While pirate radio stations existed in the Cork city area in the 1960s and 1970s eg Radio Juliette, Radio Cobweb, the first full time stations began in early 1978 with CBC on 230 metres and CCR on 216 metres. From the summer of 1978 these two stations were joined by ABC Radio on 1305kHz(v). In early 1979 ABC Radio closed down and was replaced by Capital Radio 1287kHz (v). CCR changed its name to CCLR, installed a more powerful AM transmitter and moved frequency to 1143kHz(v) announced as 261 metres. CCLR was based for most of its existence at French Church Street in the city centre. In September 1979 CBC ceased broadcasting which left CCLR and Capital Radio as the only two stations in the city. On 31/08/1980 a new station Radio City came on air on 1512kHz (v) announced 199 metres. After a few months they added FM on 95.7MHz(v), notable as the first station to use FM in the Cork City area. Later due to interference between City and Youghal based CRY, Radio City moved from 1512kHz to 1251kHz (v) announced 240metres.Capital Radio also briefly experimented with FM in early 1981.Also around this time Big Brother Radio operated briefly from the Sunday's Well area of Cork City on 88FM.
1982 saw big changes. On new years eve 1981 Leeside Community Radio began testing on 102FM from a premises in the Grand Parade. It was notable because it was the first station to focus on alternative rock and pop and its output also featured Jazz, Arts news and Feminist issues. Due to TV interference issues it moved to 98MHz(v) in May 1982.
On 31 July 1982 Leeside ceased broadcasting.Capital Radio Cork also ceased in June 1982 and Radio City Cork in September 1982. This left CCLR and the hobby oriented Radio Caroline as the last of the old stations on air. CCLR, under new management, embarked on a major expansion in 1983, installed a more powerful medium wave transmitter in Glounthaune linked to its studio via a transmitter on 98FM , brought in new staff and new professionally made jingles. Despite the upgrades the station closed before Christmas 1983 for financial reasons.
On March 3rd 1982 South Coast Radio began broadcasting on 103.2(v) FM stereo from a suite in the Metropole Hotel in McCurtain Street.A relatively high power (600W) professional medium wave transmitter was added within a couple of weeks, based at a site near Cork airport. A 150ft lattice tower was used giving the station large coverage and the use of professional processing gave the station superior audio compared with the older stations. The station had professional studio and production equipment.
In 1983 a 10kW medium transmitter was installed near Dublin Hill, replacing the airport Hill transmitter on 1557/1566kHz. This gave the station greatly extended coverage but a fire put the transmitter out of action some months later and South Coast reverted to using the smaller airport Hill based transmitter.
The fire at the 10kW rig, a sustained jamming campaign by an individual and competition from ERI (see below) eventually put the station off air in July 1984.
In late May 1982 Eastside Radio began operating from a period house in the seaside village of Ballycotton about 25 miles east of Cork City.It used a 200W Medium Wave transmitter on 1305kHz and a small FM transmitter on 102. It was operated in a semi professional manner throughout the summer of 1982. In September 1982 the station was renamed ERI, a large 5kW medium wave transmitter was installed on the very clear frequency of 1305kHz (announced 225 metres) at Whites Cross, a short distance north of Cork city and in November 1982 the studios and FM transmitter were transfered to their new base at Whites Cross. The station went from strength to strength adding a high power FM stereo signal in early 1983 and its huge reach gave the station a big advantage over its competitors. It built new customised studios in 1986 at Whites Cross, had offices in St Patrick St and later South Mall. Like South Coast Radio, ERI suffered from various set backs including jamming, the unauthorised felling of their medium wave transmitter tower over Christmas 1983 and in 1986, following a court order, having to relocate their transmission facilities including the large transmitter tower to Hollyhill, just beyond the city's perimeter.
Despite the set backs ERI remained on air until 30/12/1988 and was highly successful. Many of its staff went on to work in local and national radio and television. ERI unsuccessfully applied for a commercial licence in the area in 1989 under the name Sound of the South. Subsequently, its studio and transmission facilities were leased to a new licensed station, branded as Radio South, in 1989, allowing this new station to be operational relatively quickly. Radio South was relaunched in July 1990 as 96FM[1] and eventually bought out by County Sound in February 1991, with the original four shareholders selling all their shares to the Mallow-based station.
