Magic 103.2FM in Limerick have moved again! They have resumed broadcasts on the 103.5MHz frequency which they vacated on Saturday to return to their original 103.2MHz.

Premier FM were off the air this afternoon as a result of a power cut. They returned to air tonight after 7pm and can now be heard, as usual, on 92.6MHz across Dublin.
Power FM have been on air for brief periods but have spent most of today off on 97.2FM and their internet stream is picking up 2FM from 97.0MHz.
Kiss FM - on 105.8FM to Dublin - were off air for a period this evening but returned later on.
Gem 88FM were on a blank carrier again this afternoon.
ABC 94FM, whose normal RDS of ABC 94FM has been restored, have been suffering difficulties this evening and were on a blank carrier for a few minutes as they made technical adjustments. ABC broadcast on 94.3FM and 87.6FM.
Freedom 92FM have also restored their RDS to FREEDOM
Beaumont Radio on 107.6FM have also been on a blank carrier this evening.

Solas AM are a Christian group who will apply to the IRTC for the religious AM service advertised recently. The group's chairman is Oliver Moloney, a former director-general of RTE and also includes Jack Boothman, a former president of the GAA and Michael Carroll - former director of radio at RTE. The station would broadcast from studios in Blackrock, Co Dublin and their service would include mainly speech and music programming but would also broadcast news and current affairs. The group also intends to cater for other religious persuasions.

UTV's attempt to buy the County Media Group, which includes 96FM and County Sound in Cork, is likely to be rejected by the IRTC and Arts Minister Sile de Valera unless the station reduce their stake in the deal by almost a half, the Irish Independent reports today. If the deal as it stands was to be sanctioned, it would mean a radical change in present IRTC policy which only allows a 27% interest by an existing media group to hold a licence. Although UTV have promised that they will maintain broadcast guidelines as well as keep existing staff, the IRTC are concerned that the high-profile nature of the deal will become a model for future purchases and takeovers within the Irish sector.

Cork's Power FM will be back on air in the next couple of days, station manager Max Power this evening told Radiowaves. Technical difficulties have forced the station to change frequencies again, from 106.4FM to a new frequency of 107.6FM.

RTE's 75 year anniversary was marked last night with the launch of an internet only interactive radio service which promises to be just as revolutionary now as 2RN was back in 1926. RTE Radio Ceolnet will be centred around RTE's considerable Irish Traditional music archives which holds about 4,000 tracks and will also feature full music programmmes which have been broadcast through the years. RTE's plans are to allow listeners to create their own radio schedules from the music database.

Highland Radio's managing director, Charlie Collins, today said that broadcasting legislation in Ireland is flawed in many ways. Writing for the Irish Independent, Mr Collins says he is amazed that of the twenty-four independent local stations originally licensed by the IRTC in 1989, twenty-one are still on air. He feels that from a commercial perspective too many licenses were awarded. 'The stations had failed to take into account many factors which would be vital to their success, particularly the day to day running costs. The IRTC, seeing itself only as a regulator, failed to give the help and guidance which was so badly needed,' he writes. 'Local stations, without government funding, are expected to provide a variety of programmes in their schedule.' He points out that the early collapse of Century Radio was a great help to the local stations as it gave them a chance to establish themselves against RTE in their local areas. The original licences are all due to expire over the next few years and this will, according to Mr Collins, provide the stations with their biggest challenge yet as the IRTC is opposed to an automatic renewal process and have already announced it's intention to re-advertise the current licences.

The Chris Cary website has received another makeover. It is now counting the days to his release on March 26th this year and also includes some photographs and a checklist of all who have written giving their support. 'Chris himself is making progress, although for him it is slow and painful,' Sybil Fennell told Radiowaves this evening. 'He can walk again, but still only has the use of his right arm and hand. I have tried to find as many 'aids' as I can for him - to help him do up buttons and shoe laces with one hand. It is difficult, no doubt about it.' She added that he is looking forward very much to his release, although the wait naturally gets more difficult for him the closer the final date. Comment: Here's to a better 2001 for Chris, Sybil & Family.

