Open Free Radio Archive
Sunshine sticker from the mid-1980s (Anoraks Ireland Collection). This short recording of Sunshine Radio was made during a night-time slot in the spring of 1984, when RTÉ was relentlessly jamming the station’s signal as part of its campaign against the pirate. First up is the end of the Radio Romance slot with David Dennehy. News at midnight is presented by Justin McKenna and includes reference to…
Energy 103 studios at 144 Upper Leeson Street (courtesy Andy Carter). This recording features the new Dublin station Energy 103 from summer 1986. Energy emerged from the ashes of Radio Nova, beginning broadcasting on 28 th April and quickly becoming a leader in the Dublin radio market. The first part of the recording features a late-night show presented by Alan Burns, from 0113-0201 on Tuesday 29…
Radio Caroline transmitter from the mid-1990s (Pirate.ie Collection). Old Gold Retold was a popular oldies show on Sunday mornings on Radio Caroline Dublin (102.5 FM) in the 1990s. The presenter was Derek Jones, a veteran of the Dublin pirate scene since the 1970s. The programme was sometimes relayed by one of the city s pirate shortwave operators, bringing it to listeners in western Europe and…
Poster for Radioactive reunion posted on the station s Facebook page This is another recording of Dublin alternative free radio station Radioactive (1994-1996). It features an evening show consisting of mostly continuous rock and blues music with occasional links by an unidentified DJ. The frequency announced is 95.5 FM although the cassette label refers to 99.5. Radioactive was inspired by the…
Shaun Coyne at Radio West in 1986 (courtesy Andy Carter). The weekly Radio West Anoraks Show from Mullingar was essential listening for radio enthusiasts far and near. Fronted by station boss Shaun Coyne, it was unscripted and unpredictable and relied heavily on juicy gossip and rumours about the pirate radio scene. Shaun was joined by another presenter each week including the late Don Allen but…
Derek Jones in the Caroline studio in the mid-1990s (Pirate.ie Collection). Old Gold Retold was a long-running oldies show on Radio Caroline Dublin (1989-2000) presented by Derek Jones, one of the pioneers of pirate radio in the city. Featuring music from the 1950s-1970s, the show aired each Sunday morning on the Sutton-based station. This recording contains plenty of requests so clearly Old Gold…
Radioactive banner from its Facebook page. Radioactive was a free radio experiment broadcasting from Dublin city centre between 1992 and 1996. It was based on the philosophy of media democratisation and resistance to commercial broadcasting expressed in the pamphlet Radio is my Bomb: A DIY Manual for Pirates (1987). Therefore, Radioactive never took commercial advertising income, avoided a format…
An advert for Energy 103 in Phoenix magazine in 1986 (Anoraks Ireland Collection). This recording of successful Dublin pirate Energy 103 was made on a warm and sunny day in the city in summer 1986. On air is popular DJ Gareth O’Callaghan in the drivetime slot. As well as chart tunes and classics, features include the TV teaser, a review of the evening newspapers, Listeners’ Top 10, traffic news,…
Radio Caroline poster from the early 1990s (Pirate.ie collection). This is another recording of Sunday programming on Radio Caroline Dublin (1989-2000), one of the longest-running pirates of the period following the new broadcasting legislation. On air is Stephen Davitt (Daragh O’Sullivan) in an afternoon slot with a mixture of old and new music from the 1980s and early 1990s. Daragh broadcast…
Radio Caroline card from the mid-1990s (Pirate.ie collection). Radio Caroline Dublin was one of the longest-running pirates in the post-1989 period, broadcasting from Dublin s northeastern suburb of Sutton. It was operated by Brian Greene, one of the founders of Pirate.ie, so it has a special place in our hearts. Caroline broadcast occasionally from 1989 to 1992, mostly on bank holidays, but then…