Donegal's Unique 1980's Festival Radio Experiment

It was the closure of the pirate radio station Radio Donegal in 1981 after eighteen months on the air that created one of the most unique pirate radio experiments in the country[1]. Don Clark who worked for Radio Donegal saw an opportunity to help publicise the various festivals around the country by creating a mobile service in a caravan travelling from town in town.

For many listeners to the radio in Donegal, the national station RTE Radio was Dublin based and had little influence on the events of Donegal. In the 1970’s, in an attempt to generate business in small towns, committees formed to create unique festivals. To help to generate publicity, to inform visitors and provide local businesses with advertising opportunities, a radio station was operated but rather than traditional AM or FM transmissions, these station operated on a wired loudspeaker system, sometimes referred to as ‘lamppost radio stations’. Some of the tons to adopt this system included Letterkenny for the Folk Festival and in Ballyshannon. This created a local attachment to the familiar nature of their own radio station. Radio Ramelton was another station that ‘broadcast’ via a wired system. The Donegal News reported,

‘This year again ‘Radio Ramelton’ will be in operation, when the whole town is " Wired up ". to receive local programmes. Mr. Mervyn Corry will be in charge of the " mike," but special programmes have been set aside for the children and the ladies.’

The station, set to promote the ‘Lennon Festival’, was initially fronted by Jim Birney, known on air as ‘Slim Jim’ and later by Mervyn Corry.

In 1976, a new radio station arrived courtesy of the State broadcaster RTE, when their mobile community radio station and transmitter arrived in Donegal. With a medium transmitter on 202m and a low powered FM transmitter, RTE’s service, under the then direction of Pauric O’Neill, covered three areas over six days. The local organisers in Fintown, Downings and Dungloe would see the broadcast unit spend two days in each town. 

The days in Dungloe coincided with the most popular and famous festival in Donegal the Mary from Dungloe Festival. As the mobile unit continued to tour Ireland introducing towns and villages to community radio, towns in Donegal reverted to the lamppost radio services. The RTE service did travel at various times to The Glenties, Letterkenny, Ardara and Bundoran.

In 1981, RTE announced that the mobile unit would visit Dungloe for the entire now expanded festival. Advertisements appeared in the newspapers informing listeners how to tune into Community Radio Dungloe. At the last minute the visit was cancelled by RTE. 

This provided an opportunity for some ex staff of the pirate station Radio Donegal that had closed in April after eighteen months on air. With a standby transmitter built by Paul Millar and broadcasting on 257m, Radio Dungloe took to the airwaves for the festival. The newspapers reported,

‘Operating for most of the Festival was Radio Dungloe in association with Radio Donegal on 257m. with the studio based at the Festival caravan on Upper Main Street and making its own contribution to the spirit of the event.’

The station was operated by Don Clark with former Radio Donegal DJ Tommy Rosney assisting. Their numbers augmented by local DJ’s. Rosney told me in an interview[2] that at that time he was working at Dunnes Stores in Letterkenny and that he would take two weeks holidays around the Mary from Dungloe festival so that he could work on air. He also said that while there was not too much financial reward, the on air personalities were looked after with a quid pro quo advertising deals with restaurants that would deliver to the DJ’s meals. According to Rosney, he and his colleagues would stay in the mobile home while it was in operation with the transmitter housed in one of the utility rooms. Once the festival was finished, a tractor hitched up the mobile home and moved it to the next town or village.

With the success of Radio Dungloe in 1981, Clark saw an opportunity to take his station mobile and operate for various festivals around the county.  The next visit for their mobile home was Radio Downings with the station now broadcasting on a regular 192m MW. This was followed by Radio Ceilteach (Celtic Radio) for the Ceilteach festival held in Falcarragh opening at midday on Saturday July 11^th 1981 and then broadcasting each evening for the next five days from seven in the evening.

In 1982 the small village of Bonagee hosted Radio Bonagee for the local spring show in May. The Donegal Democrat reported,

‘Radio Bonagee, which will be under the supervision of the very popular ex-Radio Donegal D. J., Don Clarke, will be on the air on 192 mts. medium wave, which is beside Radio Luxemburg. Don will be on the air on Wednesday and Thursday between 2 and 5 p.m. and he will be on the air all day Friday, Saturday and Sunday. His many fans will surely be phoning in requests to his popular show.’

Meanwhile when the station, now based in the mobile home, arrived back in Dungloe, it was based in the carpark of the Ostan na Rosann Hotel.