Phantom FM will have a full day's live schedule again tomorrow for their final day of FM broadcasting. The Breakfast Show with Steve Conway will be specially extended, starting at 6.30am and finishing at 11am. Live programming will continue throughout the day and at 7pm, The Two Petes will present the final show on the station's FM service, including live inserts from the Phantom Closedown Party in Whelans, which will have sets from bands including Blink and Brando. The station's full schedule is as follows: 6.30am Steve Conway; 11am Graeme Hunter; 2pm Cormac Battle; 4pm Jack Hyland; 7pm The Two Petes; 11pm Close. Comment: If the past few days are an indicator towards the kind of programming which would be available live all day on a licensed Phantom, then pass me a petition sheet!

Hot Radio, on 99.1MHz and 99.4MHz, were suffering problems with their audio this morning but are now sounding normal. Technical difficulties forced Freedom 92FM onto a blank carrier for a short period this evening. Energy 94's RDS display has been restored to ENERGY .

Phantom FM's final day of broadcasting on their own FM frequencies of 91.6FM and 102.9FM is also being relayed by those behind the new station on test on 95.4MHz, receivable in the Southside of Dublin and parts of Co Wicklow.

DMR FM were off air on 97.8FM this evening but returned with a very weak signal - and an RDS reading of FREEDOM. Later on, Freedom's audio signal was also being carried. A spokesman for Freedom 92 told Radiowaves that this has nothing to do with them.

Arts Minister Sile de Valera has issued a statement saying that an article in Tuesday's Irish Independent suggesting that she is going to reject the attempted UTV takeover of the County Media Group, which includes Cork radio stations 96FM and County Sound, is completely incorrect. The article claimed that both the Minister and the IRTC would reject the bid unless UTV's 100% shareholding was drastically reduced. The statement from the Minister says that she wished to make it clear that the report was completely incorrect and that '...the government has no function whatsoever in this matter'. She made it clear that she has stated repeatedly that the bid was solely a matter for the IRTC.

Plans for a temporary one week broadcast by students in Greystones are well under way. Students at St David's Secondary School are planning the broadcast during St Patrick's week under the banner of Abe FM.

A station broadcasting from Ireland using the name Radio Tara International will be on 6298kHz on the shortwave band for the next two weeks, starting tomorrow morning . They are requesting reception reports to the following email address: radiotara@hotmail.com and QSL's are available from Radio Tara Int, PO Box 220342, Wuppertal, Germany.

Missed the final FM broadcast from Phantom? Or would you just like to hear it again? Tomorrow from 1pm, the station testing on 95.4FM in Dublin's southside will play the closedown again in full. This is a follow-up to the station's relay of the final day live last Thursday. Comment: Might make up for no Anorak Hour this week - although Radiowaves.FM will provide an archive of an old edition of the programme from tomorrow.

DMR FM have been alternating between being off air and on a blank carrier all day today. The station are usually found on 97.8FM in Dublin.

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Ray D'arcy stripped naked to present his show on Today FM this morning. Ray, along with the rest of the crew on his morning show, decided to go with the recent flow of stories in the media about the likes of nude priests and streakers and stripped for the show, which was broadcast on Today FM from 10am. Ray publicly apologised to his mother! Today FM broadcast nationwide on 100-102FM and to Northern areas of the country on 105.5FM.

A new station has appeared in Cork on 104.0MHz. Calling itself Klub FM, the station is playing non-stop dance. Source: Max Power

DMR FM hope to be back to normal by the weekend, a spokesperson for the station this evening told Radiowaves. The station have been suffering link problems which have forced then onto a blank carrier for the past few days. DMR, now on 97.8MHz in Dublin, are also planning 'an all new format of music' including more commercial/chartbound dance for their return, the spokesperson added.

Power FM in Cork are currently testing on 107.6FM and the station hope to be fully active within the next couple of weeks. They would appreciate reception reports to: powerfmcork@hotmail.com

Hot Radio were on a blank carrier for a period this morning on their 99.1FM and 99.4FM frequencies but normality returned later on.