WKLR & NCCR
In County Cork, the two most significant stations during the 1980s were the Bandon-based WKLR, and NCCR (North Cork Community Radio), which broadcast from the old Majestic Ballroom in Mallow. WKLR (West Cork Local Radio) founded in 1984, initially intended for the West Cork area, but towards the end of the station's life had extended its transmission to cover Cork city and much of the rest of Co. Cork. The close-down night of NCCR in Mallow on 31 December 1988, was struck by tragedy, when local farmer and former presenter and shareholder of the station - Pat O'Connor - who was participating in an interview - collapsed and died suddenly during a commercial break. The station immediately announced it was closing earlier than planned "due to unforeseen circumstances". Pat O'Connor had also been a brief national celebrity when he was chosen as a representative of rural Ireland to guest present an edition of the 'Saturday Live' chat show on RTÉ TV in 1987, however his RTÉ appearance meant he had to resign his involvement in the pirate NCCR to avoid controversy beforehand, and did not appear again until the closedown night. NCCR had come into being in 1985 when a community co-operative took over the ownership of a previous station – NCLR (North Cork Local Radio) that had been in existence since 1981.
Radio Caroline
Radio Caroline Cork was launched on 22 May 1981 broadcasting from a ground-floor apartment in Togher on the southside on 98.8 FM. It moved in 1982 to an upstairs studio in Cornmarket Street for a few weeks before returning to a mobile home studio based in Togher. The station added a Medium Wave transmitter on 1188kHz/253m in October 1982, later changing the frequency to 1557kHz/192m (announced 194 metres). A lot of well-known names in broadcasting passed through its studio doors over the years, moving on later in life to carve out careers on local and national radio and TV. Radio Caroline ceased regular broadcasting in mid 1985 but appeared occasionally on 1557kHz AM/98.8(v)FM in the latter half of 1985 and during 1986.
After 31/12/1988 and into the early 1990s there was relatively little pirate radio activity in Cork with a few notable exceptions. Cork City Radio 1521kHz MW , County Sound Radio 102.0 (v)(FM) - (part time throughout 1989), Lighthouse Radio 98.2/97.6/97.8FM (1992 -1997), Radio Blackstar 101FM (1992), PowerFM 98.3/94.8/95.4 FM (1992 -1997) and in the East Cork area Radio Midleton. Other stations which followed included Crystal Radio 98.3, City View Radio 99/103FM and, a little later, Sunshine Radio, a 1980s pirate relaunched on 104.8FM, Radio Harmony 94.8FM and the first Cork based Club FM. All these stations were part-time, hobby operations. Also active during this time were relays of UK based satellite radio station UCB.
During this era many of the hobby stations cooperated, assisting each other with technical matters. At this time none carried advertising. Pirate radio had returned to the underground after the new legislation was introduced at the end of 1988.
Into this much changed pirate radio landscape Radio Caroline Cork resumed broadcasting on a part-time basis in the early- mid 1990s on 99.2FM and later 98.2, 106.4 and finally 107.0FM. It remained on 107.0FM at weekends until operations ceased permanently in March 2025.
Community Radio Youghal
Another pirate station was Community Radio Youghal (CRY), whose existence was ironically inspired by a stint in the town of RTÉ's mobile community radio station, which provided temporary community radio services during visits to dozens of towns nationwide in the 1980s. CRY had been on air for almost a decade and was one of the longest surviving pirate stations in Ireland when it closed at the end of 1988. CRY returned to the airwaves 7 years later in 1995 with a license, currently broadcasting on 104.0 MHz to Youghal town and surrounding areas from a 25-Watt transmitter located on the town's water tower at Cork Hill.
