Often overlooked in radio terms, Carlow had two stations – run by members of the same family – as we entered the final weekend
Carlow Local Radio
Castle Hill, Co Carlow 
Listen on Radio Retro 
December 30th, 15:15
Broadcasting on 99FM and 1231kHz AM, Carlow Local Radio (CLR) opted to close earlier than most.
The night before the closedown they had held a closedown party in the town which was located in the Seven Oaks Hotel. Five local acts played to 200 people and the atmosphere was good-natured rather than depressing.
It fell to station owner Eric Griffin to say goodbye to listeners and close down the station.
We have Prince Terry (via DX Archive) to thank for this recording
Following the closedown, CLR planned to keep all their equipment in place so that they could make a quick return to the airwaves.
To listen to the next station to close we head up to the other end of the country to north Donegal
WABC Radio
In the north-west, Donegal was about to lose WABC. The station’s scheduled close time was 4pm. They had initially indicated that they’d be staying on beyond the deadline but obviously decided against it.
Although WABC Radio was one of the younger stations – only on air since September 1987 – they had made huge inroads in the north-west thanks to the expertise of station owner Paul Bentley.
They had no intention of applying for one of the original licences. The 20% requirement was too much for a station which boasted playing “the most music”.
Fourteen people lost their jobs when the station ceased broadcasting.
WABC left a loop tape running following their closedown.
If you have any comments on WABC’s closedown, or any information to add, you can contribute here
Next, we take a look at the newspapers hitting the stands on this Friday evening…
December 30th
Cooke’s Court Challenge
December 30th
Evening Newspapers
In memoriam:
ABC Radio;
Carlow Local Radio;
Liberty 104;
Radio Snowflake;
Raidió Luimní;
WABC;