RADIO STAR COUNTRY
- MONAGHAN BORDER AREA (1988 - CURRENT)
927kHz - 891kHz - 981kHz - 107.4MHz
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IRISH
PIRATES A / Z
| RADIO STAR COUNTRY: Radio Star was the only station other than Radio Dublin to broadcast continously after the 31st December 1988, when the draconian Wireless Telegraphy act came into force, closing down commercial radio in Ireland. Soon after legislation, offshore pioneer announcer from the 1960's, Don Allen joined the station. Don is heard on many of the recordings in the download section, along with Jerry Byrne, the then owner. It is thought they were all a bit on edge in early 1989, and expected to be raided at any time. In fact Radio Star may have the title of "last of the pirates" as it is still on the air in 2010, some 22 years after the legislation was brought in!! Over in Co Donegal, Radio North and WABC had closed up by 31st December 1988, but did return some time later. The current Radio North is a reincarnation of the name, rather than a progression of the same station. The sticker above is from 1988, when they thought they were on Long Wave!!! The actual channel was 927kHz!! "O dearie me", was probably said once or twice!! Radio Star Country is still on the air on 981kHz as of this update in 2025 |
The Swan Lake Hotel, Monaghan one time home of Radio Star Country |
Radio Star Country studio taken in 1988 when it was located in the Swan Lake Hotel |
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Two further photographs of the studio in The Swan Lake Hotel taken during
1988.
(Photos are from slides by kind courtesy of Steve West. Click each one for full size.)
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A nice early poster with the 927kHz frequency.
Note the graphic showing the location of the station on the MW band.
As at 2025, the other MW frequencies are now empty except maybe 'BBC2' which would now be
'Talksport'.
This was different era for radio.
(Click for larger image - Size is 8.5MB)
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Radio Star Country Audio Library
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| 1988_05_12_thu_star_927am_gerrybyrne_test_tape-gh624.mp3 New Jan 2023 | A recording of Radio Star Country during their testing period when there was continuous music and station announcements from Gerry Byrne every few records. This recording was made near Blackpool from 927kHz on Thursday 12th May 1988 and suffers from a lot of crackling due to the distance from the transmitter, and also the audio was low in places. On this early transmission, 927am, 324m MW and 103.5MHz was announced, but later on the tape, the FM frequency announced had changed to 103.3MHz. |
119MB 130mins |
| 1988_06_09_thu_star_927am_0823-1140_gerrybyrne-gh.mp3 New Jan 2023 | Gerry Byrne with three hours of his morning show from Thursday 9th June 1988 when the station was still on 927kHz. Recorded near Blackpool, the signal had some background interference from BRT in Belgium and also a strange 'growling' noise on the modulation, which was probably not audible in the main service area. FM frequencies of 96.3MHz and 103.3MHz were also announced. |
180MB 197mins |
| 880917_sat_1322-1822_927_star_country_reel_14_kb.mp3 | 210,878k |
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| 1989_01_01_star_1415-1505_891_reel_25_kb.mp3 New Jan 2023 | Radio Star Country during their first day of operation after the legislation. This was recorded from the old freq of 891, in Scotland, so reception isn't great. | 50MB 54mins |
| 1989_01_02_star_1025-1228_891_reel_25_kb.mp3 New Jan 2023 | Radio Star Country during their second day of operation after the legislation. This was recorded from the old freq of 891, in Scotland, so reception isn't great. | 111MB 121mins |
| 890126_thurs_0923_1552_891_star_last_days_891_reel_25_kb.mp3 | 301,279k | |
| 890208_wed_0918_1547_981_jerry_don_at_1300_ann_co_tyrone_reel_26_kb.mp3 | 291,737k | |
| 890209_0915_1545_981_star_country_jerry_burn_don_allen_inc_mention_51m_reel_27_kb.mp3 | 302,988k | |
| 890213_0916_1540_981_star_country_don_allen_jerry_burn_1300_reel_27_kb.mp3 | 301,445k | |
| 890214_0915_1340_981_star_country_don_allan_jerry_burn_reel_27_kb.mp3 | 195,636k | |
| 890215_1135_1505_981_star_country_don_allen_inc_sole_survivor_1247_jerry_1300_reel_9_kb.mp3 | 160,808k | |
| 890216_0907_1205_981_star_country_don_allen_thurs_reel_9_kb.mp3 | 126,211k | |
| 890216_1300_1620_981_star_country_don_s_off_jerry_burn_fadey_at_end_reel_9_kb.mp3 | 152,276k | |
| 890321_0915_1320_981_star_country_don_allen_jerry_burn_reel_28_kb.mp3 | 202,166k | |
| 890726_1311_1940_981_star_country_don_allen_wed_reel_33_kb.mp3 | 262,169k | |
| 1989_08_23_wed_star_1074fm_1514-1617_gerrybyrne-gh829.mp3 New Mar 2025 | Gerry Byrne with 'All American Country' on Wednesday afternoon 23rd August 1989. According to the note in the tape box, this recording was made from 107.4MHz FM in mono. The receiving location is not known. |
87MB 63mins |
| 1990_02_21_wed_star_981am_1356-1600_gerrybyrne_allamericancountry-gh840.mp3 New Oct 2022 | Gerry Byrne with a midweek afternoon 'All American Country Show'. There seemed to be plenty of adverts, even in their second year of 'illegality' since the 1988 closures. Recorded near Blackpool from 981kHz with some background tv interference. | 117MB
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| 1992_12_20_sun_star_981am_1000-1135_johnbenson-gh960.mp3 New Jul 2024 | The first of two consecutive recordings from Sunday morning 20th December 1992, with we think John Benson. These two recordings are interesting as it was just before Christmas and there are a large number of commercials. The station was being received near Blackpool on 981kHz and there is a some splatter from Red Rose Radio in Preston on 999kHz. |
90MB 98mins |
| 1992_12_20_sun_star_981am_1135-1310_johnbenson_seanbrady-gh960.mp3 New Jul 2024 | Continuing from above, this is the end of the John Benson show, with Sean Brady taking over at 1pm. Also recorded near Blackpool from 981kHz. |
80MB 87mins |
| 1993_02_19_fri_star_country_981am_0857-0944_patsyjordan-gh709.mp3 New Feb 2022 | Patsy Jordan with a morning show from just before 9am. Recorded from 981kHz with some slight background interference. | 43MB
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| 1993_02_19_fri_star_country_981am_0945-1030_patsyjordan-gh709.mp3 New Feb 2022 | A continuation of the above Patsy Jordan morning show as recorded from 981kHz. | 43MB
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Additional history,
memorabilia and recordings of Radio Star Country can be found at :
pirate.ie
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IRISH
PIRATES A / Z