_sticker_long_253b-1024x171.jpg\" alt=\"Politics on late-night talk show on Radio Dublin\" class=\"wp-image-3519\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ireland_dublin_radio_dublin_sticker_long_253b-1024x171.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ireland_dublin_radio_dublin_sticker_long_253b-300x50.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ireland_dublin_radio_dublin_sticker_long_253b-768x128.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ireland_dublin_radio_dublin_sticker_long_253b.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Radio Dublin car sticker from 1986 (courtesy DX Archive). <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Pirate stations often became embroiled in politics not just because they were broadcasting without licences but also due to the unregulated nature of the radio scene. One issue that caused friction was Section 31 of the Broadcasting Act that prohibited broadcast interviews with spokespersons for Sinn F\u00e9in and the IRA. Although RT\u00c9 implemented the law strictly, the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) opposed it on the grounds of media censorship. As they operated outside the law anyway, some pirate stations ignored Section 31 and occasionally paid the consequences. For instance, in 1982 the Radio Leinster presenter Gavin Duffy announced that he would interview Gerry Adams and other senior Sinn F\u00e9in figures. The station received a warning from the Department of Posts and Telegraphs and Duffy was fired. Another consequence was that politicians who appeared on the pirates were blacklisted by RT\u00c9, depriving themselves of coverage at election time. In a direct challenge to Section 31, temporary pirate stations supporting Sinn F\u00e9in or H-Block candidates also popped up from time to time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This recording of a late-night talk show on Radio Dublin was made a few days before the general election on 17<sup>th<\/sup> February 1987 and is an example of how rules about balance in political coverage often did not apply to the pirates. Presenter Pat Jennings \u2013 himself a member of the NUJ \u2013 states that he is opposed to the broadcasting ban and interviews Paul Davidson (Tony Donlon, RIP) of Anoraks Ireland about how it plays out in the pirate world. There are also live calls from listeners giving their views on the election and in studio are former H-Block candidate Tony O\u2019Hara and Dublin City Councillor Se\u00e1n Dublin Bay Rockall Loftus. The owner of Radio Dublin, Eamon Cooke, was well known for his republican sympathies and the station was one of a handful that did not broadcast a minute&#8217;s silence in November 1987 after the IRA bombed the war memorial ceremony in Enniskillen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The label states that the recording was made from 105 FM on Saturday 14<sup>th<\/sup> February 1987 between 0045-0133, but it sounds like there are a few edits. The tape is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pirate stations often became embroiled in politics not just because they were broadcasting without licences but also due to the unregulated nature of the radio scene. One issue that caused friction was Section 31 of the Broadcasting Act that prohibited broadcast interviews with spokespersons for Sinn F\u00e9in and the IRA. Although RT\u00c9 implemented the law &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/politics-late-night-talk-radio-dublin\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Politics on late-night talk show on Radio Dublin&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[152],"tags":[505,564,153,813,493,9],"class_list":["post-11352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-full-recordings","tag-505","tag-anoraks-ireland-collection","tag-dublin","tag-pat-jennings","tag-politics","tag-radio-dublin"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Politics on late-night talk show on Radio Dublin - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/politics-late-night-talk-radio-dublin\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Politics on late-night talk show on Radio Dublin - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Pirate stations often became embroiled in politics not just because they were broadcasting without licences but also due to the unregulated nature of the radio scene. One issue that caused friction was Section 31 of the Broadcasting Act that prohibited broadcast interviews with spokespersons for Sinn F\u00e9in and the IRA. Although RT\u00c9 implemented the law &hellip; Continue reading &quot;Politics on late-night talk show on Radio Dublin&quot;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/politics-late-night-talk-radio-dublin\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-25T06:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-22T12:47:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ireland_dublin_radio_dublin_sticker_long_253b-1024x171.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"John Walsh\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"John Walsh\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/politics-late-night-talk-radio-dublin\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/politics-late-night-talk-radio-dublin\/\",\"name\":\"Politics on late-night talk show on Radio Dublin - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/politics-late-night-talk-radio-dublin\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/politics-late-night-talk-radio-dublin\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ireland_dublin_radio_dublin_sticker_long_253b-1024x171.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-25T06:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-22T12:47:33+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/#\/schema\/person\/a6eb579c7ad730e14f91e6455b207f00\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/politics-late-night-talk-radio-dublin\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/politics-late-night-talk-radio-dublin\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/politics-late-night-talk-radio-dublin\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ireland_dublin_radio_dublin_sticker_long_253b.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/ireland_dublin_radio_dublin_sticker_long_253b.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":200},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/politics-late-night-talk-radio-dublin\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Politics on late-night talk show on Radio Dublin\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/\",\"name\":\"Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive\",\"description\":\"Open Free Radio Archive\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/#\/schema\/person\/a6eb579c7ad730e14f91e6455b207f00\",\"name\":\"John Walsh\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/80a5b6baea2fd739c3be046233f2ad61?s=96&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/80a5b6baea2fd739c3be046233f2ad61?s=96&r=g\",\"caption\":\"John Walsh\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/author\/john\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Politics on late-night talk show on Radio Dublin - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/politics-late-night-talk-radio-dublin\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Politics on late-night talk show on Radio Dublin - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive","og_description":"Pirate stations often became embroiled in politics not just because they were broadcasting without licences but also due to the unregulated nature of the radio scene. One issue that caused friction was Section 31 of the Broadcasting Act that prohibited broadcast interviews with spokespersons for Sinn F\u00e9in and the IRA. 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