User:Kfm1000

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Kieran Murray:

Briefly, I was born in Dublin, Ireland and the world has never been the same since (well not really, but I just like to think that!) On my 9th birthday I got a present of a small transistor radio. What? You never heard of that? The very first pirate radio station I heard was Radio Dublin. This was to make a lasting impression on me for the rest of my life.

From that point on, I was hooked on pirate radio (unlicensed radio) and in particular Irish pirate radio

It's a long story but lets start at the beginning: Earlier, I said on my 9th birthday I got a present of a small transistor radio. I started to tune around the dial to see what I could hear. I tuned into Radio Éireann, BBC Radio One, Manx Radio and at night - 208 Radio Luxembourg. Then I discovered a radio station which called itself Radio Dublin. It was only on the air for a short time on Sunday around Midday and played MUSIC! (Remember, back then, Radio Éireann was non-stop talk; there was no dedicated music station) This stood out in my mind and made a lasting impression on me. I decided that is where I want to go!!! It was while listening to this station that I heard a song that was to become my all time favourite track.

Early 1978 I began working in Radio Dublin, based in 3 Sarsfield Road, Inchicore. The station was owned by Eamonn Cooke and based in his mid-terraced house; the double record decks were in the front room looking out to the street, while the transmitter was housed upstairs in a small back bedroom. The antenna mast was a large pole in the garden of this house. I began by answering the telephone, taking requests from listeners and then went on to present my own show the "Free Radio Show" - Sundays 10.00am to Noon - on 253 metres Medium Wave! The show featured news on Offshore Radio stations like Radio Caroline and it got a great response.

In mid-April 1978 there were serious concerns among staff about what was happening in Radio Dublin. This resulted in a split in the radio station. While Radio Dublin continued from 3 Sarsfield Road in Inchicore, I went with the breakaway group (including John Paul and James Dillon) to set up a new station called BIG D Radio. The Big D Studio was located in Chapel Lane, just off Parnell Street in Dublin's city centre and broadcast on 273 metres Medium Wave with a good, strong, clear signal. I continued to present the Sunday "Free Radio Show" on Big D, which was also relayed on Short Wave in the 49 Metre Band. I also maintained the station's record library weekdays. I never got paid one penny for the work I did in Radio Dublin or Big D Radio; it was a love of the job that made me do it! Then, a short time later, on the last weekend in April 1978, a man by the name of Hugh Hardy called into Big D Radio and asked if anyone was interested in joining a new radio station he was starting in Dundalk, County Louth (about 52 miles north of Dublin). I volunteered, as did John Paul and Eric Vaughan. The station, located just on the roof of the Dundalk Shopping Centre, was called Radio Carousel. It broadcast on 1116 kilohertz, 265 metres and the station's opening marked the commencement of the Dundalk Maytime Festival on 29th May 1978. I am forever grateful to Hugh Hardy for giving me my first ever paid job in radio

In November 1981, I moved to work on Radio Carousel (Navan) which was located in the Navan Shopping Centre. The station came on air on November 21st 1981. The Dundalk station continued on 265 metres, while I looked after the hiring of staff for the new station. Christine Reilly looked after the accounts, managing a team of sales representatives who sold airtime, generating income for the all-important wages! You can see more photos of Radio Carousel. By the way, here's a Bonus Gallery of radio carousel.

The local newspaper for County Meath is called The Meath Chronicle and in 1997 it produced a special Centenary Publication called "One Hundred Years". There was a tribute to Radio Carousel and all those who worked for the station. You can read the article here.

In 1985 I was approached by the owner of Boyneside Radio in Drogheda, to operate their new service which was to be based in Kells. The station was called Boyneside Radio (Kells) located in Monaghan's Health Centre at the top of the town.

Then in 1986 I moved to presenting programmes in Drogheda, where Boyneside was based. I did stand-in programmes for station engineer Heady Eddie and presented my own Saturday morning show. During this time I also presented the Free Radio Show on Short Wave station Radio Rainbow International on 6240 kHz 48metre band, every Sunday morning.

In November 1987 I made the move back home to Dublin and started working for Liberty Radio 104FM, located in Weaver Square, Dublin 8. I did the Breakfast Show and the Lunchtime Show and compiled and presented the news as well as recording commercials. I went on to produce and present a 30-minute news and current affairs Lunchtime programme called "Inside Dublin". Liberty Radio 104FM was owned by a man called Sammy Prendergast. He ran a company called 'Prendergast Aerials' who had the contract for the erection of nearly all of Ireland's pirate stations at that time!

Meanwhile, in 1988, Dublin City was celebrating the fact that it was 1,000 years old. Part of the city's celebrations included a 'special interest' radio station called Millennium Radio. This was operated by RTE [Ireland's National broadcaster] and broadcast general entertainment programming of interest to Dubliners. Local programmes went out from 8am to 8pm and it relayed 2FM for the remainder. The frequency used? 88FM of course - to match the year 1988! The studios were based in the GPO Arcade, off Dublin's O'Connell Street [main street] In March 1988 I became "legal" and joined the staff of RTE's Millennium Radio 88FM. This involved presenting reports for programmes and presenting the evening Sports News, plus taking requests and enquiries from the Public office at the Millennium Information Desk.

After Millennium Radio closed in May 1989, it was August that year that I joined Ireland's very first legal commercial radio station: Capital Radio 104.4FM. I am forever grateful to Martin Block for offering me the chance to work on this historic Irish radio station. Capital Radio was initially based on the roof car park (literally) of the Saint Stephen's Green Shopping Centre in four portacabins. Capital Radio later moved to new permanent studios in The Ballast Office, Aston Quay, Dublin [City Centre]. The format was "Hot Hits" and it commanded the lion's share of the Dublin City listenership, as it was the only alternative to 2FM. My job initially included presenting the daily sports news and reports for the "Newsbeat" current affairs programme.

I Stayed 8 years with Capital Radio, which then changed name to Rock 104 and then changed name again to FM104. I did everything from sports news, traffic news, reports, on-street promotions, studio and sound editing. When the station became Rock 104, I became Stereo Steve. Eventually, after 6 years with the company, in 1995, I was given my own show. I remained with FM 104 until 1997.

September 1997 I left FM 104. Why? Well, imagine presenting an overnight radio show and faced with the following: Each nightly show consisted of 6 printed sheets with songs and jingles which had to be played in the exact order as printed with no exceptions. These were called 'Playlists'. Read on to see what they are about and make up your own mind: Kieran Murray Homepage - Playlists