Radio Friendly
In autumn 1995 Radio Friendly commenced broadcasting to Cork city on 104.3FM. This station provided music from "underground" DJs, some from Sir Henry's nightclub, and its DJs included Stevie G and Greg & Shane of Fish Go Deep. The station got its name from its owners: MR P, Miss Ken D and some DJs from Dublin's Power FM. The transmitter was the original Power 98.7FM equipment. A stereo encoder, audio compressor and a change of frequency to 104.6FM were among the improvements carried out early on. In 1997 the transmitter was moved to higher ground giving much improved coverage and slightly later a professional audio processor was installed. The station moved to 104.0FM in late 2001, until its closure in 2003. Radio Friendly won the Best Irish Dance Station Award, beating all national stations at the Smirnoff Irish Dance awards.[citation needed]
Kiss 105.5 FM
Another big station in the late 1990s and early 2000s was Kiss 105.5FM, which had a more commercial side than Radio Friendly and was aimed at a younger audience. DJs such as Colin Edwards, Damien Sreenan, Dave Newman, and Derek O Keefe were regulars on this until the station's closure in 2001. Kiss actually first appeared on 105.3FM, but moved to 105.5 some months later after they extended coverage. They later introduced another transmitter for the northern Cork area on 107.1, lasting until it broke down.
Kiss 106.5/94.8/87.8/88.7/104.9
Kiss (previously called NRG 2003-04) started on 106.5 in April 2004 by Pete O'Neill, who also owned NRG and was fronted by Colin Edwards. It was on air for over 6 months until it was raided. Kiss was very popular among younger audiences. One reason for this was the large Max Power Event that was advertised on the station, attracting hundreds of cars and thousands of people. However, a car crash near Douglas was attributed to the station, leading to its closure. The Evening Echo carried the story on 2 pages, causing concern among other stations. As a result, presenters from other stations complained from a ratings perspective, leading to a switch in frequencies.
This was the main pirate station in Cork and was more known on Kiss 94.8, but they were the subject of much Comreg attention and had been raided three times having broadcasting equipment confiscated. The station also featured many local big DJs. In 2007 the owner of Kiss launched a second station Play 87.7FM which broadcast house, techno & trance music and remained on air for a year. A 2008 relaunch of Kiss 94.8 lasted only 3 weeks with the station being raided once again (13 August 2008 13:00) and all equipment was confiscated while off air. Kiss FM was also subject to a raid while DJ’s were performing a switch-over of shows. This was at an outdoor broadcast from Funderland where Kiss were subject to three-studios (two on-site and one outdoor).
Kiss made another return to 88.7 for 2 months but closed due to the fact that they were joining with another station, NRG887. They then separated, and the old Kiss members surprisingly made a return once again on 24 June 2012 to the airwaves on 104.9 MHz for a period of time before suddenly disappearing from the airwaves on 1 November 2013 and has not reappeared since.
NRG 88.7 FM
NRG 88.7MHZ Tied from the old NRG 106.5 and Kiss 106.5/94.8 and linked with the owners of the old Pulse 106.5 & Galaxy FM (Francis Hennessy) to create NRG 88.7MHZ. Later the Kiss owner (Pete O Neil) separated and once again brought Kiss FM back to the airwaves on 104.9FM, while NRG was still being run on 88.7Mhz by the old Pulse & Galaxy Fm owner but was on and off the air due to equipment issues.
Radio NOW 87.8FM
Radio NOW was an influential underground radio station that broadcast nonstop HD&T (House, Dance, and Trance) on 87.8 FM, reaching Cork city and its surrounding suburbs. The station was founded by Cork DJ Steve O’C, who expanded his passion for music beyond the decks and into the airwaves.
During its final year, Radio NOW gained additional momentum through its popular club nights at the Roxy nightclub’s (Audio Rooms) However, both the Roxy nightclub and Radio NOW came to an end in May/ June of 2013, marking the close of the station’s two-year journey.
At its peak, Radio NOW hosted a collective of up to 25 DJs, offering a rich blend of genres including house, dance, trance, techno, drum and bass, R’n’B, hip hop, and dubstep. It left a lasting impression on Cork’s underground music scene as a hub for diverse and cutting-edge sounds.
FreakFM 105.2
FreakFM began in Mallow, North Cork in 2000 before moving to Cork city in early 2001. Music was a mix of Indie Rock, alternative and metal. The station closed down after a few months. In 2004 the station began broadcasting again from a city center studio and programming was much more diverse than the original Freakfm format. Rock, Metal, Indie, Soul, Funk, Reggae, eclectic were some of the genres of shows. The station continued until December 2005 when Comreg raided two of the transmitter sites, the main studio was not raided, and the station continued for 1 more week until permanent shutdown 31 December 2005.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