In 1983 the mobile home was back at Radio Dungloe, followed by Radio Lifford which operated just for a weekend. Radio Twin Towns was on air for the festival that connected the two ‘twin’ towns of Ballybofey and Stranolar. Radio Letterkenny was on the air once again for the Folk Festival, not as a loudspeaker station but with a medium transmitter, while in 1985 the mobile station was known as Radio Cunamh was based in Stranolar with Pat Reid and Kevin Duffy assisting Clarke and Rosney. Also, in May 1983 Radio Bonagee was back on the air with the Donegal Democrat once again reporting,

The station continued to travel to various towns across Donegal, always revisiting Dungloe. In 1985, they visited as Radio Killybegs based next to the Artic Fish Company near the quays. Radio Killybegs was back once more in 1986, this time moving frequency slightly to 205m MW. The mobile station also visited another Donegal fishing port transforming into Radio Burtonport, which according to Tommy Rosney was located next to the co-op in the town.

 

The experiment came to an end when the new 1988 legislation came into force, forcing the end of the pirate era.

My thanks to Tommy Rosney, Russ Padmore, John Breslin at Highland Radio, Ocean FM, Donegal Live and the Donegal Democrat

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[1] In Dublin a similar operation was operated by the Community Broadcasting Cooperative which broadcast from various suburb festivals including Radio Glasnevin, Radio Sandymount and Radio Ringsend.

[2] Interviewed in Letterkenny February 16^th 2023

The History of Radio In Donegal, Legal, Pirate, Festival and Local.

 

Radio in Donegal has had a colourful and diverse past. Like many counties across Ireland and especially in the 1970’s, town and villages organised festivals to attract visitors and improve local footfall to businesses. Of course, one of the most famous festivals is the annual Mary From Dungloe but as the world moved on a pace a new medium was used to promote these festivals, radio.

In the early seventies newspapers in Donegal were promoting Radio Ramelton, Radio Ballyshannon and Radio Letterkenny, which operated for the popular Letterkenny Folk Festival but while these activities had all the hallmarks of radio, they did not broadcast by traditional transmitter and aerial but were rather carried throughout their towns on a wired public address system.

In 1976 a new innovation led to an explosion of traditional analogue radio in Donegal thanks to the State broadcaster RTE. For that years ‘Mary from Dungloe’ festival RTE’s mobile radio station visited the town and broadcast as Community Radio Dungloe for the duration of the festival on 202m medium wave. The broadcasts were seen as a massive success but for RTE they were travelling around the country and could not commit to return annually to Dungloe. They did however visit other festivals in Donegal over the following years including Glenties, in Letterkenny and Ardara.

In 1981, RTE’s mobile service was advertised to return to Dungloe but just days before the festival launch, RTE said they would be unable to attend. This opened up the opportunity for a new form of broadcaster, the pirate station, to fill the void left by RTE. Radio Donegal had been operating from Letterkenny since April 1980. Using a standby transmitter, Radio Donegal headed to Dungloe and broadcast for the duration of the festival on 257m Medium wave.

 

Pirate radio by 1980 was booming across the country in every city, town and village. Donegal was no exception. While Radio Donegal in 1980 were announced as the first Donegal pirate, there had been a station on air towards the end of the second World War. Known as Radio Nuala, the station was located above the Beehive pub in Ardara. The operator broadcast propaganda on medium wave of a Republican nature aimed at a cross border audience.

Once Radio Donegal began the trend of illegal broadcasting, demonstrating both a need and as a revenue creator for the station operators, more pirates came on the air. This golden era of illegal broadcasting in Ireland lasted from 1978-1988 when new legislation with severely increased penalties for illegal broadcasting and a new legal framework for independent commercial and community radio came into being. Some of the stations heard on the airwaves in Donegal were,

Radio Donegal - 186mMW

A Letterkenny based station that initially opened in 1979 as Radio North-West. Radio Donegal was officially launched on Wednesday April 22nd 1980. The station stayed on air until September 1981 when transmitter issues and the loss of their audience to another Letterkenny pirate forced its closure.

 

Donegal Community Radio - 212mMW

Based in Mountcharles, this short lived station broadcast from June 1980 until early 1981. The station was set up by the local ‘radio committee’ who had successfully brought the RTE mobile station to the area in 1978 but when RTE stated that they could not visit again due to a packed schedule, they decided to set up a pirate operation.

