Licensed radio broadcasting in Ireland is one element of the wider media of Ireland, with 85% of the population listening to a licensed

radio broadcasting Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

service on any given day.

History

A Morse code transmission on 24 April 1916 from the General Post Office in Dublin by the rebels during the Easter Rising is considered the first broadcast in Ireland. Regular radio broadcasting in Ireland began with 2RN's test transmissions in 1925. 2RN has since become

RTÉ Radio 1 RTÉ Radio 1 ( ga, RTÉ Raidió 1) is an Irish national radio station owned and operated by RTÉ and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926. The total budget for th ...

, which celebrated 80 years of uninterrupted broadcasting in January 2006, making it amongst the oldest continuously operating (if not the actual oldest), continuously public service radio station in Europe.

RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta (; "Radio of the Gaeltacht"), abbreviated RnaG, is an Irish language radio station owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). The station is available on FM in Ireland and via satellite and on the Inter ...

joined in 1972, and RTÉ Radio 2, now 2FM, launched in 1979. Commercial radio was outlawed in Ireland until 1989, leading to the development of Irish pirate radio. Upon legalisation, licences were advertised and awarded on a franchise system explained in the article for a national service and a network of regional services covering the country. These all took to the air during 1989 and 1990, and although the national service ( Century) eventually failed, all the local services lasted until their licence was revoked, or still exist. Additional licences have been added on an erratic basis since the late 1990s. An 'international' service, Atlantic 252, also operated on

long wave In radio, longwave, long wave or long-wave, and commonly abbreviated LW, refers to parts of the radio spectrum with wavelengths longer than what was originally called the medium-wave broadcasting band. The term is historic, dating from the e ...

between 1989 and 2002, although it was aimed solely at the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was never subject to the authority of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI), and was operated under RTÉ's remit as a joint venture between RTÉ and

CLT-UFA RTL Group (for "Radio Television Luxembourg") is a Luxembourg-based international media conglomerate, with another corporate centre in Cologne, Germany. The company operates 68 television channels and 31 radio stations in Germany, France and ...

. After a short period as a sports station (TeamTalk), the frequencies reverted to sole RTÉ control and are now used as an additional frequency for RTÉ Radio 1. In Ireland,

Community Radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popula ...

has been active since the late 1970s. However, it took until 1994 before the Independent Radio and Television Commission established an 18-month community radio pilot project to explore and evaluate the potential offered by community broadcasting in an Irish context. This project went operational in 1995, when licenses were issued to eleven community and community of interest groups across the country. 2004 saw the establishment of CRAOL the Community Radio Forum of Ireland.

Licensing

Aside from the stations operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), radio stations in Ireland operate under sound broadcasting contracts issued by 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 ...

(BAI). This body supervises and regulates the commercial Independent National, Regional, and Local Radio stations, as well as the non-profit

stations, Institutional Services and Temporary Services. After the Broadcasting Act 2009, the BAI now is responsible for RTÉ also.

Transmission

All stations broadcast on FM and the

version of RTÉ Radio 1 mainly intended for reception outside Ireland. RTÉ radio services are also available

free-to-air Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscripti ...

on digital satellite, as is

Newstalk Newstalk (formerly NewsTalk 106) is a national independent radio station in Ireland. It is operated by News 106 Limited, a subsidiary of Bauer Media Audio Ireland, and broadcasts under a sound broadcasting contract with the Broadcasting Aut ...

, and a number of recently licensed services or applicants have used satellite transmission to homes as part of the licence applications. Medium wave ( AM) licences were issued for new commercial stations for Limerick and Galway in 2002, although these services never reached the air (with the licences being withdrawn); and a medium wave licence has been awarded for a quasi-national religious service Spirit Radio. During 2006, a group, Choice FM, applied for and received permission to broadcasting on MW in the Dublin area over a period of thirty days. The 'easy listening' radio station relayed its FM programming on 1278 kHz MW, and operated opt-out programming at various times. The group is said to be interested in obtaining one of the four MW channels that are allocated to the Dublin area, however the BAI's future schedule for licensing does not indicate that any MW licences will be offered on a permanent basis. During 2007, a radio station called 'The Rock' obtained a temporary 'classic rock' music service. The station broadcast on 94.9 FM and also on 1278 kHz MW. The Rock was operated by the same group that operated Choice FM during 2005 and 2006, although different MW facilities were used by the group during 2007.

