WLR FM
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WLR FM, or more commonly WLR (Waterford Local Radio) is the local radio station covering
Waterford City "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...
and
County A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
, Ireland. It is Ireland's Local Station of the Year 2019, 2020, 2021 & 2022. In addition to the official franchise area, the station also enjoys a considerable listenership in South
County Kilkenny County Kilkenny ( gle, Contae Chill Chainnigh) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the South-East Region. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. Kilkenny County Council is the local authority for the cou ...
and East
County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...
. Licensed by the
Broadcasting Commission 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 ...
since 1989, WLR had previously been a pirate radio station. WLR broadcasts on three frequencies: 95.1 MHz for most of the county (and a low-power transmitter also on 95.1 MHz for Waterford city centre), 97.5 MHz for Waterford city and much of East Waterford, and a low-power transmitter on 94.8 MHz to cover the East Waterford coast. WLR was announced as Ireland's IMRO Local Station of the Year for the third year in succession in October 2021.
IMRO The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO; bg, Вътрешна Македонска Революционна Организация (ВМРО), translit=Vatrešna Makedonska Revoljucionna Organizacija (VMRO); mk, Внатр ...
On 1 September 2018 WLR launched a new Country and Irish digital radio station Absolute Irish Radio.


History

The original WLR, which was a pirate station, launched on 23 June 1978 broadcasting from the garage of
Rick Whelan WLR FM, or more commonly WLR (Waterford Local Radio) is the local radio station covering Waterford City and County, Ireland. It is Ireland's Local Station of the Year 2019, 2020, 2021 & 2022. In addition to the official franchise area, the stat ...
at Killotteran just outside the city. This unlicensed operation was one of the longest lasting in the country and continued for just over a decade until its closure at the end of 1988 – new radio licences were to be awarded by the then IRTC (now
BCI BCI may refer to: Organizations * Bar Council of India * Barts Cancer Institute, London, UK * Bat Conservation International * Battery Council International, American trade association * BCI, an investigative law enforcement agency for the U.S. ...
) in 1989. WLR, with a number of local businessmen on board formed a consortium to apply for the franchise to broadcast to Waterford city and county. This application had competition from two other applicants, one (Deise Broadcasting Company) involved former pirate ABC Radio and local business people including the Reid family (owners of the well-known 'Egans' licensed premises where ABC was based before its closure), and another application (Waterford Radio/WRFM) which was backed by the then Waterford Foods and
The Munster Express ''The Munster Express'' newspaper was established in 1860 in the South Eastern Irish city of Waterford. The newspaper covers stories from Waterford city and County Waterford. It retails at €2.00. ''The Munster Express''s office is located on ...
newspaper. The IRTC held oral hearings for the Waterford licence at the Tower Hotel in Waterford city on 27 April 1989 where all three applicants presented their case. Shortly afterwards it was announced WLR's consortium was victorious. The licensed WLR FM launched on 8 September 1989 from studios on Georges Street above the Georges Court Shopping Centre in Waterford City. The station broadcast from these studios for many years until the building of the present purpose-built Broadcast Centre, at Ardkeen, Waterford. The station's licence has been unchallenged on subsequent renewals. The station was 75% owned by
Thomas Crosbie Holdings Thomas Crosbie Holdings (TCH) was a family-owned media and publishing group based in Cork, Ireland. Its largest publication was once the ''Irish Examiner'', the third largest daily broadsheet newspaper in the Republic of Ireland. History and recei ...
until that company went into receivership in March 2013. The 75% stake was acquired by
Landmark Media Investments Landmark Media Investments was a media holding company owned by Tom Crosbie and his father Ted Crosbie with Irish newspaper, radio and digital investments. Their ownership was via Rinvery Ltd. Landmark Media Investments was established in Februar ...
. In December 2017, a sale of the 75% stake to
The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
was agreed pending regulatory approval. In July 2018, the sale of the station to
The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
was complete.


Studios

The station has purpose built studios at "The
Broadcast Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began ...
Centre", Ardkeen,
Waterford City "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...
(shared with regional youth station
Beat 102 103 Beat 102 103 is an independent regional radio station in the Republic of Ireland licensed by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland covering counties Waterford, Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford and Tipperary in South East Ireland. It began broadcas ...
) and at the
Dungarvan Dungarvan () is a coastal town and harbour in County Waterford, on the south-east coast of Ireland. Prior to the merger of Waterford County Council with Waterford City Council in 2014, Dungarvan was the county town and administrative centre of ...
studio at The Plaza, Dungarvan Shopping Centre. The Broadcast Centre was opened by then
Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
Bertie Ahern Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008, Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1997, Tánaiste a ...
in 2003 replacing WLR FM's previous studio at Great Georges Street in Waterford City, while the new Dungarvan studio was opened by Head of the BCI Michael O'Keefe (a Dungarvan man) on 10 November 2007 replacing the existing studio at Harbour Bay in the town. A major studio re-fit has started which will see the 10-studio complex upgraded over a 12-month period. The first studio started in April 2022.


Notable former presenters

*Tony Weldon (2009) – The well known Waterford entertainer from days past was also a presenter on WLR FM for many years, and was known for his catchphrase "get up out of the feathers". His last show, ''Sunday Morning Melodies'', popular with older listeners, ended in 2003. Tributes were paid to him by many WLR FM staff, current and former including Head of Programmes Billy McCarthy and former presenter Eddie Wymberry, as well as by other Waterford entertainers such as
Val Doonican Michael Valentine Doonican (3 February 1927 – 1 July 2015) was an Irish singer of traditional pop, easy listening, and novelty songs, who was noted for his warm and relaxed style. A crooner, he found popular success, especially in the Un ...
when he died on Sunday 29 June 2009. *Billy McCarthy (2016), known as "The Voice of Waterford", died on 20 November 2016 at the age of 62 after a short illness. * Kevin Casey (2017), sports editor known for presenting the sports shows "On The Ball" and "Gaelic Ground". In October 2016, he won a PPI National Radio Award for his programme. He died on 3 January 2017 at the age of 40 after a short illness. *Bob Houston *Eddie Wymberry (2018) *Dermot Graham


Market share

According to the JNLR 2018-1 National Radio Listenership Survey, WLR FM had an weekly audience reach of 64,000 in Q1 2018.


References


External links

*
WLR FM at Radiowaves.fm

Waterford Local Radio (Pirate Station) at Radiowaves.fm

Absolute Irish Radio
{{Media in County Waterford Former pirate radio stations Mass media in Waterford (city) Radio stations in the Republic of Ireland Radio stations established in 1989