ERI, a Cork pirate radio station

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Radio ERI began life as…

CORK EASTSIDE RADIO

Cork Eastside Radio began broadcasting in July 1982 as a summer project.

It was based in the east Cork town of Ballycotton, just outside the city.

Ex-UK Pirate DJs were hired to get the station off the ground.

It later changed name to Eastside Recording Ireland.

Above:- a station business card.
Right:- advertising rates (tap to enlarge)
Both images are by kind courtesy of Ian Bigger

There was another name change to

EASTSIDE RADIO IRELAND

This was then abbreviated to ERI. Eventually, they settled on

RADIO ERI

Above images courtesy Ian Bigger

ERI’s original aim was to serve the eastside of Cork, but stronger more sophisticated equipment helped the station’s signal to cover greater distances. Later in 1982 they opened offices at 117 Patrick St, in the city of Cork, with studios located in portacabins on the outskirts.

The station was run by the O’Connor family who ran a large engineering business called Progress Engineering based in Whites Cross with Joseph O’Connor as CEO.

ERI had a clear signal on 225m MW due to its 5k transmitter which was imported from the United States and set up by Robin Adcroft (Banks).

The mast was sabotaged in 1985 forcing the station off air for months.

Radio ERI closed at midnight on December 30th 1988. By this time they were widely hailed as one of the most professional stations in the country.

ERI unsuccessfully applied for a commercial licence in the area in 1989 under the name ‘Sound of the South’. Subsequently, its studio and transmission facilities were leased to the new licensed station, Radio South in 1989.

Help with station history thanks to George Talbot