Early Telstar Community Radio letterhead (courtesy Ian Biggar).
Telstar Community Radio was a long-running station broadcasting from in or around Dundalk between 1980 and 1988. Although Radio Carousel dominated the local market for most of that time, Telstar built up its own audience and advertisers in the north Louth area. This recording features a flavour of evening shows during the period that the station was based in the village of Blackrock south of Dundalk. First up is Eamon Doyle with a mix of tunes, including the Top 3 from the Telstar Top 40. He is followed by Owen Barry (Larkin) with the Night Flight show, including an hour of love songs. There are adverts for businesses in Dundalk and surrounding towns.
The recording was made from 88.5 FM on Monday 26th July 1982 from 1943-2118. Telstar Community Radio also broadcast on 1197 kHz AM, announcing 250 metres. Audio quality is generally good although there is some cassette degradation. The tape is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.
Bob Nailor in the Sonic Independent Radio studio in 1981 (courtesy DX Archive).
Sonic Independent Radio was one of many short-lived south Dublin stations during the early 1980s. Based in Shankill on the southside, it was first logged in the winter of 1980/1981 on 1314 kHz (announcing 228 metres) and was noted on that frequency several times during 1981. Sonic was run by Joe Jackson, who provided many AM transmitters for pirate radio around that time. According to an entry on DX Archive, the same transmitter was used for later short-term stations such as East Coast Radio, ABC (Dún Laoghaire) and South City Radio. Sonic features in a log of stations received in Lancashire in summer 1981 and was said to have a very good signal at the time. However reception of the station outside Ireland was soon to be hampered by the expansion of Norwegian station NRK of its broadcasts on 1314 kHz.
This recording of Sonic Independent Radio is of the weekly FRC (Free Radio Campaign) Ireland show, presented by Rick Davenport and Steve Johnston. The FRC show covers radio news, both licensed and pirate, and includes listeners’ letters and reception reports. The presenters announce that Sonic is to be relaunched the following day, with a new format and name. This edition of the FRC Ireland show was a relay by Capital Radio International on 6268 kHz. It was made on 8th November 1981 from 1200-1245 and begins with the voice of Capital Radio operator, Aidan Hughes. Capital Radio began broadcasting in 1981 and continued as a regular Sunday morning shortwave pirate throughout the 1980s. It returned in the early 1990s but ceased to broadcast after Aidan Hughes died prematurely.
Audio quality on this recording ranges from fair to poor, reflecting the fact that it is of a shortwave relay of an original medium wave broadcast. There is also some wobble due to degradation of the cassette, which is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.
Kildare Local Broadcasting, known on air as KLB Community Radio, broadcast from Newbridge for approximately two years from 1986-1988. It was launched in October 1986 and claimed that it would be a community service for the town of Newbridge and surrounding areas. An Anoraks Ireland listing from November 1986 noted its broadcasting hours as 1000-2400. KLB was based in Eyre Street in Newbridge and broadcast on 1224 kHz AM and 102.4 FM. A listing from April 1988 noted that it had moved to 103.5 FM and had extended broadcasting hours to 0900-2400. In the Anoraks UK Weekly Report of 24th July 1988, it was noted that the AM transmitter had been off air for approximately two months. It was also reported that the station had changed its name slightly to Kildare Community Broadcasting and was the only pirate operating in the county following the closure of Kildare Community Radio in April 1988.
The Weekly Report of 8th October 1988 carried a report that a new pirate called County Sound came on air on 12th September from Naas, Co. Kildare. It was set up with the aim of applying for a licence and consisted of DJs from former Kildare pirates KLB (Newbridge), KCR (Naas) and Zee 104 (Naas). County Sound was said to have fully equipped on-air and production studios. It broadcast for only four months, closing down at midnight on 30th December 1988 before the deadline for the pirates to leave the airwaves.
Cassette inlay from Anoraks Ireland Collection.
In this recording of KLB from the run-up to Christmas 1986, Tony Lumsden is first up with a mixture of oldies and ballads. He is followed by Paddy Jones with chart hits. The tape was made from 102.4 FM from 1430-1607 on Saturday 6th December 1986 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.
Photo of the exterior to the Centre Radio studio in Clonmel (Anoraks Ireland Collection).
Centre Radio from Clonmel in Co. Tipperary was an offshoot of an existing local station, the Clonmel Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). Centre was set up in April 1986 as a more youth-oriented service than the existing CBC, which had been on air since 1981. In 1987, Centre was rebranded as Premier County Radio, which continued until the deadline for the pirates to close at midnight on New Year’s Eve 1988.
This recording features part of an afternoon show presented by an unidentified DJ. Eoin Ryan reads racing results and there is also a news bulletin at five minutes to the hour. Centre’s news service is promoted regularly and the station claims to have the most comprehensive output in the region. Adverts cover Clonmel and surrounding towns.
Cassette inlay from Anoraks Ireland Collection.
The tape is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection and was made from 88 FM between 1527-1612 on Thursday 5th June 1986. Centre Radio also broadcast on 101 FM and on 1251 kHz AM (240 metres).
1986 advert for ABC Radio (Anoraks Ireland Collection).
Waterford station ABC Radio broadcast from 3rd March 1982 until 29th December 1988 and became one of the country’s most popular and successful pirates. From humble origins in a caravan in the coastal resort of Tramore, it moved into Waterford City in 1985. ABC covered the southeast on 1026 kHz AM and a series of local FM transmitters. In this recording from 1986, Jimmy Ryan is on air with a relaxed late-night Sunday music show, featuring long sets with limited talk and no adverts. A station promo mentions towns in Tipperary and Wexford, emphasising ABC’s coverage beyond Co. Waterford.
Cassette inlay from Anoraks Ireland Collection.
The recording was made between 2201-2246 on 15th June 1986 from 103.2 FM, a 2 kW transmitter from Tory Hill north of Waterford City that covered a large part of the southeast. The tape is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.