LUV FM have recently extended their broadcasting hours to become a 24 hours per day operation. LUV FM can be heard on 107.3FM. Radio Caroline Cork also intend to extend their broadcasting hours shortly. This means that Alternative Radio Cork, who share 98.2FM, are considering a move to another frequency. Source: Max Power

Dublin's ABC 94FM suspended transmissions at 5.40 pm this evening, "until further notice." Speaking live over the 'Man of Action' tune, Mike Williams told ABC's listeners that the station would be stopping broadcasts for technical adjustments but plan to be back as soon as possible. Following an airing of a few minutes worth of ABC jingles, the station went silent.

ChrisCary.com has received another major makeover. Added is lots of Radio Nova material and some archive photos of Chris from his pre-Nova days. Chris' condition remains the same as reported on Radiowaves last week - he still has no use of his left hand and arm but he has been involved in correspondence courses for dyslexic adults, with which he is making progress.

Broadcasting from Alien Mountain, Thunder 107.7FM - a Country station 'with attitude' - is now testing on 107.7MHz to Mid-Ulster, a frequency which has been filled with Magic 105 Country material for the past few weeks. Thunder 107.7FM will be run by a co-operative effort between Energy 106 and Magic 105, using Magic's transmitters and antennae systems and computers on the Energy tower. Station identification announcements were made by Energy 106's Lawrence John, who was a country DJ for Downtown Radio in his earlier career. "Thunder 107.7FM is designed to feature the aggressive new Country Music, avoiding the old "my dog just died" style, which is such a turn off to many listeners," station spokesman Miles J told Radiowaves this evening.

NTL cable leakage caused Lite FM to be heard in some parts of Dublin last night and today on 106.7MHz. It is unlikely that this frequency will be used on cable to relay Lite FM due to the proposed use of 106.8 MHz by the IRTC for a special interest radio station.

Alternative Radio Cork are to change their name to 'The Secret Service on 98.2'. The station were considering a frequency change but will now be staying on 98.2MHz because Radio Caroline Cork have only extended their broadcast times for a few hours at the weekend.

Power FM, on 97.2MHz in Dublin, spent most of today on a blank carrier.

After a day of on/off tests, DMR have returned to air this evening on 97.8MHz in Dublin. Noticeable addition to the station's output is a brand new jingle package.

Dublin's ABC 94 are testing on the shortwave frequency of 6940kHz this weekend, despite the suspension of FM transmissions last Wednesday. Reception reports are welcomed at abc94fm@hotmail.com or to PO Box 6215 Dublin 9.

A Christian Radio station who are bidding for an FM licence in England will be hoping for help from the highest source possible next Friday. At 10.57pm, around 1,000 people will be praying to their God in the hope that Voice FM will be awarded the licence - the winner is due to be announced on the 22nd January. The significance of the time is that the new licensee will most likely broadcast on 105.7MHz. Source: ukradio.com

Norway's long wave frequency of 216kHz is to be reactivated by an independent operator holding a seven year licence. Two groups in Norway are interested in the licence and a decision is due in the summer. Northern Star International, one of the groups hoping to be awarded the licence, plan to build a transmitter site on the coast and target an international audience with the frequency's authorised 1,200kW ERP. Source: Mike Terry/British DX Club

LMFM now have a station website. Surf to www.lmfm.ie to check it out.

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Power FM were on a blank carrier this evening. The station can usually be heard on 97.2MHz in Dublin.

Power FM in Cork plan a return to live programming next week. Reception reports for the station's tests on 107.6MHz have been encouraging and testing will continue until their live schedule resumes on Tuesday.

NTL's relay of BBC Five Live in Dublin disappeared again last night. The 95.1FM relay frequency went silent, causing a lot of concerned subscribers to contact the cable company. The problem was a loss of signal from the company's Northern Ireland headquarters, who beam the signal to the NTL network in the Republic. The service was restored at 5pm this evening. Concern at the loss of signal was caused by the fact that NTL customers were without Five Live for a long period last year when the station discontinued their analogue service on 19°East. Five Live can also be received on 990, 909 and 693kHz medium wave.