Ownership

Raidió Teilifís Éireann and

Bauer Media Audio Ireland Bauer Media Audio Ireland (formerly Communicorp Group) is a media holding company based in Ireland, owned by Bauer Media Group. History Communicorp Group Ltd was formed by Denis O'Brien in 1989. It launched its radio operations in Ireland that ...

dominate the national radio broadcasting sector. RTÉ operates Radio 1, Radio 2FM, the Irish Language station RnaG, and classical station Lyric FM. The two national commercial stations are both owned by Bauer Media Audio Ireland - Today FM and Newstalk. Ownership rules were relaxed in the mid-2000s, which saw several companies buying up local and national commercial stations, including

Scottish Radio Holdings Scottish Radio Holdings (SRH) was a Scottish media company which owned 22 radio stations, and around 30 local newspapers in the United Kingdom and Ireland. History SRH had its origins in the 1970s when Glasgow was awarded the third licence for ...

, who sold their stations to Emap, who eventually sold on those stations to Denis O'Brien's

Communicorp Bauer Media Audio Ireland (formerly Communicorp Group) is a media holding company based in Ireland, owned by Bauer Media Group Heinrich Bauer Publishing (german: Heinrich Bauer Verlag KG), trading as Bauer Media Group, is a German multimedia ...

. The ownership of commercial radio in Ireland is largely by two companies;

which owns two national, one regional and two local stations, and

Wireless Group Wireless Group Limited is a radio and digital broadcasting network with headquarters in Belfast, Northern Ireland and with radio operations in the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. It currently operates five stations in Ireland and ...

, which owns six local stations. The rest of the stations, mostly small services, are generally owned by local businesses, with notable proprietors of stakes including Thomas Crosbie Holdings, the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and the Mid Western Area Health Board. Until 31 March 2021, RTÉ also broadcast six DAB stations. These stations are now available via other digital platforms. ;Local Radio owners *

98FM 98FM is a local radio station in Dublin, Ireland, operated by Bauer Media Audio Ireland, under a sound broadcasting contract from the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland. The station broadcasts on the 98.1 MHz FM frequency. 98FM's broadca ...

and SPIN 1038 *

FM104 FM104 is an independent local radio station broadcast across Dublin, Ireland, on the frequency 104.4 MHz. It is operated by Capital Radio Productions Limited (unconnected with, and not to be confused with, Capital Radio plc), and is a subs ...

, Dublin's Q102, Cork's 96FM, C103, Limerick’s Live 95 and

LMFM LMFM is an independent Local Radio station based in Drogheda, Ireland. In terms of listenership, It is the largest radio station in Ireland outside of Dublin and Cork broadcasting to a population in excess of 300,000 adults. Media group UTV Media ...

*Raidió Phobail Chiarraí Teoranta -

Radio Kerry Radio Kerry is a full-service, licensed radio station that operates from the franchise area of County Kerry in Southwest Ireland. Radio Kerry was established in 1989 and began broadcasting on 14 July 1990. The station headquarters are in Tral ...

, Shannonside FM, Tipp FM, Clare FM * Tindle Radio Group - Midlands 103 *

Connacht Tribune The ''Connacht Tribune'' (''An Curadh Connachtach'') is a newspaper circulating chiefly in County Galway, Ireland. The main regional newspaper for the county, the Tribune Group prints two titles every week - the ''Connacht Tribune'' on Thursday ...

- Galway Bay FM

National stations

RTÉ (national public service broadcaster)

Independent national radio

Today FM Today FM is an Irish national commercial FM radio station, owned and operated by Bauer Audio Ireland Limited. Broadcasting since 17 March 1997, it broadcasts mostly music, with a daily news and current affairs programme. Today FM holds a l ...

(formerly ''Radio Ireland'') - popular music with some speech programming *

- news and talk radio * Radio Maria Ireland - religious radio on the digital terrestrial platform

Multi-city and county radio

Broadcasting to

Greater Dublin The Greater Dublin Area (GDA; Irish: ''Mórcheantar Bhaile Átha Cliath''), or simply Greater Dublin, is an informal term that is taken to include the city of Dublin and its hinterland, with varying definitions as to its extent. As of 2022, its ...

(

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

city and

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

; limited parts of County Kildare,

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 ...

and County Wicklow), Cork city and

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 ...

city and

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...

city and

and

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 118,81 ...

