Westside Radio Archives - Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive

20th May 20222nd May 2024

Westside Radio following 1983 raids

Following the raids on Sunshine Radio and Radio Nova, the pirate airwaves of Dublin fell largely silent. Only three stations remained on air: Radio Dublin from Inchicore, ABC Radio from the city centre and Westside Radio from Mulhuddart in the west of the city. This recording is of Westside Radio from the morning of 20^th May 1983, the day after Radio Nova’s official closedown. DJ John Martin says that no pirates remain on FM in the city, with just three on AM, including Westside. Listeners are invited to complete a petition in favour of the pirates and send it to Westside or Radio Nova itself in advance of a court hearing the following week.

The recording was made from 1035 kHz, announcing 290 metres. Westside went on the air in early 1983 and later merged with ABC Radio to become Radio Annabel, which began testing in September 1983.

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

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.

6th May 20206th August 2021

Full recording: Double R Radio (Dublin)

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Double R Radio was an earlier incarnation of Westside Radio, one of the smaller Dublin pirates of the early 1980s. The origin of the Double R name has never quite been clarified. Ian Biggar reports that he has heard Railway Road, Radio Ripple and RocknRoll from various sources. Short Wave News from November 1981 reports Double R Radio on 1035 kHz from the Waldorf Hotel, Eden Quay with a 24 hour daily schedule. Short Wave News in January 1982 says Double R Radio has been evicted from the Waldorf Hotel and is now at the Spa Hotel, Lucan. Co. Dublin. The March 1982 edition states that Double R Radio is probably off the air now. The May 1982 edition says that Double R Radio has disappeared after being thrown out of various hotels, but a new operation, possibly related, is Westside Radio on the same frequency with an address in James’ Street.

This recording was made by DX Archive on a tour of Ireland in 1981. It was really strong around the Inchicore area of Dublin at that time so they assumed that was where it was coming from. Gary Hogg noted on his trip in April 1982 that Double R had been replaced by Westside Radio on 1035 kHz so we can safely say same station, different name. The recording, courtesy of Ian Biggar, is of Paul Cantwell followed by Declan George on the 14^th of August 1981 from 2030-2119.

4th May 20202nd May 2024

Westside Radio (Dublin) at time of 1983 raids

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Westside Radio broadcast on 290 metres (1035 kHz) and began its life as Double R Radio in Inchicore in the house of the late Seán Day (Murphy). It migrated between various hotels and pubs in the city. In early 1983, Gerard Roe reported in Irish Radio News that Westside had tested on a number of occasions on 290 metres from a site in Mulhuddart in the northwest of the city with a strong signal and good audio quality. They were later reported to have run into legal trouble and were told to vacate the pub in Mulhuddart from where they were broadcasting. This recording was made on the 18th of March 1983, the day of the raid on Radio Nova which led many stations to close down temporarily. Westside returned but not for long because Anoraks UK reported in July that it had closed down ‘due to interference with a computer’. According to Offshore Echoes in October 1983, one theory circulating was that as the station was based on licensed premises, the pub owner didn’t want to jeopardise their forthcoming licence renewal.

Westside merged with ABC Radio to become Radio Annabel, which began testing by September 1983 on 1035 kHz and 98 MHz FM. Some of those involved in Westside set up Blanchardstown Community Radio in a near-derelict building on the main street in the west Dublin suburb. The second undated clip below is also from 290 metres, although the very start is clipped. It is an advertising promo for Westside voiced by Gerry Marsden who took over management of the station in 1983 and would later work in Radio Dublin. There is no link with the long-running shortwave pirate Westside Radio International. Thanks to Ian Biggar and Paul Shepherd for additional information.

This recording is from the Skywaves Tapes Collection. Skywave Radio International was 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.