Phantom Worldwide's internet relaunch has been put back for one week as a result of the heavy workload involved in the station's licence application. Their live schedule will now resume on Saturday, January 27th.

A presenter on Century 105.4FM's breakfast show in England's North-West was on the ball yesterday when he made a hoax phone call to the national football manager, Sven-Goran Eriksson. The new England supremo believed he was in conversation with Kevin Keegan and revealed some of his future plans for the team and also asked to meet up with the former England coach when he returns to England. Impressionist Mike Maguire, who co-presents the show with Tony Horne, has also tricked the likes of Alan Shearer and Martin O'Neill.

Nova Dance, who broadcast in Dublin on 94.7MHz, were on a blank carrier this morning but returned about lunchtime.

WOD1.com, the internet-only dance radio station, say they are capturing the minds of listeners from across the planet. Launched by Flycatcher Media Ltd, a sister company of Dublin's FM104, WOD1.com is averaging 6000 listeners a day globally - which breaks down to 40% from the US, 45% from Europe and the remainder from Australia, Africa and Asia. "These figures reflect the ever-growing international nature of both the Internet and dance culture," a statement issued by the station said. "WOD1.com is a lifestyle concept aimed at the 16-26 markets, interested in every genre of Dance music, and is quickly spreading across the globe by word-of-mouth. The aim of the station was to create and deliver a multimedia experience through a relatively new medium (internet-radio), while also offering a comprehensive personalised service for dance music lovers".
Flycather managing director Jill McGrath added, ”WOD1.com is an electrifying arrival to the underground music scene, providing a unique and exciting experience for all its listeners. It’s reinventing radio for the interactive age. With the help of our listeners we aim to make WOD1 the worlds premier dance Internet station” .

Bob Tomalski, one of London's free radio stalwarts of the 1970's and 80's, passed away on the 13th January, aged 47. Shortwave listeners of the late 1970's will remember him as Roger Tate doing the mailbox programme on European Music Radio, one of the best remembered stations of this era. Listeners in London will remember him as one of the early team which set up Radio Invicta, the soul pirate station which influenced so many of the later London stations. More recently he was a fan of new electronic media equipment, and appeared quite often on Radio Nederland's Media Network and other broadcasters. Source: Gary Hogg

XFM, Dublin's alternative station on 107.9MHz, are on a blank carrier this evening.

Epic FM, a new station based in Mallow, Co Cork, is set to launch soon.

The BBC's proposals for new national digital media services in the UK have been published and included in those plans are major new radio stations with new platforms for existing services. In addition to four new or revamped television channels, the BBC are seeking approval to launch a new radio service for a young audience focussing on black music, news and factual programmes. A second service would offer popular music from the 70's to the 90's and a third would which would make use of the comedy and drama archives at the BBC but would also include new productions. Sports events would be covered by BBC Five Live Sports Plus, supplementing the current sports output from the traditional Five Live service and finally, the BBC propose to make the regional Asian Network available on a nationwide basis.
Also featured were plans to make the World Service available in the UK to those with digital audio receivers and via the Internet.

Freedom 92's relay of BBC Radio 1 suffered for a period this morning with audio problems.

A blank carrier has appeared this evening on 102.4MHz. Power FM were broadcasting a blank carrier again this morning. Music was heard for a short period this afternoon on 89.8MHz.

Static FM, who have been testing in Mayo on 103.7MHz, will start programming sometime in February with no date set yet. The station will be on air between 6pm and 10pm each evening playing dance music and 'anything that is good from the charts.' Static FM will also be broadcasting on 106.5MHz.

Problems with DMR FM's link today caused Freedom 92FM - with RDS - to be relayed on 97.8MHz for the second time recently. The problem is being caused as a result of DMR FM's link frequency being too close to Freedom's.

