Jun 8, 2026 · 33 min · 13 segments
As the 1980s dawn, a new breed of super pirate radio stations arrive to rewrite the Irish rulebook, leaving authorities scrambling to respond. But as the decade progresses, Eamon Cooke’s dark, hidden…
Neil HayesGuest
Gerry ByrneGuestThis is the FM leader, Sunshine 101.
The trail was blazed by Radio Dublin, run by Eamonn Cooke from a terraced house in Inchicore.
He was leaving his home on Sarsfield Road and taking everything, including Radio Dublin, with him to a new building not far away.
He's gradually extended his operation.
Audiences and advertisers have followed.
Radio Dublin showed that there was money to be made and that anyone could make it.
It was illegal, of course.
Cooke's new home at 58 Inchicore Road was a ramshackle, detached Victorian bungalow on its own grounds, with plenty of room for the 100-foot transmitter aerial to tower over the property.
The place was a little on the rough side, with big holes in the floor.
The same floor was also seemingly the main ashtray in the house.
This description of Radio Dublin was written by a visiting English journalist in 1981.
The station looked like a local hangout for all and sundry.
Some of the guys in the living room were throwing burning bits of paper at each other.
This is Neil Hayes, the Radio Dublin DJ we met in our last episode, together with his photographs of Jimmy Savile.
One day, when Eamonn Cooke was out, Neil was able to sneak in and take photos of Cooke's bedroom, which looks, well, dangerous.
This is the FM leader, Sunshine 101.
The trail was blazed by Radio Dublin, run by Eamonn Cooke from a terraced house in Inchicore.
He was leaving his home on Sarsfield Road and taking everything, including Radio Dublin, with him to a new building not far away.
He's gradually extended his operation.
Audiences and advertisers have followed.
Radio Dublin showed that there was money to be made and that anyone could make it.
It was illegal, of course.
Cooke's new home at 58 Inchicore Road was a ramshackle, detached Victorian bungalow on its own grounds, with plenty of room for the 100-foot transmitter aerial to tower over the property.
The place was a little on the rough side, with big holes in the floor.
The same floor was also seemingly the main ashtray in the house.
This description of Radio Dublin was written by a visiting English journalist in 1981.
The station looked like a local hangout for all and sundry.
Some of the guys in the living room were throwing burning bits of paper at each other.
This is Neil Hayes, the Radio Dublin DJ we met in our last episode, together with his photographs of Jimmy Savile.
One day, when Eamonn Cooke was out, Neil was able to sneak in and take photos of Cooke's bedroom, which looks, well, dangerous.
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