The Complete July 1987 Irish Pirate Radio Bandscan

Pirate radio dominated the Irish radio landscape throughout the 1980's. It is hard to imagine how diverse and widespread pirate radio stations were scattered across Ireland but thanks to the donations of the 'Anoraks Ireland' archive to the Irish Pirate Radio Archive at Dublin City University we can see it for ourselves. This is the official bandscan from the Paul Davidson operated 'Anoraks Ireland 'from July 1987. It would be just over one year later when new legislation paving the way for legal, independent, commercial radio would come into force, closing the vast majority of the pirate stations. 

If you have any pirates archives you would like to donate contact:

theirishpirateradioarchive@gmail.com

Pirate Radio Archives - UK Pirate Radio 1980's

 

The depth and wealth of pirate radio archives that were part of the Anoraks Ireland Collection donated to the Irish Pirate Radio Archive at Dublin City University is diverse and important both to pirate radio history and social history. Much of the archives collected by Paul Davidson while he ran the fanzine Anoraks Ireland is focused on Ireland but some of his collection features UK pirate radio, European and American illegal broadcasting and offshore pirate stations. The publicity attached to these stations was conducted in a pre-internet era, when fans sent for ‘newsletters’ by using IRC’s, International Reply Coupons he assist with post.

 

There have been many fan organizations for pirate radio across the world and here is one of the newsletters from Free Radio Service which not only broadcast pirate news on shortwave but also produced this newsletter. That's followed by a Radio Quatro Fact Sheet, the history of Radio Titanic and 'Sounds Alternative' (Not to be confused with a magazine of a similar name produced by the Free Radio Campaign Ireland)

We will continue to bring you some of the archives from the Collection but we will in our next post bring you some of the Irish pirate radio archives. 

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The Anoraks Ireland Collection - Newsline Ireland 1989 & 1990

 

The depth and wealth of pirate radio archives that were part of the Anoraks Ireland Collection donated to the Irish Pirate Radio Archive at Dublin City University is diverse and important both to pirate radio history and social history. Much of the archives collected by Paul Davidson while he ran the fanzine Anoraks Ireland is focused on Ireland but some of his collection features UK pirate radio, European and American illegal broadcasting and offshore pirate stations. The publicity attached to these stations was conducted in a pre-internet era, when fans sent for ‘newsletters’ by using IRC’s, International Reply Coupons he assist with post.

Following the closure of Anoraks Ireland and the ending of Anoraks UK’s updates on radio in Ireland, a new information magazine was launched by Rodney Neill and known as Newsline Ireland. This came in 1989 after the introduction of the new Wireless Telegraphy Act that closed the majority of pirate radio stations across Ireland and their replacements which was independent legal commercial radio with licences awarded by the Independent Radio and Television Commission, now known as the BAI.

 

These are the five issues of the magazine from the Anorak’s Ireland Collection.

The Anoraks Ireland Collection - The Irish Free Radio Movement 1973

 

The depth and wealth of pirate radio archives that were part of the Anoraks Ireland Collection donated to the Irish Pirate Radio Archive at Dublin City University is diverse and important both to pirate radio history and social history. Much of the archives collected by Paul Davidson while he ran the fanzine Anoraks Ireland is focussed on Ireland but some of his collection features UK pirate radio, European and American illegal broadcasting and offshore pirate stations. The publicity attached to these stations was conducted in a pre-internet era, when fans sent for ‘newsletters’ by using IRC’s, International Reply Coupons he assist with post.

 

Although these archives are from the Anoraks Ireland collection, this magazine ‘Medium’ is an early fanzine on DXing in Ireland and pirate radio. This copy is from late 1973. It was produced by the Irish Free Radio Movement with contributions from John Dowling, who was based in Carlow, Ken Sheehan who was a founder of Radio Dublin and Mark Storey who was involved with numerous stations including Radio Milinda and would later work as a producer on RTE 2FM. The magazine contents include a President’s Address, DX reports, pirate news from Dublin including a history of Radio Caroline Dublin.

Page 9 is missing from the Anoraks Ireland Archive

Pirate Radio Archives - Radio Atlanta SW 1981

 

The depth and wealth of pirate radio archives that were part of the Anoraks Ireland Collection donated to the Irish Pirate Radio Archive at Dublin City University is diverse and important both to pirate radio history and social history. Much of the archives collected by Paul Davidson while he ran the fanzine Anoraks Ireland is focused on Ireland but some of his collection features UK pirate radio, European and American illegal broadcasting and offshore pirate stations. The publicity attached to these stations was conducted in a pre-internet era, when fans sent for ‘newsletters’ by using IRC’s, International Reply Coupons he assist with post.

 

This is the first of these newsletters in an avalanche of archives we are delighted to bring to you is the Newsletter of the Radio Atlanta from 1981 who broadcast on short wave. In the Newsletter they provide a brief station history and announced that they planned to introduce a medium wave relay from a transmitter based in the Republic of Ireland on 228m. According to the DX Archive,

‘This station began in January 1979 and was run by Mark Stafford, heard in 1998 on European Klassik Rock on the Astra Satellite.’

Swinging Radio Impulse, Galway Pirate Radio 1987

 

According to the radiowaves.fm, the Galway pirate radio station ‘Swinging Radio Impulse’ was,

‘Swinging Radio Impulse was a late 80s station based in Galway. It broadcast at the weekends playing oldies music on 96FM.’

 

The use of the moniker ‘Swinging Radio’ was a nod to the off-shore pirate radio station Swinging Radio England of the 1960’s. There were bigger pirate radio stations in Galway and in fact across Ireland but each pirate pioneer should be recognised and acknowledged for their part in changing the broadcasting landscape in Ireland. It is with thanks to the donation of the Anoraks Ireland Archive that we have a record of SRI and their time on air. According to the 1987 Anoraks Ireland survey the station's mailing address was in the Bohermore suburb of Galway City. Broadcasting on 95.89mhz announcing as '96FM', the station's transmitter had a power of 5 watts. 

 

We’d like to encourage anyone reading this who may have pirate radio memorabilia to donate them to the Irish Pirate Radio Archive or the Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive as we continue the ground-breaking archiving work of the DX Archive, pirate.ie and radiowaves.fm

Photo's Courtesy of Paul Davidson & Anoraks Ireland

Donated to the Irish Pirate Radio Archive at Dublin City University