Energy 94FM were off air on 94.1MHz this afternoon due to technical difficulties. Transmissions continued as normal on 93.8MHz. Energy broadcast dance music to Dublin.

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Magic, Limerick's rock music station, have moved frequency again but this time to much further down the band. The station who have been recently moving back and forth from 103.2MHz to 103.5MHz can now be heard with a stronger signal on 107.3MHz.

Power FM were off the air for much of today. They returned late afternoon with automated programming only. Meanwhile XFM, Dublin's alternative music station on 107.9MHz, were operating on a blank carrier for much of this evening.

The IRTC announced yesterday that it has received a total of thirteen applications for two new radio services aimed at the Dublin market. The services proposed are a special interest music service for the FM band in Dublin City - for which they have received nine applications - and a religious service for Dublin City and County on the AM band - for which they have received four applications. Detailed assessment of the applications will now take place and a meeting will follow on February 26th in which the Commission may or may not decide to award a licence. Alternatively, the IRTC may release a short-list with applicants then invited to participate in public hearings, which would be scheduled for late March. Following these hearings, final decisions are likely to be made at the Board meeting in April. 'We are delighted with the strong level of interest shown in the two licences', IRTC Chief Executive Michael O'Keeffe said. 'The standard is impressive and we now look forward to the next phase of the process'.

The IRTC have received nine applications for the special interest licence in Dublin which will broadcast on 106.8MHz. Details of the nine are: Classic Rock 106.8FM, who plan to offer Classic Rock to a targetted 20-44 years of age market; Country 106.8FM, whose musical output would consist of Country & Irish; FM106.8, the City who would broadcast a playlist consisting of Rock & modern Irish music; Inspire FM - already familiar to listeners as UCB - would offer a music-based Christian service for over 55's; Jazz FM, who recently departed the airwaves after five years broadcasting their Jazz, Rhythm & Blues mix to Dublin; Phantom FM, who also recently ceased broadcasting on Dublin's FM band, would play a mix of Alternative Rock & Irish based music to a 15-34 years of age market; Star FM's playlist would be Country & Irish music; X106.8 would play a Contemporary Alternative Rock mix if offered the opportunity and finally, zer0 106.8 would target a 19-39 years of age audience with a diet of Alternative Rock, retro rock, Rhythm & Blues & Soul.

The IRTC have received four applications to broadcast a religious service in Dublin on the AM band. The four are Solas AM, UCB, Radio Maria and a group calling itself 'People into God'. Solas AM's backers include a former RTE director-general, a former GAA president and a former director of programmes at RTE. They will broadcast news and current affairs programmes from a mainly Christian viewpoint but propose to include features for those of other faiths. UCB operate from the UK and are already available on satellite. They can also presently be heard over much of the country on FM and AM relays which the company claim have nothing to do with them. Radio Maria are Italian-based and are already operating in 26 countries. They want to offer prayers, bible readings and spiritual and Irish music to a Dublin audience.

Rolling Stone Ron Wood is part of a group which includes Today FM, Harry Crosbie and Peter Aiken who are bidding to put X106.8FM, an alternative rock music station, on the air in Dublin. Wood has a 10% stake in the group as has Aiken. Crosbie, who is a Vicar Street promoter along with Aiken, has a 20% interest. Today FM make up the numbers with a 40% stake. This is against current IRTC guidelines which do not permit a single shareholder to have more than a 27% interest. However Beat FM, one of the shortlisted groups for the Cork Radio licence, also has a 40% shareholder - Today FM! The proposed station would be based above the Vicar Street venue in Thomas Street, at the heart of Dublin's Liberties.

A station identifying as SMR 105.3 and playing old station recordings from the likes of Coast FM, Sunset FM and Kiss FM have been heard on 105.3MHz in Dublin's southside. They were previously on air as the renamed CN FM, 'The Cool Network', on 102.9FM a few years ago but went off looking for a better frequency. They never returned - until now. Source: J.P. Kennedy/David C

DMR FM, normally on 97.8MHz in Dublin, are off air this evening.