 

Donegal Community Radio - 323mMW & 97.9mhzFM

This second incarnation of DCR was based in a room above the old ‘Funland’ building in Letterkenny. DCR opened in 1986 and closed in December 1988 when new legislation was enacted. The station was started by Paddy Simpson with Bobby McDaid later taking over the running of DCR. ^[1]

Glencoagh Radio - 262mMW & 97.8mhzFM

Originally called Westside Radio in 1987 and broadcasting initially on 266m, the station’s name clashed with a nearby station broadcasting in County Sligo. The station became Glencoagh Radio originally broadcasting from the village of Mountcharles and later from a cinema on the Main Street of Donegal town. Some of those involved in the station included Brian Curriston, Charlie Cannon and Jack Ramsey. The station closed in December 1988 after just over eighteen months on the air.

 

KTOK - 192mMW & 102.9mhzFM

KTOK was launched by Russ Padmore broadcasting from Donegal Town with studios located in the Castle Shopping Centre. The station began broadcasting on January 1^st 1987 and closed in accordance with the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1988 at 4p.m. December 31st 1988. In the studio that day were Russ Padmore, Gene Wilson, Tara Brady, David James and Hugo Boyce. On behalf of KTOK Media Services they thanked their sponsors, advertisers and listeners and played ‘Good-night Sweetheart’. Following that track they told their listeners that it was not Goodbye but just Goodnight and they played themselves off air with the theme from the television show Miami Vice.

Letterkenny Community Radio – 252m MW

LCR opened and closed 1983 and was based in Letterkenny.

                                   

Letterkenny Local Radio – 187m MW & 89.5mhzFM

Following the departure Simon O’Dwyer and Paul Millar from Radio Donegal, LLR went on the air in November 1980 broadcasting initially from 9am to 6pm. The Station closed in 1981.

^[2]

Northwest Community Radio - 269mMW & 103.5mhzFM

Northwest was launched by Jackie Crossan and Hugo Boyce in September 1984 with a one-kilowatt transmitter on medium wave and a 25-watt transmitter for their 103.5mhz FM transmitter. The station was located in Buncrana, County Donegal. Northwest closed with the introduction of the new laws in December 1988 with Jackie Crossan by that time had bought out of the station. Humorously the locals called the station because of its poor on air timekeeping as ‘No Watches or Clocks Radio’.^[3]

 

Radio 4U – 97.4mhz FM (later 96.6 & 100mhzFM)

The brainchild of Patrick Garten who had arrived from England to take advantage of the lax broadcasting laws and to broadcast primarily into Derry City, the station was initially located on the Southern side of the border in a cottage owned by Tom Brolly which had previously used as the location for City Sound Radio in County Donegal. After some test transmissions in early June 1987, the station officially went in air on Saturday June 6^th 1987.  In April 1988. The stations transmitters and equipment were sold to fellow Donegal station WABC and Radio 4U disappeared from the airwaves in May 1988.

Radio Jackie - 193mMW

An early 1980’s pirate station that broadcast in Donegal.

 

Radio North - 846khzAM & 103mhzFM

Radio North began broadcasting on November 18^th 1986 from studios located at Carndonagh, County Donegal. With a number of transmitter locations around the Foyle Peninsula the station aimed much of its broadcasts into Northern Ireland. The station was operated by Frank Callaghan. The station closed in December 1988 in accordance with the new Broadcasting legislation. In January 1989, Northside Radio came back on the air and continued for two years. Meanwhile Tommy Cunningham had opened North Atlantic Radio broadcasting on 954khz. In 1992 North moved from Carndonagh to Redcastle but their transmitters were causing interference to legal operators within Northern Ireland and moved again to Muff in Donegal. North disappeared from the airwaves but North Atlantic was rebranded as Radio North now broadcasting on 846khzAM.

 

In 2002 Paul Bentley took over the running of Radio North whose powerful transmitter could be heard in Dublin in 2011. Radio North promoted themselves as a C&W and Irish music station with family values and at weekends their airtime was sold to gospel and Christian broadcasters with the station announced as Gospel 846. Their own website states that,

‘Gospel 846 promotes family values through religious programming and family centred music programs.’

A quarter of a century after Radio North’s first broadcasts the station now broadcasts from studios at Shroove and transmitters located on the Moville Road. The station in various incarnations has been known as Northside Radio, Radio North County, Christian Radio 846, North 2000 and FM103.^[4]

 

Radio North Atlantic – 266m & 98mhzFM

Based near Carndonagh on the Inishowen peninsula, this station opened after the introduction of the new legislation in 1988. The brainchild of Tommy Cunningham who opened the station in competition with Radio North. The station was prosecuted in February 1993 following raids a number on the pirate stations located in Donegal.