: * Classic Hits Radio - music service for over-45s * Spirit Radio - Christian and religious service aimed at over-15s; launched on 27 January 2011 with FM frequencies in the cities of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford. In July 2012 the station as required by its licence introduced its planned AM transmission on 549 kHz medium wave to increase coverage to nationwide.

Independent regional radio

* Beat 102-103 - Counties Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford, Wexford and South Tipperary. * Spin South West - Counties Kerry, Clare, Limerick, North Tipperary, and south west Laois. * iRadio (NW) - Counties Galway, Mayo, Longford, Roscommon, Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal. * iRadio (NE and Midlands) - Counties Kildare, Meath, North Laois, Carlow, Louth, Westmeath, Offaly, Cavan and Monaghan. All services are licensed for 'youth' content, no franchises area geographically overlap, and the entire country is served apart from County Wicklow and the cities and counties of Cork and Dublin, both of which have 'youth' licensed services (Red FM and SPIN 1038 respectively). Beat 102-103 was the first to air, and was a pilot for the rest of the system. In 2011, i102-104 and i105-107 merged to become one

iRadio iRadio is a music-driven youth radio station broadcast in the Border, West, Mid-East and Midland regions of Ireland. The station is one of four music-driven youth stations that were licensed by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland to challe ...

entity.

Independent local radio

There are 25 commercial stations (Independent Local Radio - ILR) licensed on a regional franchise basis. Often several counties of Ireland are covered by one station only, but Dublin and Cork have several. The majority of the ILR stations collectively own the sales house, Independent Radio Sales.

Dublin ILRs

Except for the two original ILR licenses - 98FM and FM104 - each additional ILR license in Dublin was awarded for a specific format, intending on meeting demands which it was felt that 98FM and FM104 were not catering to. The majority of stations heard in Dublin can also be heard in North East Kildare, South Meath and North Wicklow. *

- general service * Radio Nova 100FM (Ireland) - classic rock music service; the Original

Radio Nova (Ireland) Radio Nova was a pirate radio station broadcasting from Dublin, Ireland. Owned and operated by the UK pirate radio veteran Chris Cary, the station's first broadcasts were during the summer of 1981 on 88.5 MHz FM and 819 kHz AM. E ...

International, Ireland's first Superpirate station by the same name previously broadcast in Dublin from 1981 - 1988 * Dublin's Q102 - service aimed at older listeners (35+); renamed in 2004, formerly 'Lite FM'. A pirate station by the same name previously broadcast in Dublin from 1985 - 1988 * SPIN 1038 - service aimed at youth (initially licensed for dance music). *

- general service; formerly 'Rock 104' and 'Capital Radio' 104.4FM * Sunshine 106.8 - easy listening service; renamed in 2010 - formerly 'Dublin's Country'/'Country Mix'. A Superpirate station called The Red Hot Sound Of Sunshine 101 previously broadcast in Dublin from 1980 - 1988.

Cork ILRs

* 96FM and C103 (dual franchise) - C103 is aimed at older listeners, also sports and rural interest programmes. * Red FM - Corks Number 1 Radio Station Hot A/C format.

Leinster (excluding Dublin) ILRs

* East Coast FM - County Wicklow * KCLR 96FM - Counties Carlow and Kilkenny * Kfm - County Kildare *

South East Radio South East Radio is an Irish radio station based in County Wexford, broadcasting at 95.6; 96.2, and 96.4 MHz., The station also broadcasts on the same frequencies into adjoining counties - including Wicklow, Carlow, Kilkenny and Waterford. South ...

- County Wexford * Midlands 103 and Midlands Gold - Counties Laois, Offaly, and Westmeath (split service) *

- Counties Meath and Louth

Munster (excluding Cork) ILRs

WLR FM 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 ...

- Waterford City & County * Clare FM -

* Live 95FM -

City and

County A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

* Tipp FM -

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 t ...

- County Kerry

Connacht/Ulster ILRs

* Galway Bay FM - Galway City and County; commercial radio station * Ocean FM - County Sligo, North Leitrim, and South Donegal. * MidWest Radio - County Mayo * Shannonside FM - Counties Longford, Roscommon, East Galway and South Leitrim. Dual franchise with Northern Sound Radio, covering Counties Cavan and Monaghan. * Highland Radio - County Donegal.