A new hospital radio station will be on air in Limerick by the end of the month. Regional Hospital Radio (RHR) will broadcast 24 hours a day - live from 4pm to midnight - on 107.2MHz from the city's Mid-Western Regional Hospital. Tonight's Limerick Leader reports that the station has received a gift of £3,000 from Ulster Bank.

The station broadcasting on 95.4MHz to the southside of Dublin will be going 24 hours a day soon, with the addition of satellite relays & occasional live programmes. They currently relay BBC Radio 1 from 1.30pm - 6pm every weekday, followed by continuous Chart and Dance music until midnight. On Saturdays, the Radio 1 relay starts earlier at 7.30am and runs for twelve hours followed again by continuous music until 1.30am. On Sunday's the station plays a mix of Anorak programming, continuous music and Radio 1 relays from 11am until midnight.

DMR FM are carrying out work on their transmitter and link aerial which has meant a loss of transmission since yesterday. If all goes according to plan they hope to be back on air by 11pm this evening. DMR FM can usually be heard in Dublin on 97.8MHz.

"72% of Dubliners would listen to a radio station dedicated to Jazz music." That's the claim made by the founder of the Eddie Rocket's burger chain, Niall Fortune, a figure backed by research he adds. In an interview with the Evening Herald, Mr Fortune said that he thinks Dublin would benefit from some intelligent music, rather than just pop. He has put his weight behind the Jazz FM bid for the new special interest radio licence for the city. He told the newspaper that he got involved because he is "sick of listening to rubbish on the radio." Jazz FM in the UK has taken a 27% stake in the consortium which also includes Ollie Dowling - who ran Jazz FM in Dublin, Jazz Festival organiser Jack McGouran and Brendan Cronin, a former Today FM producer.

Magic 107.3 in Limerick have had to close again as a result of tests for the new hospital station starting in the region shortly. Regional Hospital Radio will operate on 107.2MHz, forcing Magic off their 107.3MHz frequency. The station plan to return this weekend on a new frequency.

Antenna problems have forced Cork's Power FM off the air again. The station hope to be back with a new jingle package and a new frequency, 106.4MHz, as soon as possible.

Virgin Radio in the UK plan to refocus their musical output to a more traditional classic rock and pop format. In the light of market research carried out on behalf of the station, they say they will ditch indistinct teen-appeal boy/girl bands in order to concentrate more on what they refer to as the 'musically disenfranchised' 30-40 year age group. Virgin Radio will be embarking on a major marketing offensive starting Spring 2001 to support its music policy.

Thunder 107.7 have been ordered off the air by the ODTR. In a phone-call to station manager Lawrence John in Belfast today, the ODTR claimed that the station's broadcast was causing interference to aircraft in Dublin. The transmitters were switched off immediately. "All signals at Alien Mountain pass through broadcast spec band pass filters, so this sort of problem does not arise," station engineer Miles J told Radiowaves. He also suggested that the station may return on a different frequency but for now an investigation is planned to determine where the interference was.

Phantom Worldwide's live internet relaunch has now been put back until next weekend while they await delivery of essential equipment.

Musicmann 279, the planned international long wave station from the Isle of Man, has received a further serious set-back after planning permission was rejected on grounds of visual impact. The station wanted to build a Crossed Field Antenna at Bride for it's future transmissions. In a lengthy report, an independent planning inspector from Northern Ireland told the island's government ministers that the station's proposals were contrary to the 1982 Structure Plan's policies on land use and would be harmful to the visual amenities in the area chosen. The Inspector dismissed other claims put forward by objectors: "The rejection of the application on the grounds of noise would not be warranted ," said Mr Hawthorne. He also agreed with the Director of Health, the Assessor and the applicant, who refuted suggestions about the dangers to health or any adverse effects on ecology from the Long Wave signals.
The Inspector also rejected objections about the possibility of interference: "The matter of possible interference is a matter for the Radiocommunications Agency," says Mr Hawthorne in the report. "Planning authorities should not seek to usurp the powers of other regulatory bodies."
The report is the latest obstacle for the company which was established in 1994 to operate the radio station which would be heard across the British Isles and into Europe. "While we are disappointed by the outcome of the Special Inquiry, we are comforted by the fact that from a long list of allegations made against the application, the only valid concerns have been found to be visual impact and land use,"said Paul Rusling, the project's founder, who vowed that the project will continue. "The site was the best of 48 locations we considered on engineering grounds, and is in a pretty remote location. While there are several other less intrusive places we could site the CFA, moving to these will impact upon the coverage we shall be able to achieve." At the Inquiry it was revealed that moving the transmission site away from the northern tip of the Island would necessitate a fresh application for frequency clearance to the ITU in Geneva. "We are sure other countries will be very keen to get hold of this frequency," explained Rusling. New long wave stations are already being set up in other nearby countries to broadcast into the UK. The frequency is a valuable resource which won't lie fallow for long."

