Your Favourite Irish Pirate Stations (past or present)

[pete1015]

ABC Dublin ran as a pirate from about the mid 1990s to the mid '00s. It then went online along with various different offshoots. Over the last few years, ABC's owner has experimented with different offshoots of ABC, including Inner City Country and ABC 80s, on FM as pirates. More recently ABC Dublin itself was put back on FM again on weekends.

Freedom FM ran as a pirate from 1995 to 2003. In 2020, out of the blue, Freedom came back as an online only station. Since 2021, it has run each year on 30-day temporary FM licenses, while being online all year round.

Freedom also did a stint as an online station from around 2011 to about 2013/14 as freedom92fmonline. It was automated with voice tracks and used the last jingle package they had as an fm pirate. Played a mix of 90s 2000s and current hits.
The ABC people had a few different offshoots, gold fm and beat fm which i think shared 87.6? Gold was on weekends possibly as i only remember beat fm. Kiss fm 93.8 and the LGBT station might have time shared also but they were a bit before my time.

when freedom was pirate in the 90s on 92.2 i think, it used to relay BBC radio 1 during the day, i remember that when i went to Dublin. BTW radio 1 sucks

[dancemusicdj]

when freedom was pirate in the 90s on 92.2 i think, it used to relay BBC radio 1 during the day, i remember that when i went to Dublin. BTW radio 1 sucks

That's right. I think radio 1 was their programming outside live programming until they got automation, possibly around 2000 or so. Then they just relayed the breakfast show, but i don't think they were relaying it by the time they closed but i can't remember unfortunately.

[Dec Wash]

i never heard many Irish stations apart from sunshine 101 and super Q102, but i once heard radio west on 100 FM wiping out Q102's 100 FM transmitter here in walkden in 1988, i told my cousin who lives in Dublin about it but he didn't know what i was talking about..lol

i did hear club FM on 106.4 from Dublin in the 90s tho.

Speaking of dance pirates such as Club FM, there was something of an explosion in dance pirates during the 1990s, particularly in Dublin. They continued on into the 21st century and there are a couple still on the go this year. One that comes to mind is Co. Meath's RetroNow (not to be confused with oldies pirate Retro FM!). I would not have been a keen dance music fan, but I did like some of the stuff going on during the 1990s. My favourite dance pirate was Sunset FM, which started as an albums oriented station (!) and ran from 1991 to 1994. Honourable mentions to its first two successors Rhythm FM and Hot107. A number of people went through dance pirates and ended up on licensed radio.

[pete1015]

i never heard many Irish stations apart from sunshine 101 and super Q102, but i once heard radio west on 100 FM wiping out Q102's 100 FM transmitter here in walkden in 1988, i told my cousin who lives in Dublin about it but he didn't know what i was talking about..lol

i did hear club FM on 106.4 from Dublin in the 90s tho.

Speaking of dance pirates such as Club FM, there was something of an explosion in dance pirates during the 1990s, particularly in Dublin. They continued on into the 21st century and there are a couple still on the go this year. One that comes to mind is Co. Meath's RetroNow (not to be confused with oldies pirate Retro FM!). I would not have been a keen dance music fan, but I did like some of the stuff going on during the 1990s. My favourite dance pirate was Sunset FM, which started as an albums oriented station (!) and ran from 1991 to 1994. Honourable mentions to its first two successors Rhythm FM and Hot107. A number of people went through dance pirates and ended up on licensed radio.

i knew of nova94.7, never received sunset here, heard pulse 103 years ago when i went to ballyfermot.