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

Morse code Morse code is a method used in telecommunication to encode text characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called ''dots'' and ''dashes'', or ''dits'' and ''dahs''. Morse code is named after Samuel Morse, one ...

transmission on 24 April 1916 from the

General Post Office The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Before the Acts of Union 1707, it was the postal system of the Kingdom of England, established by Charles II in 1660. ...

in Dublin by the rebels during the

Easter Rising The Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with t ...

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 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 Pirate radio in Ireland has had a long history, with hundreds of pirate radio stations having operated within the country. Due to past lax enforcement of the rules, the lack of commercial radio until 1989, and the small physical size of the co ...

. 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 A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...

) 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 Atlantic 252 was an Irish longwave radio station broadcasting across Ireland and Great Britain on 252 kHz (1190 metres) from its 1988 purpose-built transmission site at Clarkstown radio transmitter, County Meath, which provided service to Atla ...

, 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 popu ...

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 CRAOL, also called the Community Radio Forum of Ireland,Day, Rosemary (ed.) (2007). ''Bicycle Highway: Celebrating 10 Years of Licensed Community Radio in Ireland.'', Liffey Press, Dublin. . or Community Radio Ireland, is the representative, co-or ...

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 Broadcasting Act 2009 (Number 18 of 2009) is an Act of the Oireachtas of Ireland. It was signed into law on 12 July 2009, although the provisions relating to the establishment of the new Broadcasting Authority of Ireland did not come into forc ...

, 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 Medium wave (MW) is the part of the medium frequency (MF) radio band used mainly for AM radio broadcasting. The spectrum provides about 120 channels with more limited sound quality than FM stations on the FM broadcast band. During the dayti ...

( 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 Spirit Radio is an Irish Christian and religious radio station which began broadcasting in January 2011. It is licensed by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) to broadcast to the cities of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford, Bray ...

. 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 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 Ascential plc, formerly EMAP, is a British business-to-business media business specialising in exhibitions & festivals and information services. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History Rich ...

, 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; Bauer Media Audio Ireland 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 an ...

, 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 * Bauer Media Audio Ireland - 98FM 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 C103 is one of three local radio stations licensed by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland for Cork City Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Irelan ...

, 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, Shannonside FM,

Tipp FM Tipp FM (Tipperary Local Radio), licensed since 1989 by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland, is the local radio station covering County Tipperary. In addition to the official franchise area, the station also enjoys a listenership in neighbo ...

Clare FM Clare FM is an Irish radio station 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 ...

* Tindle Radio Group -

Midlands 103 Midlands 103 (previously known as Midlands Radio 3) is an Irish local independent radio station broadcasting to counties Laois, Offaly, and Westmeath. The station's offices and main broadcast studios are in Tullamore, County Offaly. It also ...

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 Galway Bay FM is an Irish independent local radio station and operates under a licence from the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland. Established in 1989, the station broadcasts from studios in Galway, serving the city and County Galway. Program ...

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 Radio Maria (formally known as The World Family of Radio Maria; es, link=no, Radio María, pt, Rádio Maria, hr, Radio Marija, mt, Radju Marija, lt, Marijos Radijas, hu, Mária Rádió, russian: Радио Мария, uk, Радіо Ма� ...

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 ...

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 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 count ...

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 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 ...

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 ...

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 2 ...

city and

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 ...

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 *

- 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 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 broadcast ...

- 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 entity.

Independent local radio

There are 25 commercial stations (Independent Local Radio - ILR) licensed on a regional franchise basis. Often several

counties of Ireland The counties of Ireland ( Irish: ) are historic administrative divisions of the island into thirty-two units. They began as Norman structures, and as the powers exercised by the Cambro-Norman barons and the Old English nobility waned over time ...

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. * 98FM - general service *

Radio Nova 100FM (Ireland) Radio NOVA is a radio station licensed by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, based in Dublin, Ireland. It was awarded its broadcasting licence by the BAI in September 2008 and launched on 1 September 2010. It is the only Dublin radio station ...

- classic rock music service; the Original Radio Nova (Ireland) 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 ''Sunshine 106.8'' is an easy listening radio station, based in Dublin, Ireland. It is licensed by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) as a commercial FM broadcaster in the Dublin area. The station broadcasts on 106.8 MHz from ...

- 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

(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 East Coast FM (formerly known as BLB, Horizon FM, then East Coast Radio) is an Irish local radio station broadcasting from Bray, County Wicklow under a sound broadcasting contract from the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland The station operat ...

KCLR 96FM KCLR 96FM is an Irish radio station which broadcasts to Carlow and Kilkenny in Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain t ...

- Counties

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272. The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic boundar ...

and

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

* 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 *

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 *

* 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 ...

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 ...

* Radio Kerry -

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 ...

Connacht/Ulster ILRs

- Galway City and County; commercial radio station * Ocean FM - County Sligo, North Leitrim, and South Donegal. *

MidWest Radio MidWest Radio is a radio station based in County Mayo, Ireland. Officially opened in 1989 (having operated previously as an unlicensed station), its current studios are located on Clare Street, Ballyhaunis. The JNLR/MRBI radio listenership surv ...