Energy 94FM's 93.8MHz transmissions were off air for a period this evening.

WXTC - formerly Radio Caroline Dublin - are about to return to Dublin's airwaves. An announcement added to their website in the last few hours states that they will be back on air 'this week'. No frequency details have been given.

ABC 94FM's frequencies have become active again this evening, but are carrying Premier FM, who are also on their usual frequency of 92.6MHz. ABC 94FM have been off the air making adjustments, a period in which they could only be heard on short wave. Their frequencies of 94.3MHz and 87.6MHz are carrying an RDS reading of '94FM'.

Nova Dance - who broadcast to Dublin on 94.7MHz - were on a blank carrier this morning. They also have a new look webpage at www.nova947.homepage.com.

From tomorrow, the station testing on the southside of Dublin on 95.4MHz will be known as Swirl FM. They will continue to relay BBC Radio 1 during the day with a mix of continuous dance and chart music in the evening. From next week, the Anorak Hour will be relayed at 7pm and 11pm on Sundays. Swirl FM's website can be accessed at www.swirlfm.com and their email address is studio@swirlfm.com

Magic FM are now broadcasting on 107.6FM following recent problems on several different frequencies. Kiss Fm, who can be heard on 106.0MHz and 106.3MHz, have dropped live programming and their dance format over the past week. They are now playing continuous pop music from the past and present.

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UTV's 100% takeover bid for three commercial radio stations in Cork has been blocked by the IRTC. At a meeting today in Cork in which the Commission were also hearing oral submissions from the three shortlisted bidders for the Cork licence, the application by County Media for a change of ownership was rejected as a breach of IRTC guidelines which doesn't allow an existing media company to hold more than 27% ownership of another radio service. The Commission also said that the deal was not in accordance with their commitment to local ownership. They have said, however, that it will review its overall policy in relation to the ownership of radio stations in April and has indicated that it may reconsider UTV's bid in the context of this review.

Serious doubt has been cast on a rumour that Chris Cary is interested in a position in East Coast Radio. Sybil Fennell states that the first she heard of the story was when she read it in 'The Radio Magazine' and she doubts that Chris has even heard the rumour 'so I wouldn't place any store by it'. In relation to Chris' health, she says that he will need an 'awful lot of physiotherapy' to sort himself out when he's free.

Triple FM have been awarded an RSL by the UK's Radio Authority to broadcast to Belfast on 106.2MHz from 18th February to the 17th March to celebrate St Patrick's Day.

Power FM in Dublin were on a blank carrier on 97.2MHz again this afternoon. Music from an unidentified source was heard for a short period on 91.6MHz yesterday afternoon in Dublin. Magic 105 and Energy 106 from Monaghan's Alien Mountain continue to be off air.

