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The
first voice broadcast of 2RN, the
original radio call sign for Radio
1, took place on November 14, 1925
in Dublin when an announcer said,
"Seo Raidió 2RN, Baile
Átha Cliath ag tástáil",
meaning "This is Radio 2RN,
Dublin testing". Regular Irish
radio broadcasting began on January
1, 1926. 2RN later became known
as Radio Éireann.
Now,
RTÉ has a nationwide
communications network with
an increasing emphasis
on regional news-gathering and
input. Broadcasting on Radio
1 provides
comprehensive coverage of news,
current affairs, music, drama
and
variety features, agriculture,
education, religion and sport,
mostly in English
but also some Irish. RTÉ
2FM is a popular music and chat
channel, while RTÉ Lyric
FM serves the interests of classical
music and the arts. Raidió
na Gaeltachta, an exclusively Irish
language service, first began
broadcasting
in 1972. More
here
RTÉ
Radio 1 dates back to January
1st 1926, when the Dublin radio station
2RN began broadcasting on a regular
basis. A relay of 2RN in Cork, known
as 6CK, opened in 1927. A high power
transmitter at Athlone in County
Westmeath, opened in 1932. From
then onwards the three stations
became known as Radio Athlone. Radio
Athlone became known as Radio Éireann
in 1937.
Radio
Éireann began FM transmission
in 1966, and was renamed RTÉ
Radio later that year. RTÉ
Radio became known as RTÉ
Radio 1 in 1979 upon the establishment
of the rock and pop station RTÉ
Radio 2 (now 2FM).
RTÉ
Radio 1 broadcasts a mixture of
talk, sport and light music.
Today
RTÉ Radio 1 is available
in Ireland on FM and 252 kHz LW.
It is also available on the web
and from the Astra 2 and Hotbird
satellites in Europe. Listeners
outside Europe can hear a selection
of RTÉ Radio 1 programmes
on the WRN service.
*
Click on the logo above to go to
their homepage.
Click
on the audio link below to hear
this radio station!
RTÉ
Radio 2FM, or 2FM as it is commonly
referred to, is RTÉ's second
national radio station. It broadcasts
popular music programming and youth-programmes.
RTÉ Radio 2, as it was originally
originally known, began broadcasts
in 1979. "Like Clockwork"
by the Boomtown Rats was the first
song on air, played by Larry Gogan.
It was developed as a response by
RTÉ to the pirate radio craze
sweeping Dublin and the country.
Its main inspiration in format was
BBC Radio 1. Its original slogan
was "Radio 2 Comin'at'ya"
and as well as broadcasting popular
music, it broadcast a number of
other musical strand as well as
news and current affairs. Its original
broadcast frequencies were 612 MW
and later, 90-92FM. Original DJs
included Larry Gogan, who moved
over from RTÉ Radio 1, and
Dave Fanning
2FM
still faces criticism that for a
youth station, many of its DJs have
been there a long time. Larry Gogan
and Dave Fanning have worked with
the station since the beginning.
Many other DJs have spent the best
part of twenty years with the station.
Nevertheless, 2FM remains the most
popular music-driven station in
Ireland.
*
Click on the logo above to go to
their homepage.
Click
on the audio link below to hear
this radio station!
RTÉ
Lyric FM is part of Radio Telefís
Éireann in Ireland, it is
a radio station which plays mainly
classical music and jazz music,
and is based at Limerick. The station
was launched in May 1999 and is
available via the internet.
RTÉ Lyric FM grew out of
an earlier station, RTÉ FM3
Classical Music, which broadcast
from the early 1980s. FM3 broadcast
classical music on the Radio na
Gaeltachta network at breakfast
time and in the evenings. The station
was rarely marketed, except via
promotions on RTÉ Radio 1,
and few people knew of its existence.
In
1999, RTÉ put in place an
additional national FM transmitter
network, and it was decided to separate
FM3 from Radio na Gaeltachta, and
expand its remit to include other
types of minority music. The resulting
station was Lyric FM, launched in
May 1999.
*
Click on the logo above to go to
their homepage.
Click
on the audio link below to hear
this radio station!
RTÉ
Raidió na Gaeltachta is the
Irish language radio service part
of Radio Telefís Éireann
in Ireland and is available on 92-94FM
in Ireland, and via the internet.
It began broadcasts on 2nd April
1972, and was the second legal radio
station in Ireland.
Initially
RnaG broadcast for only a handful
of hours a day, but following the
putting in place of a fourth RTÉ
national radio transmitter network
(used for Lyric FM), the station
expanded to 24 hours from 1st October,
2001
RnaG
has been critised for its "no
English lyrics" policy, which
has kept most popular music from
being played on the station and
hampered its appeal to young people.
That changed in 2005 when RnaG made
the decision to have a nightly music
programme featuring top chart and
independent acts. The lyrics are
in English and presentation in Irish
- welcome to the 21st Century!
*
Click on the logo above to go to
their homepage.
Click
on the audio link below to hear
this radio station!
Ireland's
first independent National Commercial
Radio Station is called Today FM.
Programme Format/Style:
Broad contemporary music format with
strong current affairs, sport and
comedy sequences. This station now
hosts the most-listened to National
Breakfast Show!!
Click
on the logo to go to their homepage.
Click on the audio link to hear this
radio station! The audio quality is
the best ever to come out of Ireland!!
Try it.
Spin
103.8 FM serves the Dublin City
area - the station is youth orientated,
aimed at the 12 to 25 year old market.
It features trendy music, plus short,
snappy, lifestyle-orientated news
bulletins called "The Story".
They
are broadcast at 15 minutes to the
hour. While the others have 'News'
on the hour, Spin 103.8 FM is playing
music. Hence their catchphrase"Ten
Spin Hits In A Row"
Click
on the logo to go to their homepage.
Click on the audio link to hear this
radio station!
Dublin's
98 FM came on the air in October
1989. It was the second commercial
radio station to come on air and
it quickly became the leading radio
station in Dublin City - with its
blend of 'Classic Hits' (the best
of the 70's, 80's and today). The
winning formula made it the most
popular radio station in Dublin
City for over a decade.
The
station still continues its popularity
even up to today and is by far the
most-recognised radio station Ident
ever. Click on the logo to go to
their homepage. Click on the audio
link to hear this radio station!
On
the 9th April 2002, Newstalk was
launched bringing Dublin a real talk
alternative for the first time. Newstalk
106-108 fm finally went national
on the 29th September
2006 and since then has brought Ireland
an offering that delivers entertaining,
informative and relevant radio for
the nation: Different Nation – Different
Station.
Wittier, sharper and more controversial
than any other broadcaster, Newstalk's
offering is the result of a fantastic
group of people all striving towards
one goal - to get Ireland talking.
Newstalk has already been recognised
as having world class broadcasters.
We scooped several accolades at
the PPI Awards, the Irish radio
Oscars.
