ABC Power 104

ABC Power 104 broadcast on 104.1MHz and 104.5MHz in the Waterford area. They originally closed after 7 years on air as ABC Radio “The Hot FM” back in 1988.

Station manager Colm Dunphy and Andy McCloskey, among others, returned for a one-off anniversary broadcast which proved to them that there was still a demand for their station.

Three years later, and with no sign of a promised second licence for the area, ABC decided to return to air but were foiled by a fire in their newly-built studios.

In 1995 the station re-applied to the IRTC for a licence and were left frustrated by the long-winded process. They returned to air for a one-week “protest” broadcast in December of that year and stayed on air indefinitely.

Lauded for their professionalism in an era of mainly 'hobbyist' pirates, their service was youth-oriented, playing mainly dance and contemporary pop music.

In 1997, with a General Election looming, ABC Power 104 politcised the lack of a youth licence in the Waterford area, including a petition signing campaign.

ABC finally ceased broadcasting, following almost twenty years on air – six years of continuous service – on October 29th 2001 at 4pm. They closed in an ultimately unsuccessful bid for a newly-created regional licence for the south-east – a licence awarded to Beat 101, from WLR FM’s stable. A number of former ABC Power 104 presenters went on to work for the new station – including Andy McCloskey, Niall Power, Amber Jackson, Ray Colclough and Pete Windle.

Go to ABC Power 104 on Soundcloud for a fantastic mix of soundchecks, imaging, classic ads and more...

ABC Power 104's website announce closure

ABC Power 104's website has been preserved in our Museum section...