Community radio

covers specific local communities or communities of interest. These operate on a non-commercial basis. In Ireland, the BAI requires that community radio stations subscribe to the

World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters The World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (french: link=no, Association Mondiale Des Radiodiffuseurs Communautaires, AMARC) is the international umbrella organization of community radio broadcasters founded in 1983, with nearly 3,000 me ...

(AMARC) Community Radio Charter for Europe. Community radio in Ireland is represented by CRAOL. Currently there are 20 fully licensed community radio stations on air in Ireland, with offers of contracts from the

, while there are 42 stations in the process of obtaining a licence. *

Belfield FM Belfield FM is University College Dublin's student radio station. The station began broadcasting in 1990. It was initially run as a part of the UCD Students' Union, under the remit of the entertainments office, before becoming an independent e ...

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...

* Cavan Community Radio - Cavan, County Cavan * Claremorris Community Radio -

Claremorris Claremorris (; ) is a town in County Mayo in the west of Ireland, at the junction of the N17 and the N60 national routes. It is the fastest growing town in the county. There was a 31% increase in the town's population between 2006 and 2011 an ...

, County Mayo * Connemara Community Radio -

Letterfrack Letterfrack or Letterfrac () is a small village in the Connemara area of County Galway, Ireland. It was founded by Quakers in the mid-19th century. The village is south-east of Renvyle peninsula and north-east of Clifden on Barnaderg Bay an ...

, County Galway * Cork Campus Radio 98.3 - studio located at

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one ...

but is licensed for the general student population of

Cork City Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the city's ...

* CRC FM (''Community Radio Castlebar'') -

Castlebar Castlebar () is the county town of County Mayo, Ireland. Developing around a 13th century castle of the de Barry family, from which the town got its name, the town now acts as a social and economic focal point for the surrounding hinterland. W ...

, County Mayo * CRY 104.0FM (''Community Radio Youghal'') -

Youghal Youghal ( ; ) is a seaside resort town in County Cork, Ireland. Located on the estuary of the River Blackwater, the town is a former military and economic centre. Located on the edge of a steep riverbank, the town has a long and narrow layout. ...

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 a ...

* Dublin South FM -

County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

* Dundalk FM 97.7 -

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

, County Louth * Flirt FM -

NUIG * ICR FM (''Inishowen Community Radio'') - Carndonagh,

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconn ...

; now known as Inishowen Live. * LifeFM - County Cork * Liffey Sound FM -

Lucan, County Dublin Lucan ( ; ga, Leamhcán) is a town in Ireland, located 12 km west of Dublin city centre on the River Liffey. It is near the Strawberry Beds and Lucan Weir, and at the confluence of the River Griffeen. It is mostly under the jurisdiction ...

Near FM Near FM (North East Access Radio) 90.3 FM is a BAI-licensed community media project operated by the not-for-profit media co-operative, Near Media Co-operative Society Limited. Membership in the co-operative is open to all organisations and ...

(''North East Access Radio'') - County Dublin *Phoenix FM -

Blanchardstown Blanchardstown () is a large outer suburb of Dublin in the modern county of Fingal, Ireland. Located northwest of Dublin city centre, it has developed since the 1960s from a small village to a point where Greater Blanchardstown is the largest u ...

, County Dublin * Radio Corca Baiscinn -

Kilkee Kilkee () is a small coastal town in County Clare, Ireland. It is in the parish of Kilkee, formerly Kilfearagh. Kilkee is midway between Kilrush and Doonbeg on the N67 road. The town is popular as a seaside resort. The horseshoe bay is pr ...

, County Clare * Raidió Na Life -

(

Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

station) * RosFm - County Roscommon * TCR FM ("Tramore Community Radio") -

Tramore Tramore (; ) is a seaside town in County Waterford, on the southeast coast of Ireland. With humble origins as a small fishing village, the area saw rapid development upon the arrival of the railway from Waterford City in 1853. Initially, the ...

, County Waterford * Tipperary Mid-West Community Radio -

* ULFM -

University of Limerick The University of Limerick (UL) ( ga, Ollscoil Luimnigh) is a public research university institution in Limerick, Ireland. Founded in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it became a university in 1989 in accordance w ...

* West Dublin Access Radio - County Dublin * West Limerick 102 -

County Limerick "Remember Limerick" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Limerick.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Republic of Ireland, Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Provinces of Ireland, Province , subd ...

* Wired FM -

, County Limerick * Westport Radio WRFM 98.2 -

Westport, County Mayo Westport (, historically anglicised as ''Cahernamart'') is a town in County Mayo in Ireland.Westport Before 1800 by Michael Kelly published in Cathair Na Mart 2019 It is at the south-east corner of Clew Bay, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean on th ...