 

Radio Nova - 233mMW & 97.9mhzFM

This version of Radio Nova began life as City Sound Radio broadcasting from a transmitter site in Donegal aimed into Derry City in 1985. The station moved to the small border village of Fahan in 1986 and was renamed Radio Nova 2 (to be different from the Dublin version). In April 1987 the ‘2’ was dropped and the station continued to broadcast until midnight December 31^st 1988 when it closed after a live broadcast from a pub in Buncrana.

 

WABC - 241mMW & 101.7mhzFM

Located at Greencastle, County Donegal WABC aimed its broadcasts at Northern Ireland especially the town of Coleraine. WABC at one time operated two stations WABC Hot Hits on 101.7mhz and WABC Gold on 101.2mhzFM. The stations closed in December 1988 only to return on the air in early 1989. The station finally closed when the station manager Paul Bentley departed for the UK.

 

Gospel 98 – 98mhz FM

Opened in 1989 by Angela Evans, this religious pirate broadcast a mixture of American preachers, rock music and bible quotations. The station was located on the Inishowen Peninsula in Donegal and broadcast into Northern Ireland. In February, their aerial was vandalised but it was quickly repaired only for that aerial to come crashing down during an Atlantic storm in March 1990. The insurance would not cover the damage as it ‘was an act of God’ and while with the help of fellow Donegal pirate, Radio North, the station opened an aerial fund, the station failed to get back on the air on its own but its programming was carried for four hours per day by Radio North from 3pm.

 

Tyrone Community Radio – 1512khz AM & 106.8mhzFM

TCR opened in May 1996, broadcasting from Strabane in County Tyrone but following raids by the British authorities that station relocated south of the border in the house at Castlefin near Lifford, Co. Donegal. With increased pressure from the authorities south of the border to discourage advertisers on the station, TCR began fundraising by holding dances and party themed events n and around Strabane. In August 2001, the station was raided but was back on the air within ten days. On November 24^th 2004, the station was raided again by the Gardai and officers from ComReg. Following that raid, the Donegal Democrat reported that,

‘A Castlefin farmer who allowed a pirate radio station to broadcast from his land was fined €100 and ordered to pay €1,500 in costs at a special sitting of Letterkenny District Court. Noel Burns, Ballylast, Castlefin, pleaded guilty to the charge which related to November 24, 2004. Mr Philip Rahan, BL, representing the Office of the Commission for Communications Regulator, prosecuted.

Evidence was heard from Mr Ivan Kiely, an official with the Commission, who said that he first picked up the frequency in the Lifford and Castlefin area in October 2004. On investigation he found that Tyrone Community Radio was operating from the defendant’s lands.

“They offer easy listening and main stream country music together with commercial advertising,” Mr Kiely said. The broadcast was traced to a pre-fab at Ballylast, Castlefin. On November 24, 2004, Mr Kiely arrived at the premises to execute a warrant. Mr Rahan explained that a DJ was broadcasting at the time the Commission officials arrived on site. An inventory was made of the radio equipment which was subsequently seized.’

On December 12^th 2007, TCR was raided again. John Barron of Drumdoit, Castlefin pleaded guilty to supplying electricity for broadcasting and two counts of supplying premises for broadcasting. William Baird with an address at Tirkeeran, Lifford also pleaded guilty to two charges of supplying electricity for broadcasting and one count of supplying premises for broadcasting. Judge Kilrane fined 68-year-old Barron €50 along with €750 costs for supplying electricity for broadcasting. Two charges of providing premises for broadcasting were taken into consideration.

 

Mr Tom Boyce, an inspector with ComReg told the court he had been monitoring radio signals from the TCR radio station on December 12, 2007 which in turn lead him to a prefabricated building at a premises in the Castlefin area. He reported that a man was seen running from the premises across a field but was quickly detained by a garda who had accompanied the inspection team. The prefabricated building contained the radio studio including computers, mixing desk, microphones and CD players. The electricity supply to the prefab was disconnected, he said, and a cable from a transmitter lead to another single story dwelling on the property. Boyce said he interviewed Baird who identified himself as the owner of the premises. He admitted disconnecting the electricity supply to the prefabricated building adding he believed the prefab was to be used for a taxi business and he would get help with paying the electricity bills.

 

Mr Boyce explained to the court that TCR played country music and advertisements for local businesses, adding the defendant was not at the core of running the station. William Baird was also fined €450 for supplying electricity plus €750 costs.

 

In August 2008, TCR was raided yet again but this time they were located north of the border and the warrants were executed by Ofcom and the Northern Ireland authorities. This was the sixteenth raid on the station. In 2013 the station went off the air in the hope of applying for an RSL.

