{"id":2364,"date":"2020-08-03T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-08-03T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/?p=2364"},"modified":"2025-02-19T10:53:34","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T10:53:34","slug":"interview-hugh-hardy-radio-carousel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/interview-hugh-hardy-radio-carousel\/","title":{"rendered":"Northeast series: Interview with Hugh Hardy of Radio Carousel"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_8455\"><!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('audio');<\/script><![endif]-->\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-2364-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/19870125-1130-1200-AnorakShowFM-1.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/19870125-1130-1200-AnorakShowFM-1.mp3\">http:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/19870125-1130-1200-AnorakShowFM-1.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_links_mp3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1px !important;\">Podcast: <a href=\"http:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/19870125-1130-1200-AnorakShowFM-1.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_pinw\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Play in new window\" onclick=\"return powerpress_pinw('https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/?powerpress_pinw=2364-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Play in new window<\/a> | <a href=\"http:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/19870125-1130-1200-AnorakShowFM-1.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"19870125-1130-1200-AnorakShowFM-1.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"822\" src=\"http:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/HH-1-1024x822.jpeg\" alt=\"Northeast series: Interview with Hugh Hardy of Radio Carousel\" class=\"wp-image-2363\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/HH-1-1024x822.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/HH-1-300x241.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/HH-1-768x616.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/HH-1-1536x1232.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/HH-1-2048x1643.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><figcaption>Radio Carousel owner Hugh Hardy complete with cowboy hat in 1980 (photo courtesy of Ian Biggar\/DX Archive).  <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The owner and operator of the Radio Carousel network was country music impresario Hugh Hardy from Omeath in Co. Louth. He presented the popular lunchtime <em>Country Call<\/em> programme which was relayed from Dundalk to the other satellite stations at the height of Carousel\u2019s operations. Hugh lived in Dublin and commuted to Dundalk but in November 1986 he set up <a href=\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/tags\/klas\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"undefined (opens in a new tab)\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">KLAS<\/a>, an easy listening station aimed at the Dublin market, in a garage complex at the back of his home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Radio Carousel Dundalk closed on Friday 23<sup>rd<\/sup> January 1987 after a surprise visit from officials of the Department of Communications who complained about interference to mobiles and directed the station to close down. Carousel left the air the following day at 1pm but its other stations in Navan and at the border continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"576\" height=\"1024\" src=\"http:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Sunday-World-ad-HH-3-576x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Northeast series: Interview with Hugh Hardy of Radio Carousel\" class=\"wp-image-2367\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Sunday-World-ad-HH-3-576x1024.jpg 576w, https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Sunday-World-ad-HH-3-169x300.jpg 169w, https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Sunday-World-ad-HH-3-768x1365.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Sunday-World-ad-HH-3-864x1536.jpg 864w, https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Sunday-World-ad-HH-3-1152x2048.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Sunday-World-ad-HH-3-scaled.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><figcaption>An advertisement for one of Hugh Hardy&#8217;s programmes in the Sunday World from 1985 (Alan MacSimoin Collection). <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>This recording features a renowned interview with Hugh Hardy on the Radio West Anoraks Programme on Sunday 25<sup>th<\/sup> January. The weekly show was always unpredictable and relied heavily on rumour and hearsay, as station owner Shaun Coyne openly admitted. The recording opens with a heated argument between Hugh and Shaun with both trading accusations. Hugh then explains the reasons for Carousel Dundalk leaving the air and announces that given the success of KLAS, he is to concentrate on the easy listening station from then on. Both station owners compare notes about their experience of presenters down the years, with Hugh Hardy recounting how one of his newsreaders resigned live on air the previous week. The other presenter Don Allen tries to get a word in from time to time without much success but the interview ends amicably. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Radio Carousel Dundalk would in fact return in mid-February 1987 but by early 1988 both the Dundalk and border stations were in decline, leaving only Radio Carousel Navan. Hugh Hardy did not get involved in the licensed stations after 1989 but developed his video production business instead. He died in 2008. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is a strong whiff of the drama of 1980s pirate radio in this recording: pirates encroaching on each other\u2019s frequencies, RT\u00c9 ordering pirates to move, stations being forced to close down and rumours circulating about those working in the business. We thank Ian Biggar for sharing this recording.