- 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 Highland Radio is the local radio service for the County Donegal (North) franchise, operating under a licence from the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI). Headquartered at the Mountain Top in Letterkenny, the station broadcasts throughout ...

- 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

. 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 -

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 Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road that links Dublin (to the south) with Enniskillen, Bal ...

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; gle, Contae an Chabháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is based on the historic Gaelic territory of East Breffny (''Bréifn ...

Claremorris Community Radio Claremorris Community Radio is a locally-run community radio station in Claremorris, County Mayo, Ireland. It is a Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI)-licensed, communally owned, not-for-profit community media project. The station aims to ...

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 County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the yew trees") is a county in Ireland. In the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Counci ...

Connemara Community Radio Connemara Community Radio is a community-based radio station broadcasting for 10 hours per day throughout the north-west Connemara region of Ireland. It initially began broadcasting in September 1988 until New Year's Eve 1988 as a pirate station ...

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 "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

* 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 o ...

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 CRY 104.0FM is an Irish radio station based in Youghal, County Cork. Areas served by the station include Youghal, Ballymacoda, Ballycotton, Killeagh, Inch, Ardmore, Clashmore, Aglish and Knockanore. History Having operated as a " pirate" st ...

(''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 County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of County Meath, M ...

* Flirt FM -

NUIG *

ICR FM Inishowen Community Radio (ICR FM) was a local radio station broadcasting on the Inishowen Peninsula in County Donegal in Ireland. The station was one of three in the county. The station was initially granted a five-year licence which was rene ...

(''Inishowen Community Radio'') -

Carndonagh Carndonagh (; ) is a town on the Inishowen peninsula in County Donegal, Ireland, close to Trawbreaga Bay. It is the site of the Donagh Cross (or St. Patrick's Cross), believed to date to the 7th century. The Irish name, ''Carn Domhnach'', mea ...

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 Tyrcon ...

; 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 (''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, 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 "Steadfast Irish heart" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg , subdivision_type = Sovereign state, Country , subdivision_name = Republic of Ireland, Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Provinces of I ...

* 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 t ...

County Waterford County Waterford ( ga, Contae Phort Láirge) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and is part of the South-East Region. It is named after the city of Waterford. Waterford City and County Council is the local authority for t ...

* 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 West Limerick 102 is a community radio station broadcasting to the western parts of County Limerick in Ireland. The station operates on a non-commercial basis and has a five year licence issued by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland. The stat ...

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 Wired 99.9FM is a college radio station in Limerick city, Ireland, licensed by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland to serve the student population of Limerick City. It is currently run as a partnership between Mary Immaculate College and Limer ...

, 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 103.2 Dublin City FM (''Previously: Anna Livia FM and Dublin City Anna Livia FM'') is an Independent Local Radio station in Dublin, Ireland, operated by Dublin Public Service Radio Association Ltd, under a sound broadcasting contract from the ...

, 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 St. Ita's Hospital ( ga, Ospidéal Naomh Ita) is a mental health facility in Portrane in the north of County Dublin in Ireland. History The site selected for the facility, which covered , was the demesne surrounding Portrane House, the former h ...

, 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

- 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 RTÉ Radio Cork, also known as RTÉ Cork Local Radio and Cork 89FM, was a local radio station in the Republic of Ireland serving Cork City. The FM signal spilled into Ballincollig and Carrigaline, but the rest of County Cork had to rely on the ...

, (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, 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 North West Radio (NWR) was a radio station that broadcast to south County Donegal, north County Leitrim and throughout County Sligo from 1990 to 2004. It was a sister station of MidWest Radio (MWR) and was replaced by Ocean FM. The station ha ...

- 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

. * Fresh 95.5 - short lived North Dublin-targeted station from

; was licensed to Meath only, relying on

signal overspill Signal overspill is the receiving of a broadcast signal outside of its geographical target area. Radio frequencies have no way of obeying geographical borders and licensing arrangements, and the extent of overspill depends on where broadcast trans ...

. * TXFM (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,

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 Inishowen Community Radio (ICR FM) was a local radio station broadcasting on the Inishowen Peninsula in County Donegal in Ireland. The station was one of three in the county. The station was initially granted a five-year licence which was ren ...

(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 Shortwave radio is radio transmission using shortwave (SW) radio frequencies. There is no official definition of the band, but the range always includes all of the high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30 MHz (100 to 10 m ...

service to

Irish Defence Forces The Defence Forces ( ga, Fórsaí Cosanta, officially styled ) derives its origins from the Irish Volunteers. Whilst the Irish for ''Defence Forces'' is , as Ó Cearúil (1999) points out, the Defence Forces are officially styled . is used i ...

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 harmoni ...

peacekeeping Peacekeeping comprises activities intended to create conditions that favour lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed warfare. Within the United ...

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 Kennedys of Castleross'' was an Irish serial drama or soap opera, about a family from Castleross, broadcast on Raidió Éireann from 1955 to 1973. The serial was devised by Arks advertising agency on behalf of its client, Fry-Cadbury. ...

''. 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