ABC (Dublin) Archives - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

20th May 20222nd May 2024

ABC Radio following 1983 raids

ABC Radio was one of the smaller Dublin stations of the early 1980s, operating from 1981 until the autumn of 1983. Broadcasting from the Ivy Rooms Hotel (now the Gate Hotel) on Parnell Street, ABC was an offshoot of Radio Dublin Channel 2 and eventually merged with another small station, Westside Radio, to form Radio Annabel. It was one of three stations that remained on air in Dublin following the infamous raids on Sunshine Radio and Radio Nova in May 1983.

This recording runs from 1123-1143 on Friday 20^th May and is from FM in mono, although we don’t have a frequency. ABC also broadcast on 981 kHz AM around this time, announcing 312 metres. Ger Parks jokes that the DJs had been out late the previous night, no doubt related to the raids. There’s also mention of a protest march in favour of pirate radio to be held the following week.

This recording is from the Skywave Tapes Collection. Radio Skywave International was a shortwave station from Baldoyle in northeast Dublin in the 1980s.

16th December 202015th December 2020

The Pirate.ie Podcast #3

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We’re delighted to announce episode #3 of the Pirate.ie podcast which explores themes covered in our growing archive of Irish pirate radio.

The 1980s can be described as the decade that Ireland changed from black and white to colour and pirate radio was very much part of that social change. While many pushed for liberalisation, conservative forces opposed moves towards opening up Irish society and pirate radio reflected such tensions. Larger commercial stations were dominated by men’s voices while women and minority groups were better represented in specialist and community radio. Community radio itself developed a more inclusive model of participation and access and even large commercial stations practised corporate social responsibility from time to time. Religion also played a key role, with several pirates representing Catholic values which were still powerful in Irish society.

In episode #3, John Walsh and Brian Greene explore the social influence of pirate radio during its heyday.

28th May 20207th August 2021

Full recording: Capitol Radio (Dublin)

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As discussed here before Dublin had many pirates calling themselves Capital or Capitol Radio. This recording from 1983 is from the early days of the final incarnation, the Capitol Radio which started the evening service Nitesky 96 in 1986 and ended up specialising in indie and alternative music.

In July 1983, the Anoraks UK Weekly Report announced that ABC Radio had left 1017 kHz, paving the way for Capitol to take over that frequency. DJ Martin Cullinane (aka Bob Conway) announces 1017 kHz (297 metres) and 96.1 FM and makes several references to Capitol being a new station. Capitol didn’t specialise in the hits, experimenting with ‘album music’ before moving into the indie realm, but the choice here is a little confused with three in a row from Wham mixed in with early U2 and other more alternative sounds. The recording was made from 1855-1940 on the 27th of August 1983 and although taken from FM, sound quality is poor in places. You can hear other recordings of Capitol here.

This recording is from the Skywave Tapes Collection. Skywave Radio International broadcast a shortwave station in the 1980s from Baldoyle in northeast Dublin.

18th May 20202nd May 2024

ABC Radio anticipates raids on pirates

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ABC Radio was one of the smaller Dublin stations on air from 1981 to 1984. This recording is from the 18th of May 1983 from 1436-1451 and features Gerry Williams on air, who says that all the pirates could be in jeopardy following the raid on Radio Nova that morning. ABC was in fact one of only three stations in Dublin to remain on air following the 19th of May 1983. ABC was based for a while at the Ivy Rooms Hotel (now the Gate Hotel) on Parnell Street in the north inner-city. In 1984 it merged with another small station Westside Radio to become Radio Annabel, which also broadcast from the Ivy Rooms Hotel.

This recording is from the Skywave Tapes Collection. Skywave Radio International broadcast a shortwave station in the 1980s from Baldoyle in northeast Dublin.

5th April 202014th May 2022

Aircheck: ABC Radio (Dublin)

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ABC Radio was one of the smaller Dublin stations in the early 1980s, on air from November 1st 1981 until the end of May 1984. It was an offshoot of Radio Dublin Channel 2 and began broadcasting from the Ivy Rooms Hotel (now the Gate Hotel) on Parnell Street. The frequency was 1386 kHz (announced as 1385 or 217 metres) but there were problems with another pirate on the same frequency. In April 1982, ABC moved to 963 kHz (312 metres) but was again jammed by another pirate operator, causing a further move to 981 kHz although 963 continued to be announced. ABC was one of only two stations to remain on air following the raids on Radio Nova and Sunshine Radio in May 1983 when it began 24-hour broadcasting in response to listener demand. Anoraks UK reported that it was raided itself in June 1983 due to a harmonic signal in the marine band.

There was a tribute site at www.abcradio-dublin.com but it was offline in 2022. Recordings of the station are not widely available so we’re glad to bring you a selection of station IDs and promos from 1981-3. Sound quality isn’t great, reflecting poor AM transmitters and old cassettes, but the IDs feature the voice of Tony Allan and the aircheck includes Radio Nova’s news bulletin which was being rebroadcast by ABC for a while – a pirate pirating news from another pirate! ABC closed in May 1984 following an unsuccessful move to the disused State Cinema in Phibsboro. The station merged with another small station Westside Radio to become Radio Annabel, which also broadcast from the Ivy Rooms Hotel.

This recording is from the Skywave Tapes Collection. Skywave Radio International broadcast a shortwave station in the 1980s from Baldoyle in northeast Dublin.