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The owner and operator of the Radio Carousel network was country music impresario Hugh Hardy from Omeath in Co. Louth. He presented the popular lunchtime Country Call programme which was relayed from Dundalk to the other satellite stations at the height of Carousel\u2019s operations. Hugh lived in Dublin and commuted to Dundalk but in November &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/interview-hugh-hardy-radio-carousel\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Northeast series: Interview with Hugh Hardy of Radio Carousel&#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":[14],"tags":[505,273,81,80,154,544,116,71,380],"class_list":["post-2364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interview","tag-505","tag-don-allen","tag-hugh-hardy","tag-klas","tag-louth","tag-northeast-series","tag-radio-carousel","tag-radio-west","tag-shaun-coyne"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Northeast series: Interview with Hugh Hardy of Radio Carousel - 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\/interview-hugh-hardy-radio-carousel\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Northeast series: Interview with Hugh Hardy of Radio Carousel - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The owner and operator of the Radio Carousel network was country music impresario Hugh Hardy from Omeath in Co. Louth. He presented the popular lunchtime Country Call programme which was relayed from Dundalk to the other satellite stations at the height of Carousel\u2019s operations. Hugh lived in Dublin and commuted to Dundalk but in November &hellip; Continue reading &quot;Northeast series: Interview with Hugh Hardy of Radio Carousel&quot;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/interview-hugh-hardy-radio-carousel\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-08-03T06:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-02-19T10:53:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/HH-1-1024x822.jpeg\" \/>\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=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/interview-hugh-hardy-radio-carousel\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/interview-hugh-hardy-radio-carousel\/\",\"name\":\"Northeast series: Interview with Hugh Hardy of Radio Carousel - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/interview-hugh-hardy-radio-carousel\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/interview-hugh-hardy-radio-carousel\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/HH-1-1024x822.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-08-03T06:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-19T10:53:34+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/#\/schema\/person\/a6eb579c7ad730e14f91e6455b207f00\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/interview-hugh-hardy-radio-carousel\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/interview-hugh-hardy-radio-carousel\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/interview-hugh-hardy-radio-carousel\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/HH-1.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/HH-1.jpeg\",\"width\":2353,\"height\":1888},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/interview-hugh-hardy-radio-carousel\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Northeast series: Interview with Hugh Hardy of Radio Carousel\"}]},{\"@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":"Northeast series: Interview with Hugh Hardy of Radio Carousel - 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\/interview-hugh-hardy-radio-carousel\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Northeast series: Interview with Hugh Hardy of Radio Carousel - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive","og_description":"The owner and operator of the Radio Carousel network was country music impresario Hugh Hardy from Omeath in Co. Louth. He presented the popular lunchtime Country Call programme which was relayed from Dundalk to the other satellite stations at the height of Carousel\u2019s operations. Hugh lived in Dublin and commuted to Dundalk but in November &hellip; Continue reading \"Northeast series: Interview with Hugh Hardy of Radio Carousel\"","og_url":"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/interview-hugh-hardy-radio-carousel\/","og_site_name":"Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive","article_published_time":"2020-08-03T06:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-02-19T10:53:34+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/HH-1-1024x822.jpeg"}],"author":"John Walsh","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"John Walsh","Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/interview-hugh-hardy-radio-carousel\/","url":"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/interview-hugh-hardy-radio-carousel\/","name":"Northeast series: Interview with Hugh Hardy of Radio Carousel - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/interview-hugh-hardy-radio-carousel\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/interview-hugh-hardy-radio-carousel\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/HH-1-1024x822.jpeg","datePublished":"2020-08-03T06:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-02-19T10:53:34+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/#\/schema\/person\/a6eb579c7ad730e14f91e6455b207f00"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/interview-hugh-hardy-radio-carousel\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/interview-hugh-hardy-radio-carousel\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/interview-hugh-hardy-radio-carousel\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/HH-1.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/HH-1.jpeg","width":2353,"height":1888},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/interview-hugh-hardy-radio-carousel\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Northeast series: Interview with Hugh Hardy of Radio Carousel"}]},{"@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\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2364"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2364\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10613,"href":"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2364\/revisions\/10613"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}