A Photographic Record of the May 1983 Pirate Protest March - Dublin, Post the raids on Radio Nova and Sunshine Radio

 

On May 19th 1983, members of An Garda Siochana and officials from the Department of Posts and Telegraphs began a raid on Dublin and perhaps Ireland's most successful radio station, the pirate operation Radio Nova. It was a bolt from the blue, the second biggest station in Dublin, Sunshine Radio located in the grounds of the Sands Hotel, Portmarnock was also raided and closed. While Nova managed to get back on air briefly to say their goodbyes on May 20th, the raids on the two biggest stations sent shockwaves throughout the Irish pirate world and many of the over 100 stations closed voluntarily in case of a raid. 

You can read about the raids here. RADIOWAVES.FM

The 1983 Protest March Route

Many of the Dublin station managers and owners met and decided that a protest march would be held on Friday May 27th, gathering at the GPO on O'Connell Street and making their way to Government buildings on Merrion Street, where a letter of protest would be handed into the relevant Minister responsible for broadcasting. According to newspaper reports 3,000 protesters took part but more reliable Garda figures put the figure closer to 10,000. This is their story. 

 

The Radio Nova flatbed truck to be used as a float arrives on 

Westmoreland Street on its way to the GPO.

The Crowds begin to gather outside the GPO at 3pm including a Radio Dublin float

The Crowd depart the GPO travelling briefly Northwards before crossing the central mall and heading southbound down O'Connell Street with several radio station floats including Radio Dublin, Radio Nova and in the bottom right hand corner ABC Radio.

Some more of the truck floats depart the GPO including top right the Westside Radio float 

and the small red Fiat was deemed the 

'Radio Nova Staff Car.' Bottom right the 'Staff Car' is passed by the No.3 bus on its way to Sandymount.

The thousands continue down O'Connell Street, passed Middle Abbey Street and onwards to cross over the River Liffey at O'Connell Bridge. A Nova float full of fancy dress pirates join the March.

Led by station operator Brian Matthews, this is the Community Radio Fingal contingent departing the GPO and then travelling south bound on O'Connell Street.

The march crosses O'Connell Bridge and travels down D'Olier Street where another pirate laden float joins the march. 

The March passes Trinity College and onto Nassau Street

The Marchers reach Clare Street passing the old Green's Bookshop and then left onto Merrion Street.

The crowds pass the National Gallery and begin to arrive at Government Buildings. TTTR and Community Radio Fingal banners feature in the lower two photographs.

The peaceful protesters reach Government Buildings and a letter is handed into the Minister's Office.

Minister's entrance in lower left photo.

It was not just the Dublin stations involved, here is a banner for South Coast Radio in Cork

More pictures from outside Government Buildings and around Merrion Square where the speakers on the floats entertained the crowds. Don't Take My Sunshine Away.

The Radio Dublin truck top right and top left the backs of Mike Doyle 

and Ray Jackson from ABC Radio

Some of the station owners and staff. Top left with the high kick is Paul Vincent (Murphy), and top right in the red jacket is the late Robbie Robinson, owner of Sunshine Radio. In the dickie bow is Radio Dublin Owner and later convicted paedophile, Eamon Cooke. 

The protest ends and the Radio Nova truck heads off into the sunset. 

The Daily newspapers covered the protest as the debate on pirate radio and raids continue. 

Within weeks Sunshine Radio, Radio Nova and many of the stations that closed out of fear across the country had reopened and would continue on air until December 1988. 

The archival photographs come from Paul Davidson at Anoraks Ireland who has donated his entire collection of photographs, audio tapes and printed memorabilia to the Irish Pirate Radio Archive at Dublin City University

Photographs courtesy of Anoraks Ireland

Press Clippings courtesy of the Irish Newspaper Archives

If you have been adversely affected by any of the photographs, helplines are available including the Rape Crisis Centre at 1800 77 8888

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

Radio Bandon (1972-1983) Civic Pride & Piracy

 

In a smaller global world, rural Ireland was a close-knit social community and the creation of town and village festivals brought locals together along with returning diaspora and visitors. From the 1950’s onwards and with Radio Eireann centrally located in Dublin, many festivals created their own ‘radio station’ to play music, provide information and play requests from at locals at home and abroad. These early ‘stations’ were not transmitter driven but a wired loudspeaker system erected throughout the town or village. But one festival in the early 1970’s would take that idea one step further.

 

The main claim to fame of Bandon in west county Cork is that a former pupil of Bandon Grammar School, Graham Norton, has found fame across the Irish Sea on British TV and radio. However, in 1969, while the young Norton was attending school in the town, the Bandon Junior Chamber of Commerce in the County Cork village decided to create the first Bandon Week in July 1970. It attracted an influx of visitors from the Cork region and many travelled home for the first time in many years especially from Britain to be part of the festival. The first year was a huge success. In July 1972[1] there was a new departure when Radio Bandon came on the air broadcasting on 198m medium wave each evening for an hour from 6pm. Over the following years, information on this unique and popular pirate radio station, as it was never licensed or ever applied for a license, appeared in pre-publicity for both the festival and the station. According to John O’Mahony[2], who was one of the first voices heard on the station in 1972, Radio Bandon utilised an ex-BBC emergency radio transmitter[3] and that it had a radius of twelve miles around the village[4]. It was brought into Bandon bit by bit by John Smith, a former BBC outside broadcast engineer who had retired to Bandon. He added,

‘Domie[5] O’Brien was a member of the Bandon Junior Chamber at the time and he was the driving force behind the radio station. John Smith set up the transmitter in his house on Newstown Road. We all helped. We stood two post offices poles to hold the aerial which consisted of 150lbs of cooper wire. I was a DJ in a mobile disco roadshow and so I had access to the equipment and a great record collection. The studios were located in a number of places with the transmitter remaining at John’s house.’