 

But it was the closure of Radio Donegal after eighteen months on the air that created one of the most unique pirate radio experiments in the county. Don Clark who worked for Radio Donegal saw an opportunity to help publicise the various festivals around the country by creating a mobile service in a caravan travelling from town in town.

Radio Dungloe                        257m MW                  1981

Radio Downings                     192m MW                  1981

Radio Ceilteach                      192m MW                  1981    (Falcarragh)   

Radio Dungloe                        192m MW                  1983

Radio Lifford                          192m MW                  1983

Radio Twin Towns                 192m MW                  1983    (Ballybofey and Stranolar)

Radio Dungloe                        198m MW                  1985

Radio Cunamh                        187m MW & 96FM    1985    Letterkenny

Radio Killybegs                      192m MW                  1985

Radio Killybegs                      205m MW                  1986

The legal stations have included these stations including today’s leading local station, Highland Radio based in Letterkenny. Highland began broadcasting on March 15th 1990 having been awarded the new licence from the IRTC. The southern part of the county along with Sligo and Leitrim was covered initially by North West Radio but they lost their licence in 2004 to be replaced by Ocean FM. Community in the county in the past has included Inishowen Community Radio and Donegal Bay FM and today is served by temporary licences awarded to Owenea FM, Finn Valley FM and Rosses Radio. 

Today (February 2023) there is one pirate still operating in the county, Radio North.

https://www.facebook.com/DublinsPirateDays/videos/5878453322204545/

There are other non-licenced stations operating on FM across Donegal as various Catholic and Protestant churches broadcast Mass and services mostly on Sundays but also for funeral services.

Sources

The DX Archive

Radiowaves.fm

Pirate.ie

The Irish Pirate Radio Archive

The Anoraks Ireland Collection at DCU

The Irish Newspaper Archives

The British Newspaper Archives

Tommy Rosney

Russ Padmore   

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[1] Donegal Democrat

[2] The Donegal Democrat

[3] Gerry O’Reilly

[4] As of January 31^st 2023, the station was still on the air broadcasting illegally

The Festival Pirate Radio Stations of the 1970s

Throughout the seventies, towns and villages across Ireland organised local festivals to create entertainment and attract business. These festivals ranged from accordian festivals, Wild Boar, Trout, May Day, Christmas shopping and Cheese promotions. In the sixties and early seventies festivals advertised a ‘radio station’ to entertain and inform but rather than transmitter based these stations like Omagh Festival Radio, Athlone’s and Carrick-on-Shannon’s celebration of the River Shannon and Radio Loughshinny were ‘broadcast’ via a public address system attached to poles in the town or from speakers hung outside the festival office. From the mid-seventies , RTE’s mobile service broadcast live from various festivals but that was usually just for one year, rarely visiting the same town twice, therefore the festival committee’s seeing the success of the previous years broadcasts set up a transmitter and began to broadcast themselves. These included stations like Radio Ceilteach and Radio Letterkenny Folk Festival both in Donegal, Radio Charleville who were originally a RTE mobile visit but in subsequent years received the assistance of Big D Radio in Dublin to go on air but the ‘committee pointed out that this is festival radio not a pirate radio.’

Some of the stations that broadcast in the seventies via transmitters include,

Festival Radio Ardee – MW

In 1972 this early festival radio broadcast for the local festival celebrating December 8^th, a major shopping day before Christmas.

Festival Radio Ballinrobe – MW

This station operated from 8am – 10pm during the ‘Trout Festival’ which was held annually in June. It was first heard during the 1977 festival in the County Mayo town.

Festival Radio Charleville – 212m MW

In 1977 RTE’s mobile radio station visited the town for the Cheese Festival. For the following years with the assistance of Dublin’s Big D Radio, the festival committee put the festival station back on the air.

Festival Radio Ceilteach – 192m MW

This station was reported during the Falcarragh Celtic Music Festival in June 1979. Falcarragh is located in Donegal.

Festival Radio Downings – 192m MW

A local Donegal festival station that operated during July 1983.

Festival Radio Kanturk – 212m MW

Was heard broadcasting during the Wild Boar festival in July 1975. 

Festival Radio Kilmaine – MW

Organised by Pat and Jackie O’Connor, this county Mayo station broadcast for one festival from 16^th – 25^th June 1978.

Festival Radio Kilorglin – FM

Operated for the local Puck festival in August 1984, the temporary station was replaced by a more permanent station in the Kerry town in the years after. 

Festival Radio Letterkenny – 192m MW

This station was operated during the Letterkenny Folk Festival in August 1977.

Festival Radio Twin Towns – 192m MW

A Donegal based station that operated during a festival spread between the twin towns of Stranolar and Ballybofey during July 1983.