Ireland's Classic Hits Radio is an Irish independent multi-region radio station based in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, and broadcasting to that city as well as

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 ...

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by t ...

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the sou ...

. It can also be picked up in parts of

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after th ...

County Waterford County Waterford ( ga, Contae Phort Láirge) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is part of the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region. It is named ...

County Wexford County Wexford ( ga, Contae Loch Garman) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was based on the historic Gaelic territory of Hy Kinsella (''Uí Ceinns ...

and

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

. The station broadcasts under a sound broadcasting contract from the

Broadcasting Authority of Ireland The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) ( ga, Údarás Craolacháin na hÉireann) was established on 1 October 2009 effectively replacing the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) ( ga, Coimisiún Craolacháin na hÉireann). The BAI is ...

, aimed at Ireland's four main commuter belts, hence its original name of "4FM". It later went by "Classic Hits 4FM", dropping the "4FM" part in 2018 and becoming Ireland's Classic Hits Radio in 2021. The station is part of Bay Broadcasting Limited, which also has interests in Radio Nova and Sunshine 106.8.

Programming

Ireland's Classic Hits has a mainly

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

classic hits Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 1980s ...

focused driven format with music from the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, with small amounts of

classic country Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country and western music hits from past decades. Repertoire The radio format specializes in hits from the 1950s through the early 1980s, and focus primarily on innov ...

and

hot adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...

titles. The station's flagship breakfast show, The Colm & Lucy Breakfast Show, is presented by

Colm Hayes Colm Caffrey, known professionally as Colm Hayes, is an Irish radio broadcaster and sometimes television presenter. He formerly presented weekend breakfasts on RTÉ 2fm. Hayes had a 10-year radio partnership with James "Jim-Jim" Nugent, beginni ...

and

Lucy Kennedy Lucy Kennedy ( ga, Lusaí Ní Chinnéide; born 21 April 1976) is an Irish television and radio presenter. Kennedy first came to public attention from co-hosting ''The Podge and Rodge Show'' on RTÉ Two. She has also presented dating show ''The ...

with other presenters including Trina Mara, Niall Boylan, Damien Farrelly, Gareth O'Callaghan, Ruth Scott, Adrian Kennedy, Barry Lang, Enda Murphy, Lisa Gernon and Meghann Scully. Niall Boylan hosts two daily phone-in shows from 12:00-14:00 and 21:00-23:00. The show won the best talk show award at the New York Festivals International Radio Program Awards Gala in June 2017. A four-hour drivetime show is hosted by former 2FM presenter Damian Farrelly. The station has a commitment to regularly playing Irish music, which it promotes under the slogan ''Guaranteed Irish''. A specialist Irish-language programme is hosted on Sunday nights by Meghann Scully. Additional specialist programming includes the twice-daily segment ''Classic Song Investigation'', ''Classic Love Songs'' and ''Club Classics'' In 2021 the station announced that

Kim Wilde Kim Wilde (born Kim Smith, 18 November 1960) is an English pop singer, DJ and television presenter. She first saw success in 1981 with her debut single "Kids in America", which peaked at No. 2 in the UK. In 1983, she received the Brit Award f ...

would present a custom version of 'The Kim Wilde 80s Show' each weekday evening at 6pm. In addition, the station announced the return of broadcaster Gareth O'Callaghan to its schedule in January 2022. Programming is broadcast from its digital studios located at Castleforbes House in Dublin's Docklands area.

Former Presenters

The breakfast show was previously presented by PJ and Damien Farrelly, before that Jim McCabe and originally Gareth O'Callaghan.

Awards

Frequencies

Cork

Limerick/Clare

Galway

Greater Dublin

References

External links

Official website
{{coord missing, Ireland Adult contemporary radio stations in Ireland Radio stations in the Republic of Ireland Mass media in County Cork Mass media in County Galway Mass media in County Clare Mass media in County Limerick Mass media in Dublin (city) Radio stations established in 2009 2009 establishments in Ireland