* BCRfm Ballina Community radio -

Ballina, County Mayo Ballina ( ; ) is a town in north County Mayo, Ireland. It lies at the mouth of the River Moy near Killala Bay, in the Moy valley and Parish of Kilmoremoy, with the Ox Mountains to the east and the Nephin Beg mountains to the west. The town ...

* Eden 102.5 fm - Edenderry, County Offaly

Special interest services

Special interest services resemble ILRs in most ways, but must be of specialist interest — e.g. heavier local interest content, or specialist music. Only one such station is licensed, Dublin City FM, which brand themselves as 103.2 Dublin City FM on-air, and DUB CITY on RDS. Dublin City FM are essentially a community station with specialist traffic reports around rush-hour periods.

Institutional services

The BAI may also issue licenses to institutions, such as hospitals and colleges, for the provision of low-powered FM services. At present, there are five such stations in operation; all of them are hospital radio stations, with the existing student radio stations operating under community radio or temporary licenses. *CUH FM Hospital Radio - (102.0FM) - Cork University Hospital, Cork, County Cork. *Mater Hospital Radio - Mater Hospital, Dublin, County Dublin. *Dreamtime 92.6FM - S.O.S. Kilkenny Ltd, Callan Road, Kilkenny, Co. Kilkenny. *South Tipperary General Hospital Radio 93.7FM - South Tipperary General and Maternity Hospital, Clonmel, County Tipperary. *St. Ita's Hospital Radio - St. Ita's Hospital, Portrane, County Dublin.

Temporary services

Stations may also be licensed to operate for shorter periods, with temporary licenses allowing stations to operate for up to thirty days in a given twelve-month period. These licenses may be used by stations providing a service to coincide with local, cultural and sporting events or festivals. Another group of stations to avail of this type of license are those that are being run as pilot projects; successful stations may later be established as Community Radio stations, or run for a permanent license. One such temporary licence station was

Sunrise Radio Sunrise Radio is a 24-hour commercial radio station, focusing on entertainment, music and news from the Indian subcontinent. It broadcasts to the Greater London area on 963/972 AM, on DAB (SDL National), and via the internet. History Sunrise R ...

, which broadcast poly-lingual programming in the Dublin area for several months from March 2006. While its licence was renewed for the following year, it was not made permanent, and the broadcast frequency later allocated to another station.

Defunct stations

RTÉ radio

* Atlantic 252 - a joint venture with RTL, eventually failed financially. * RTÉ FM3 Classical music/arts service, had existed prior to the launch of Lyric FM. FM3 time-shared the same national FM network as RnaG, resulting in limited broadcasting hours. * RTÉ Radio Cork, (was originally 'RTÉ Cork Local Radio', changed name in 1989 to 'Cork 89FM', and relaunched again in 1994 as 'RTÉ Radio Cork') - an opt-out of Radio 1 for the Cork area on medium wave and secondary FM transmitters, closed in 1999 due to declining interest. * RTÉ mobile Community Radio station, existed during the late 1970s and 1980s, this mobile station provided temporary community radio services to towns and cities around the country. * Millennium 88FM temporary local radio service for Dublin during 1988 and part of 1989 to mark 1988 at the year of the

Dublin Millennium In the 1980s and 1990s, a number of areas in the Republic of Ireland held year-long festivals commemorating historic anniversaries. The country was in an economic depression at the time and these were excuses for some civic pride; the anniversari ...

. * RTÉ Digital Radio Sport, a rolling service in the early days of DAB. *

RTÉ Choice RTÉ Choice was a digital radio station of the Irish public-service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), made specifically for talk-radio. RTÉ realigned their digital radio services in 2013 and much of the content on RTÉ Choice b ...

, international and national speech service with drama, documentary, arts, world news. Merged in 2013 with RTÉ Radio 1 Extra.

Independent national radio

Century Radio Century Radio, also known as ''Century 100'' and later ''Century FM'', was a short-lived national commercial radio station in the Republic of Ireland, broadcasting from 4 September 1989 to 19 November 1991. History Launch Launched at 8am on ...

- failed financially, closed in 1991.