Kiss FM Limerick will be back on air with live programming from the first week in February. The reason there are few live programmes at present is because a new computer system and software are being installed. This will allow text requests and more to be fed into the computer and a music database is being prepared at the moment. It is also hoped that anew schedule will be in place for the resumption of live programming. Source: Radioactive

The three shortlisted stations for the new Cork radio licence stated their case at an IRTC meeting in the city yesterday.
Beat FM is probably the most controversial of the three as their shareholders include a 40% stake from Radio Ireland. This figure contravenes IRTC guidelines which limits any existing media group from holding more than 27% in another licence. Ironically, earlier yesterday, the Commission blocked UTV's 100% takeover bid of three local radio stations on that very basis. When asked about the 40% shareholding at the meeting, Today FM chief Willie O'Reilly said, "We are asking the IRTC to look at the guidelines because we have always seen them as [guidelines] rather than statutory regulations." There would not be much return from a 27% investment for Radio Ireland, he added. Beat FM believe that the successful formula applied nationally by Today FM (who are owned by Radio Ireland) can be applied equally successfully to the local market. Beat FM would target a 15-34 year old market with a mix of music and humour for morning listeners and a late night phone-in show similar to those presently available on Dublin's local stations. Asked how this would be monitored to prevent offensive views being broadcast, Mr O'Reilly pointed out that a seven second delay would be employed. He also said that "young people in Cork want their own music...their own phone-in show and their own news service."
Magic FM, whose shareholders include Fox Radio Ltd (27%), Radio Kerry (15%) and Lite FM (10%), would provide a music (70%) and chat service for the 25-54 age group, who they say are not presently catered for by existing stations. "The young people under 25 who want to hear pop and rock are served by 96FM, while older people are served by 103FM", according to Magic FM chairman Gerry Murphy, "but there is a large gap in the middle and that's where we come in." Magic Fm will offer a mix of easy listening music and strong local news and sports coverage. Musical offerings will consist of tracks from the 1960's, 70's and 80's along with contemporary adult music plus Country and Irish. The station would offer an alternative to Morning Ireland - Good Morning Cork - although music would be included. They have also vowed to recruit all their staff locally.
Red Hot FM's investors include local-based Thomas Crosbie Holdings (20%); Cork-born Henry Owens (10%) who is founder of Atlantic 252 and current head of programming at Virgin Radio and also various personnel from FM104 in Dublin. Their plans are for a 'hot' new youth station for the under-35's which will be radically different from what is presently on offer from 96FM and 103FM. Musical offerings will consist of a mix of dance, rock, chart and will also focus on emerging Irish talent. Red Rooster for breakfast, Red Beat for the lunchtime news and a late night phone-in show, Cork Talks Back are the main programmes planned and they have stated that at least 80% of their programming would be locally sourced and produced. Four hours a week has also been reserved for Ireland's first-ever dedicated gay programme, Pink on Red.
The IRTC said that it was impressed with all three presentations and will announce the winner towards the end of February .

Oliver Barry, Century Radio co-founder, today angrily denied rumours that he had made a second payment of £40,000 to Ray Burke. Mr Barry has already admitted to paying Mr Burke £35,000 and he insists that this is the only payment he made to the then Minister of Communications. He also spoke of efforts to keep the beleagured radio station afloat, including a proposal to merge Century with 2FM, RTE's pop music channel. He admitted, however, that the biggest mistake made was in spending far too much money - nearly £1m - on non-radio related activities. Tribunal chairman Mr Justice Feargus Flood countered by asking whether it had ever occurred to Century's board of directors that the real problem lay in their failure to broadcast programming that was attractive to listeners.

Jaap Verwey died over the weekend at the age of 85. Together with his brothers Dirk and Hendrik - better known as Bull Verwey - Jaap was the co-founder of the offshore radio station Radio Veronica back in 1959. Radio Veronica started transmissions in April 1960 and it's impact on the radio industry in Holland is comparable to Radio Caroline in Britain during the same period. It continued broadcasting until the Dutch version of the Marine Offences Act became law on August 31st 1974. At 91, Hendrik is now the only survivor of the three. Dirk died in 1972 during a business trip to Italy. Source: Mike Terry

Discussions are currently underway which may result in an extension to Radio Caroline's satellite broadcasting hours. This would take the form of a slight extension of the main service and an additional evening of specialist music programming. Source: Mike Terry