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-ordinating, lobbying, training and support group for Irish

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 popul ...

. Every week, across Ireland, 2000 community radio volunteers broadcasts to 170,000 people in 20 fully licensed stations and 42 aspirant stations. The organisation runs a helpline to assist in the development of community radio. CRAOL is a registered provider of FETAC Accredited training. CRAOL receives funding 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 ...

and the support organization The Wheel.

History

In 1994 the Independent Radio and Television Commission (IRTC) established an 18-month community radio pilot project to explore and evaluate the potential offered by community broadcasting in Ireland. Licenses were issued in 1995 to eleven community and community of interest groups across the country. The IRTC implemented, during the pilot project period, the Community Radio Forum, now called now CRAOL. The Community Radio Forum was set up to provide inter-station communication and information exchange. CRAOL produced a report in 1997 on the outcomes of the pilot project, called "A Community Radio Model for Ireland", which was a key information sources for the IRTC's final evaluation report. 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 ...

, now the

(BAI), has supported expansion of the sector and a deepening and broadening of CRAOL's activities. CRAOL was formally incorporated as a Registered Society (co-operative) with a constitution and standing orders and rules in 2004. CRAOL is a co-operative whose shareholders are the fully licensed community radio stations. Those stations which do not yet have full licences can join as "associate members". Each full member station nominates a CRAOL representative and these representatives meet twice a year in "forum". From these twenty representatives, nine form the organisation's governing body, the co-ordinating committee, which takes place at the Annual General Meeting. One third of the co-ordinating committee rotate every year. In July 2010, CRAOL hosted a community radio conference in Croke Park, Dublin with the opening address given by Steve Buckley, president of

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 m ...

Stations represented by CRAOL

* Athlone Community Radio -

Athlone Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midlands Region with a population of ...

County Westmeath "Noble above nobility" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = , subdivis ...

. *

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 t ...

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 Coun ...

. * 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 and l ...

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 - based 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 ...

and 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 c ...

CRC FM CRC may refer to: Science and technology * Carboniferous Rainforest Collapse, an event at the end of the Carboniferous period * Class-responsibility-collaboration card, used as a brainstorming tool in the design of object-oriented software * Cli ...

- 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. Wit ...

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" stati ...

- 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. ...

, East

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 ...

Dublin South FM Dublin South FM is a Community Radio station for South Dublin, which broadcasts seven days a week from 11am to 11pm on 93.9 FM, and broadcasts 24 hours a day on digital. The station is operated by a democratic co-operative, Dublin South FM C ...

- South

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 ...

Dundalk FM 100 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 hal ...

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 hal ...

County Louth County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of Meath to the south, Monaghan to the west, Armagh to the north and Down to the ...

Flirt FM Flirt FM is a licensed student radio station located at the University of Galway.Rosemary Day. Community Radio in Ireland. In: The Encyclopaedia of Social Movement Media, edited by J. Downing. Thousand Oaks: Sagpreprint/ref> It broadcasts at 101 ...

- Galway (community of interest, students) *

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,

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 ...

* Life FM -

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 ar ...

Liffey Sound FM Liffey Sound FM is a not-for-profit community radio station broadcasting to the suburban town of Lucan, County Dublin and its environs, broadcasting on the frequency 96.4 MHz. The station is operated by Liffey Sound Communications Co-Opera ...

Lucan Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (3 November 39 AD – 30 April 65 AD), better known in English as Lucan (), was a Roman poet, born in Corduba (modern-day Córdoba), in Hispania Baetica. He is regarded as one of the outstanding figures of the Imperial ...

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 - North

* 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 ...

* Raidió Corca Baiscinn - Kilkee, Kilrush and rural south west Clare,

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 ...

* Raidió na Life - Dublin (in the

Irish language Irish (an Caighdeán Oifigiúil, Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic languages, Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European lang ...

) *

Raidió Fáilte Raidió Fáilte (; meaning "Welcome Radio") is an Irish-language community radio station, broadcasting from Belfast, in Northern Ireland. It started broadcasting under its current licence on 15 September 2006 having operated as a pirate radio ...

- Belfast (in the

) *

RosFm RosFM is a small local radio station set up by CRAOL. It is a community radio station for County Roscommon. See also * County Roscommon "Steadfast Irish heart" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg , subd ...

County Roscommon "Steadfast Irish heart" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Connacht , subdi ...

* Tallaght FM -

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

Tipperary Mid-West Community Radio Tipperary Midwest Community Radio is a non-profit, community radio station which broadcasts from St. Michael's Street, Tipperary Town, Ireland. It broadcasts on the frequency 104.8fm and 106.7fm in the Cashel area and can be heard in parts of ...

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named afte ...

West Dublin Access Radio West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

- West

* 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 -

Limerick City 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 ...

Awards

CRAOL runs an annual awards ceremony for achievements in the sector. Categories have included: *Commissioned Programme *Community and Volunteer Participation *Social Benefit *Music Programming *Resilience and Innovation *Volunteer Team *Technical Production values

References

External links

*
Broadcasting Authority of Ireland
{{authority control Mass media in the Republic of Ireland Community radio organizations Radio awards