Dublin pirate radio station
Dublin Music
Dublin Music was a Dún Laoghaire-based project ran by Paul Kavanagh which never got beyond the testing stage, apart from a handful of live broadcasts.
Dublin Music was a short-lived station which had big plans. It first appeared on 107.5MHz FM on test in November 2002 from south Dublin's Dún Laoghaire area. Just days later it shifted to 90.3MHz FM.
The station's grand idea was to 'feature original programming, with an option to hire air-time to any individual or group who are interested in promoting themselves in Dublin'.
Test power was increased in December with programming featured for the first time.
Following another shift, this time to 89.3MHz FM, the station was raided by ComReg in April 2003, never to return.
Below are the station's own news reports as they appeared on their website.
26th November 2002
Frequency change:
We have changed our frequency from 107.5Mhz to 90.3MHz in preparation for boosting our output to 30 Watts. We chose 90.3MHz as it is in a much less cluttered area of the band than 107.5MHz in Dún Laoghaire and surrounding areas.2nd December 2002
New website and WAP access go live:
Last week our website moved hosting companies, and after the usual trials and tribulations of such an adventure, we are now live with our new hosting partners. This move was needed to allow us to provide an interactive and on-line booking system for air-time and of course, the WAP Portal for the site. You can now access these news pages via your WAP phone at http//dublinmusic.com/wap. The on-line ordering system will go live when the station launches full time.13th December 2002
30-Watt testing begins:
30-Watt tests have begun in Dun Laoghaire. The first of these tests were on Tuesday, with a 24-hour continuous test on Wednesday. The Tuesday night test included DublinMusic’s first produced programme with three of DublinMusic’s resident presenters, Jack, Dan, and Steve. Reception reports were requested from listeners. All listeners who reported back to the show with their location won €10 worth of either phone top up credit, or Amazon vouchers. The show also featured the first live call on air. In all, over €100 worth of gifts where given out to listeners in 5 hours.
Wednesday saw an automated continuous music test with the DublinMusic Ident sweeper inserted.
The tests can be considered to have been very successful as they have helped us find various anomalies with the studio and the antenna that we can now work on until the new mast is erected in the New Year. The transmitter is no longer on air continuously at 30 watts, but tests continue with power varying between 15 and 25 watts. During these lower power tests, we are still asking for reception reports, which can be reported thought the website or directly to reception@dublinmusic.com.18th December 2002
Frequency Shift:
To make way for ICE FM, which is broadcasting to Dublin on 90.4 MHz, we have shifted our frequency down to 90.2 MHz. Unfortunately, this is very close to the weak BBC Radio 2 frequency which is received by some listeners in Dublin, and as such, it is unlikely we will continue to use this frequency when we go live. DublinMusic is eager to hear from any listeners with reception or interference reports.22nd January 2003
dublinmusic.com
New Studio Tests:
Last night saw the first tests of our new Studio. Well on its way to completion, the studio test focused on the new mixing desk, wiring arrangements and various other audio components. Resident presenters, Jack Cassidy and Dan Costanza, hosted the call-in discussion show from 22:00 to 01:00. A broad range of topics were discussed, including music copyright piracy, the increasing trend of music companies to manufacture performers and the cultural position of pop and pure commercial television in our society. To add an interactive flavour to the show, callers were encouraged to use live examples of television that were being broadcast at the time to support their point of view. The audio from the channels being used was added to the audio background of the discussion.
Can you add to this entry?
Is there anything you can add to the information above, or do you know of a station not listed in the database? Please send updates, from the seemingly trivial to full station histories, to this email address. Images can also be sent to john@radiowavesfm.com.