The studios were initially located in John Smith’s house and after in Domie O’Brien’s house, O’Donovan’s Grocery, the Bandon town hall and in John O’Mahony’s own home on Watergate Street. O’Mahony recalled how the station received hundreds of requests with many dropped into his house of Eric Hickey’s shop.

1972 Cork Examiner

After a successful series of broadcasts in 1972, Radio Bandon was back for 1973 but in 1974 their plans were almost derailed. It was reported in the Cork Examiner that the operators of the station were informed that ‘if the station went on air, the situation would be embarrassing’ and pressure from the Gardai and the Department of Post and Telegraphs tasked with policing the airwaves, kept the station off the air.

(c) The Southern Star

Undeterred the station was back in 1975 and provided a major coup. Their first broadcast that year was a recording of the opening ceremony speech delivered by the government’s minister for Transport, and Cork TD, Peter Barry. A Minister’s speech relayed on a pirate radio station in his own county and yet the station continued. In 1976 the station continued, broadcasting from 6.30pm – 7pm with ‘up to the minute bulletins on Festival events including reports on the golfer of the week competition’.

 

Emboldened by their success, the station increased activity in 1977 and was now broadcasting on 206m medium wave, ‘strategically two metres away from Radio Luxembourg’[6]. The festival committee had cultivated close links with the Bandon society living and working in the London area and messages were recorded at the annual dinner of the Association which were returned to Ireland for broadcast. In 1977, these greeting were broadcast on St Patrick’s Day with a special broadcast. In June that year the Eucharistic procession through the town and the accompanying religious ceremonies were broadcast for those who were ill or unable to attend in person. In July Radio Bandon was back on the air for the festival while a new departure was the Christmas Day broadcasts from 5-6pm with greetings from abroad and also on St Stephens Day from 3-6pm.[7] From 1978 onwards Radio Bandon broadcast each day of the festival from 6.30pm for an hour, thus avoiding any clashes with locals tuning into news and weather forecasts on Radio Eireann.

If you would like to support my work in preserving and presenting the history of Irish radio and archive as much broadcasting history as I can, then for the price of a cup of coffee you can financially support the work at https://ko-fi.com/irishbroadcastinghistory. 

Thank you. (Use the button at the top of the page to support)

In 1980, one of those on air on Radio Bandon was visiting Massachusetts Democratic State representative Marie Howe, whose father had emigrated from Bandon in the 1920’s. Alas 1983 would be the last year of Radio Bandon and the station would be replaced by another pirate station, WKLR (West Cork Local Radio), who would continue to use the decommissioned BBC transmitter. The reason for the closure was explained by Dave Heffernan, the man behind WKLR from 1983 until the pirate radio closedowns in December 1988.

‘One day in the middle of one its more popular programmes where the DJ repeatedly gave out the phone number there was a phone call from Cork Airport. You need to close down that station and cease broadcasting immediately the official from Cork airport insisted.  Oh, but we can’t do that in the middle of our annual festival came the reply.  Well, if you don’t shut down immediately, you’re going to have a Jumbo Jet landing in South Main Street Bandon because it’s locked onto your homing beacon.   Needless to say, Radio Bandon Management made the right decision and choose the greater good and that was the end of Radio Bandon. '[8]

The smuggled in ex BBC transmitter courtesy of The DX Archive

In speaking with me, John O’Mahony recounted that after Radio Bandon he worked briefly for WKLR also in Bandon and for the Cork Broadcasting Company (CBC) in the city.

‘I did some broadcasting with CBC Radio in Cork City on a Saturday morning. The pirate station moved around a lot to avoid detection. I joined the Department of Posts and Telegraphs (in 1974) as an installer never realising that the Department would be the people to road the pirates to confiscate the equipment. One Saturday they raided the premises on McCurtain Hill when I was on the air and I had to through jump at least two gardens to make my getaway.’

To see pictures of the BBC transmitter used by Radio Bandon see the WKLR history at the DX Archive[9] and for further information of WKLR read Radiowaves.fm[10]

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[1] The Southern Star

[2] Interview with the author

[3] The Cork Examiner 1977

[4] The Cork Examiner 1974

[5] Dominick O’Brien

[6] The Evening Echo

[7] The Southern Star

[8] http://worship.ie/daves-early-radio-days-the-story-of-wklr-chap-1/

[9] http://dxarchive.com/ireland_a_to_z_irish_pirates_wklr_bandon.html

[10] http://radiowaves.fm/ire/database/wklr/

If you would like to support my work in preserving and presenting the history of Irish radio and archive as much broadcasting history as I can, then for the price of a cup of coffee you can financially support the work at https://ko-fi.com/irishbroadcastinghistory. 

Thank you. (Use the button at the top of the page to support)

In the couple of weeks we will be covering some other festival pirate stations including Radio Clara and Portarlington Festival Radio. If you are visiting Bandon, why not tune in to local station West Cork FM. 

Sources

The Irish (Cork) Examiner

The Southern Star

The Evening Echo

Google Maps

'Bandon Town I Love You' facebook Community

John O'Mahony (Bandon)

The BBC Archives

The National Archives