Westmeath Archives - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

16th September 20246th September 2024

Radio West closes temporarily following 1983 raids

Following the raids by Gardaí and the Department Posts and Telegraphs on the large Dublin pirate stations in May 1983, panic spread throughout the sector and many stations left the airwaves, some for good. One such station to turn off its transmitters was Radio West, that had been broadcasting to the midlands from Mullingar in Co. Westmeath since early 1982.

This airchecked recording is of the last 2½ hours of Radio West on the night of 19^th May 1983. The station announces that it is closing on a voluntary basis as a gesture of solidarity with Radio Nova but will return to the airwaves if the situation changes. The station says it has run out of petition forms but urges listeners to lobby their TDs for licensed local radio. Among those calling the station with good wishes is Kieran Murray of Radio Carousel Navan. DJs include Mike McCartney, Davina Carroll, Mike Young, Dave Murphy, Mike Lewis, Willie Harte, Helen Bradley, Harry Burns and Michael O’Flaherty. The final word goes to station owner Shaun Coyne and Radio West closes with the iconic spoken word version of the poem Desiderata by Les Crane, followed by the national anthem.

The airchecked recording was made from 702 kHz (430 metres) from about 2230 until 0015 on 19^th and 20^th May 1983. It is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection and was recorded originally by Kieran Murray. There is some wobble on the cassette due to degradation over time. The closedown was short-lived and despite the on-air drama, Radio West returned to the airwaves in less than two weeks and continued to broadcast until the end of 1988.

18th September 20239th September 2023

Radio West closes down for the night

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Finding suitable frequencies on the crowded AM band of the 1980s was one of the technical challenges facing the Irish pirates and the story of Radio West is a case in point. The midlands station began on 1071 kHz in 1982 before moving to 702 kHz and then 729 kHz, a bad choice given the presence of RTÉ’s Cork opt-out service on the same frequency. Radio West switched to 765 kHz on 27^th June 1983, increasing its range within Ireland and beyond. From 1986-1988, it returned to 702 kHz, rebranding itself as ‘West National Radio 3’ and claiming national coverage on AM and a series of FM transmitters.

This tape was made from 765 kHz in the early hours of Saturday 9^th July 1983 and features the closedown of Radio West for the night. The unidentified DJ signs off in both Irish and English and then plays the iconic Desiderata song, also used by Sunshine Radio in Dublin at closedown each night. The broadcast ends with the national anthem.

There is plenty of fading as would be expected in late-night DX reception outside the core transmission area. The recording was made in the English midlands and is from the Leon Tipler Tapes Collection, donated to us by Steve England.

2nd May 20222nd May 2022

Weekend sports show on Radio West

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Despite the claims of its opponents, the Irish pirate radio era was about so much more than pop stations playing nothing but the Top 40. Around the country, many pirates became popular and credible sources of news and information in their own regions, offering a real local alternative to RTÉ. One area where pirate radio really had the edge was sports coverage, especially of local GAA matches.

This recording of popular midlands station Radio West was made in the summer of 1983 and is of a Saturday afternoon sports show with local results and interviews. One such interview features a GAA club in Longford and the recording is a good example of how many pirates, particularly outside Dublin, were templates for the licensed local radio of today. The presenters are unidentified and there are no timechecks but we know that the recording was made on Saturday 13^th August 1983 from 765 kHz AM in Aberystwyth on the west Wales coast. The transmitter was capable of running up to 10kW of power at the time, and with Aberystwyth about 250 km from the Radio West site in Co. Westmeath, the recording shows that the station’s groundwave reception was good well beyond its core coverage area.

This recording is from the Leon Tipler Tapes Collection, donated to us by Steve England.

28th December 202128th December 2021

Closedown of West National Radio 3

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This is the final programme on the Mullingar-based station West National Radio 3 on December 30^th 1988. Launched as Radio West in 1981, the station expanded its coverage beyond the midlands on AM and FM and could be heard from Dublin to Galway by 1987. The closing programme is the Country Jamboree, hosted by one of the big names of offshore and Irish pirate radio, the late Don Allen. Don is joined studio by a host of station staff, local business owners and country music artists.

Station owner Shaun Coyne thanks everyone involved and expresses optimism that Radio West will get a licence. He also comments on the costs involving in running the station, including the weekly £500 bill for the generator that kept the 10kW AM transmitter on air. Radio West was supposed to close at 9pm and as the show continues past the deadline, Don Allen jokes that the diesel powering the transmitter will run out!

There is also evidence of how pirate radio supported the Irish country music scene, with warm recognition from country music artists for Radio West’s support. This theme was repeated on many other rural pirate stations when closing down at the end of 1988. The recording above runs from 2032-2106 and the one below from 2106-2205. Both were made from 100.1 FM and are kindly donated by John Breslin.

Final hour of West National Radio 3.

For a comprehensive account of the 1988 closedowns, see the Radiowaves site.

18th December 202117th December 2021

Final Radio West Anoraks Show

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This is the final edition of the popular weekly Radio West Anoraks’ Show a short time before the station’s closure at the end of 1988. Broadcast from Mullingar every Sunday morning, the programme was fronted by station boss Shaun Coyne and a variety of presenters including the late Don Allen, himself a veteran of the offshore stations. Both Shaun and Don are heard on this show along with Willie Harte, Michael Tiernan, Gerry Reilly, John Gartlan, Myles Johnson and Eddie Caffrey. There’s plenty of nostalgia about the pirate era that is about to end and speculation about the new legal regime due to come into effect. Essential listening!

This programme was recorded from 1053-1145 on Sunday 18^th December 1988 from 100.1 FM and has been donated kindly by John Breslin.