DX ARCHIVE
ESTABLISHED 1996

PAST RADIO LISTINGS - IRELAND

ARCHIVES
WITHOUT CLUTTER
Irish Era  -  Offshore  -  Landbased  -  Official Stations  -  Downloads  -  Press  -  Other
Contact


Past Station Listings by Frequency:

In the 1970's and even into the 1980's receivers with digital or accurate analogue readouts were still too expensive for most listeners.  Thus in the early days of Irish free radio, it was often difficult to obtain exact transmission frequencies, and most records from that era are quoted in metres.  Many of the stations varied in frequency, and so these lists are certainly not defintive. The variations could have been due to vfo controlled oscillators, avoidance of interference or just loss of crystals following change of equipment.  Whatever it was, it made the dx-ing hobby  that bit more interesting, as stations could pop up anywhere.  We do not expect that we have mentioned all stations on the air, but a good percentage.  In the following lists, we have attempted to piece together information from numerous personal loggings as well as lists from other sources, to give readers an idea as to which stations broadcast where and when.

The first few lists only relate to medium wave and shortwave.  This is because there was very little FM activity up until around 1981, and where stations did have an FM outlet, it was usually only receivable for a short distance.  We have endeavored to mention those stations known to be on FM, but apologise to any we may have missed.  Complete accuracy was virtually impossible, as many FM stations drifted or changed frequency at times, in order to avoid interference.

 

1972/3 (Compiled by Ian from various sources)

The SIRA Magazine of Winter 1972 printed a letter from a subscriber in Ireland which documented the stations of that year.

(This page contains large jpg files totalling 1.3Mb in order to keep the pages readable)

 

The first of our Irish Free Radio station lists was recently unearthed from a reception report sent to shortwave station Radio Solent City International on 6th August 1978.  It was from a listener in Ballinasloe, County Galway and contains possibly the most accurate frequencies rather than announced wavelengths of the period up to the end of July 1978.  Additional material to fill the gaps was from the FRC Ireland Magazine Sounds Alternative and our own loggings.

 

Summer 1978

 

The core of the next three lists are from the 'Unofficial Radio' section of Short Wave News Magazine from the Danish ShortWave Clubs International. This was at the time edited by Dr John Campbell.The first is from September 1979, however this was probably a compilation of stations heard from earlier in the year, due to a lengthy postal dispute in Eire delaying loggings to the magazine. Some of the original unidentified stations are filled in and augmented by known loggings from other sources, including a visit made by two Midlands dx-ers in early August 1979. The second listing is from the December 1979 edition of the same magazine. At this time it was expected that new legislation would close all the stations down, and this was thought to be a 'final' list of Irish free radio stations. History proved that this was the first of many 'expected closures'.

 

Summer 1979
December 1979
July 1981

 

From 1981 onwards, accurate frequency lists from Eire became much easier to come by. This was due to much wider availability of digital receivers, keen local listeners, regular trips by enthusiasts from numerous countries and improved signals into the UK and Europe. The first full listing below is based around the October 1981 edition of Short Wave News Magazine and includes our own loggings from the August trip. Later ones are re-produced from Anoraks UK lists of the day. Although produced by Anoraks UK, these were regularly compiled from signals received in Blackpool and from contributions of hundreds of DX-ers and local Irish listeners. Because of all the help from contributors across Eire, especially Tony Donlon in the early 80's, it also became possible to list the FM outlets of stations.

 

LIST FROM LANCASHIRE COAST - SUMMER 1981
SEPTEMBER 1981
DECEMBER 1981
APRIL 1982
ANORAKS UK IRISH LIST - 12th May 1982
JUNE 1982
ANORAKS UK IRISH LIST - 21st June 1982
AUGUST 1982
DECEMBER 1982
APRIL 1983
ANORAKS UK IRISH LIST - 18th April 1983
JULY 1983
ANORAKS UK IRISH LIST - 20th July 1983
ANORAKS UK IRISH LIST - 14th September 1983
ANORAKS UK IRISH LIST - 12th October 1983
ANORAKS UK IRISH LIST - 3rd November 1983
ANORAKS UK IRISH LIST - 23rd February 1984
MAY 1984
ANORAKS UK IRISH LIST - 12th May 1984
ANORAKS UK IRISH LIST - 9th August 1984
ANORAKS UK IRISH LIST - 18th August 1984
ANORAKS UK IRISH LIST - 26th September 1984
NOVEMBER 1984
ANORAKS UK IRISH LIST - 5th November 1984
FEBRUARY 1985
MARCH 1985
ANORAKS UK IRISH LIST - 24th May 1985
JULY 1985
ANORAKS UK IRISH LIST - 26th July 1985
ANORAKS UK IRISH LIST - 29th October 1985
NOVEMBER 1985
ANORAKS UK IRISH LIST - 20th January 1986
ANORAKS UK IRISH LIST - 2nd July 1986
ANORAKS UK IRISH LIST - 7th October 1986
ANORAKS UK IRISH LIST - 26th January 1987
ANORAKS UK IRISH SHORTWAVE LIST AND ADDRESSES ONLY - 13th September 1987
ANORAKS UK IRISH LIST - 21st October 1987
LIST FROM UNKNOWN SOURCE - SUMMER 1988
ANORAKS UK IRISH LIST - JULY 1988
LOGS OVER THE YEARS IN SCOTLAND BY DATE, BY FREQ AND BY STATION
MASTER FREQUENCY LISTING OF ALL KNOWN IRISH MW PIRATES