{"id":9890,"date":"2024-06-21T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-21T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/?p=9890"},"modified":"2025-10-27T13:30:39","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T13:30:39","slug":"drivetime-on-big-l-from-limerick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/drivetime-on-big-l-from-limerick\/","title":{"rendered":"Drivetime on Big L from Limerick"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_7955\"><!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('audio');<\/script><![endif]-->\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-9890-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AI1222-B-192.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AI1222-B-192.mp3\">https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AI1222-B-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\/2024\/05\/AI1222-B-192.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_pinw\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Play in new window\" onclick=\"return powerpress_pinw('https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/?powerpress_pinw=9890-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Play in new window<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AI1222-B-192.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"AI1222-B-192.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Big-L-CU-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"Drivetime on Big L from Limerick\" class=\"wp-image-2017\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Big-L-CU-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Big-L-CU-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Big-L-CU-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Big-L-CU-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Big-L-CU-2048x1151.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Big L logo (courtesy DX Archive). <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Big L was one of the longer-running pirates from Limerick City, broadcasting from 1978 until 1985. It was set up by English DJ Mike Richardson and Hayman Harris (a nephew of actor Richard Harris) and based in Ellen Street in the city centre. The station was raided shortly after its launch in June 1978 but returned to the air and consolidated its audience and advertisers over time. The station occupied various frequencies towards the top end of the medium wave band and later added FM. An article in the <em>Limerick Echo<\/em> in August 1984 claimed that with four transmitters, Big L covered an area of a quarter of a million people in Limerick, Clare, Kerry, Tipperary and Cork. However, by April 1985 Big L had closed down, bringing almost seven years of broadcasting to an end. <\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1009\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Big-L-Photos-1984-1-1-1009x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Drivetime on Big L from Limerick\" class=\"wp-image-9892\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Big-L-Photos-1984-1-1-1009x1024.jpg 1009w, https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Big-L-Photos-1984-1-1-296x300.jpg 296w, https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Big-L-Photos-1984-1-1-768x780.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Big-L-Photos-1984-1-1-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Big-L-Photos-1984-1-1.jpg 1125w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Big L studio photo from 1984 (Anoraks Ireland Collection). <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>This recording of Big L was made in the run-up to its final Christmas in 1984 and features part of the afternoon drivetime show with Liam Ahern. Music is a mixture of chart, oldies and ballads and adverts from Limerick City and surrounding towns are heard. There are some technical issues during the programme and crackle is audible on the FM reception. <\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"976\" height=\"395\" src=\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/AI1222-B.jpg\" alt=\"Drivetime on Big L from Limerick\" class=\"wp-image-9944\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/AI1222-B.jpg 976w, https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/AI1222-B-300x121.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/AI1222-B-768x311.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Original inlay from Anoraks Ireland cassette<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>The tape is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection and was made from 1605-1650 on Wednesday 12<sup>th<\/sup> December 1984 from 102 FM. A log from around the same time listed Big L on 1560 kHz AM (off-channel) and 91.7, 98.3 and 104.2 FM.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Big L was one of the longer-running pirates from Limerick City, broadcasting from 1978 until 1985. It was set up by English DJ Mike Richardson and Hayman Harris (a nephew of actor Richard Harris) and based in Ellen Street in the city centre. The station was raided shortly after its launch in June 1978 but &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/drivetime-on-big-l-from-limerick\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Drivetime on Big L from Limerick&#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":[537,564,104,224],"class_list":["post-9890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-full-recordings","tag-537","tag-anoraks-ireland-collection","tag-big-l","tag-limerick"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Drivetime on Big L from Limerick - 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\/drivetime-on-big-l-from-limerick\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Drivetime on Big L from Limerick - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Big L was one of the longer-running pirates from Limerick City, broadcasting from 1978 until 1985. It was set up by English DJ Mike Richardson and Hayman Harris (a nephew of actor Richard Harris) and based in Ellen Street in the city centre. The station was raided shortly after its launch in June 1978 but &hellip; Continue reading &quot;Drivetime on Big L from Limerick&quot;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/drivetime-on-big-l-from-limerick\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-06-21T05:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-27T13:30:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Big-L-CU-1024x576.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\/drivetime-on-big-l-from-limerick\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/drivetime-on-big-l-from-limerick\/\",\"name\":\"Drivetime on Big L from Limerick - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/drivetime-on-big-l-from-limerick\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/drivetime-on-big-l-from-limerick\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Big-L-CU-1024x576.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-06-21T05:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-27T13:30:39+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/#\/schema\/person\/a6eb579c7ad730e14f91e6455b207f00\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/drivetime-on-big-l-from-limerick\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/drivetime-on-big-l-from-limerick\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/drivetime-on-big-l-from-limerick\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Big-L-CU-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Big-L-CU-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1439,\"caption\":\"Big L logo, courtesy of DX Archive.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/drivetime-on-big-l-from-limerick\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pirate.ie\/archive\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Drivetime on Big L from Limerick\"}]},{\"@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":"Drivetime on Big L from Limerick - 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\/drivetime-on-big-l-from-limerick\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Drivetime on Big L from Limerick - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive","og_description":"Big L was one of the longer-running pirates from Limerick City, broadcasting from 1978 until 1985. 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