Independent local radio

* Limerick 95 FM (Radio Limerick One) (95 MHz FM); lost franchise mid-term for stated misbehaviour - subsequently operated on a

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

basis. * CKR FM and Radio Kilkenny - franchises redrawn at end of contract, Kildare area awarded to KFM, Carlow and Kilkenny to KCLR. Gentrification of Kildare by Dublin commuters led Carlow to be closer aligned with Kilkenny in the eyes of the BAI, hence the changing of the franchise areas * Tipperary Mid-West Radio - held a very small franchise for South West Tipperary. Its franchise was merged with the rest of Tipperary franchise (held by Tipp FM). The station continues, being re-licensed as a Community Radio station. * North West Radio - subsidiary of Mid West Radio; replaced by Ocean FM at end of contract. * Easy 103 - held a licence for part of Wicklow and Horizon Radio held a licence for north Wicklow. These two stations merged to become East Coast FM. * Fresh 95.5 - short lived North Dublin-targeted station from

; was licensed to Meath only, relying on signal overspill. *

TXFM TXFM (formerly Phantom 105.2) was a Dublin based radio station, founded in 1997 as a pirate radio station. TXFM broadcast under a contract awarded by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI). The station ceased broadcasting on 26 October 2016 ...

(formerly Phantom 105.2); alternative rock music station for the Dublin area.

Community radio

* Cashel Community Radio -

Cashel, County Tipperary Cashel (; ) is a town in County Tipperary in Ireland. Its population was 4,422 in the 2016 census. The town gives its name to the ecclesiastical province of ''Cashel''. Additionally, the ''cathedra'' of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel ...

was a splinter group from Tipperary Mid-West Radio. *Tallaght FM -

Tallaght ) , image_skyline = TallaghtDublinD24.jpg , image_caption = Tallaght, Dublin , image_flag = , flag_size = , pushpin_map = Dublin#Ireland , pushpin_label_position = left , ...

closed 2008. * 9-7-11 FM - Dublin North West's community radio, (named after the area's postal districts) existed in the mid-1990s. * Dublin Weekend Radio - station that broadcast from

Dublin City University Dublin City University (abbreviated as DCU) ( ga, Ollscoil Chathair Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a university based on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. Created as the ''National Institute for Higher Education, Dublin'' in 1975, it enrolled its ...

in the 1990s, it time-shared transmission with Raidio na Life. Facilities are now used by DCU. * Inishowen Community Radio (ICR-FM) in north Co. Donegal, ceased broadcasts in October 2012. * Ballyhoura Community Radio (BCR) based in Charleville near the Cork/Limerick border. Went on air in May 2011, closed in March 2013. Frequency was 92.6 FM. * East Limerick Community Radio. FM Frequencies were 96.8 (main) and 97.3.

Institutional services

*Beaumont Hospital Radio - Beaumont Hospital, Beamount, Dublin. Closed in 2007. *Vibe 107.4FM - was a student service in Waterford I.T. *Regional Hospital Radio 94.2 - Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Limerick, County Limerick. Closed in 2018

Radio Oglaigh na h-Éireann

Radio Oglaigh na h-Éireann () was established in 1962 to provide a short wave service to Irish Defence Forces serving in

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

peacekeeping missions in Congo. Daily broadcasts were made on 17.544 MHz at 17:30 UTC, using a transmitter located at the

Curragh Camp The Curragh Camp ( ga, Campa an Churraigh) is an army base and military college in The Curragh, County Kildare, Ireland. It is the main training centre for the Irish Defence Forces and is home to 2,000 military personnel. History Longstanding ...

. Programmes, which were provided by Radio Éireann, included news, sports results, music and drama, including '' The Kennedys of Castleross''. The service was discontinued after several years, when the Irish peacekeeping mission in Congo terminated.

References

External links

The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI)
The Authority licenses independent broadcasting services in Ireland
Radiowaves.FM
a database resource listing every radio station ever to broadcast in Ireland {{Local radio in Ireland

History

Licensing

Transmission

Ownership

National stations

RTÉ (national public service broadcaster)

Independent national radio

Multi-city and county radio

Independent regional radio

Independent regional radio

Independent local radio

Dublin ILRs

Cork ILRs

Leinster (excluding Dublin) ILRs

Munster (excluding Cork) ILRs

Connacht/Ulster ILRs

Community radio

Special interest services

Institutional services

Temporary services

Defunct stations

RTÉ radio

Independent national radio

Independent local radio

Community radio

Institutional services

Radio Oglaigh na h-Éireann

See also

References

External links