Irish pirate radio former CBC and CCLR stations along with some from the DJing circuit at the time of the closures of both CBC, CCLR with the introduction of the new Radio Licensing Laws which led to the closure of many pirate radio stations in Ireland. Radio City was the first station to use and switch from the medium wave transmitter to an FM transmitter. Most of the Radio City presenters went to national and local licensed radio stations. Other notable stations that came along were radio caroline cork the longest running pirate station of them all still on corks airwaves to this
Irish pirate radio followed by the arrival of South Coast Radio and Radio ERI in Cork. These were pirate radio stations run for the first time on a commercial basis with the critical support of Ireland's advertising industry based in Dublin. Radio Nova in Dublin, launched as a 'clutter free' radio station, was arguably the catalyst for a sea change in radio in Ireland. It was an era of unregulated freedom on air that produced what many view as perhaps the most exciting era for radio in Ireland. Professional market research conducted in the 1980s by reputable market research companies such as Lansdowne