Ireland's Classic Hits Radio is an Irish
independent multi-region radio station based in
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, and broadcasting to that city as well as
Cork
"Cork" or "CORK" may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
*** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine
Places Ireland
* ...
,
Limerick
Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...
,
Galway
Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
,
County Clare
County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...
,
County Wicklow
County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...
,
County Kildare
County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, 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 gove ...
,
County Meath
County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...
. It can also be picked up in parts of
County Kerry
County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...
,
County Tipperary
County Tipperary () 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 after the town of Tipperary (tow ...
,
County Waterford
County Waterford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the city of Waterford. ...
,
County Wexford
County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...
and
County Mayo
County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...
.
The station broadcasts under a sound broadcasting contract from the
Broadcasting Authority of Ireland
The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI; ) is a former broadcasting authority which regulated both public and commercial broadcasting sector in Ireland.
It was established in 2009, effectively replacing the Broadcasting Commission of Irel ...
, aimed at Ireland's four main commuter belts, hence its original name of "4FM". It later went by "Classic Hits 4FM", dropping the "4FM" part in 2018 and becoming Ireland's Classic Hits Radio in 2021.
The station is part of Bay Broadcasting Limited, which also has interests in
Radio Nova and
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 Th ...
.
Programming
Ireland's Classic Hits's slogan is The Home of The 80s and 90s and it has mainly
adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
/
classic hits focused driven format with music from the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, with occasional songs from the 2010s and small amounts of
classic country and
hot adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
titles.
The station's flagship breakfast show, The Colm & Lucy Breakfast Show, is presented by
Colm Hayes
Colm Caffrey, known professionally as Colm Hayes, is an Irish radio broadcaster and sometimes television presenter. He formerly presented weekend breakfasts on RTÉ 2fm.
Hayes had a 10-year radio partnership with James "Jim-Jim" Nugent, begin ...
and
Lucy Kennedy with other presenters including Trina Mara,
Niall Boylan
Niall Boylan (born 21 September 1963) is an Irish radio presenter, podcaster, and political candidate. He was the presenter of ''The Niall Boylan Show'' on Classic Hits 4FM, broadcasting Monday to Friday from 12 to 2 pm and again from 9 pm to 1 ...
, Damien Farrelly, Gareth O'Callaghan, Ruth Scott, Adrian Kennedy, Barry Lang, Enda Murphy, Lisa Gernon and Meghann Scully. Niall Boylan hosts two daily phone-in shows from 12:00-14:00 and 21:00-23:00. The show won the best talk show award at the New York Festivals International Radio Program Awards Gala in June 2017.
A four-hour
drivetime
DriveTime Automotive Group Inc. is an American used car retailer and finance company. It is based in Tempe, Arizona, and sells and finances cars to customers around the nation. The company was formerly known as Ugly Duckling and was renamed Dr ...
show is hosted by former 2FM presenter Damian Farrelly.
The station has a commitment to regularly playing Irish music, which it promotes under the slogan ''Guaranteed Irish''. A specialist Irish-language programme is hosted on Sunday nights by Meghann Scully.
Additional specialist programming includes the twice-daily segment ''Classic Song Investigation'', ''Classic Love Songs'' and ''Club Classics''
In 2021 the station announced that
Kim Wilde
Kim Wilde (born Kim Smith, 18 November 1960) is an English pop singer. She first gained success in 1981 with her debut single "Kids in America", which peaked at no. 2 in the UK. In 1983, she received the Brit Award for Best British Female solo ...
would present a custom version of 'The Kim Wilde 80s Show' each weekday evening at 6pm. In addition, the station announced the return of broadcaster Gareth O'Callaghan to its schedule in January 2022.
Programming is broadcast from its digital studios located at Castleforbes House in Dublin's Docklands area.
Former Presenters
The breakfast show was previously presented by PJ and Damien Farrelly, before that Jim McCabe and originally Gareth O'Callaghan.
Awards
Frequencies
Cork
Limerick/Clare
Galway
Greater Dublin
References
External links
Official website
{{coord missing, Ireland
Adult contemporary radio stations in Ireland
Radio stations in the Republic of Ireland
Mass media in County Cork
Mass media in County Galway
Mass media in County Clare
Mass media in County Limerick
Mass media in Dublin (city)
Radio stations established in 2009
2009 establishments in Ireland