LMFM is an independent Local Radio station based in

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. In terms of listenership, It is the largest radio station in Ireland outside of

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 ...

and Cork broadcasting to a population in excess of 300,000 adults. Media group UTV Media, now

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 and ...

, bought the station in a deal worth about €10 million in 2005. LMFM broadcasts on a number of frequencies, the main being either 95.8FM or 95.5FM. The station is licensed 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 ...

to service both Counties Louth &

Meath Meath may refer to: General * County Meath, Republic of Ireland **Kingdom of Meath, medieval precursor of the county ** List of kings of Meath ** Meath GAA, including the intercounty football and hurling teams ** Diocese of Meath, in the Roman Cath ...

. The station also has a strong listenership in counties

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional cent ...

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, Ba ...

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Ireland. It also provides the name of its civil parish and barony. The population of the town as of the 2016 census was 7,678. The town is on the N2 road from Dublin to Derry and Letterken ...

and

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , " Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...

. Its 95.5 MHz transmitter is notable significantly outside its franchise area, in County Dublin.

History

LMFM came to be in 1989 with the awarding of a legal licence to cover the Louth/Meath area. This was obtained by Peter Govern with the assistance of the late Tom Savage of Carr Communications. Independent Media Broadcasting won the licence to provide the service. Most of the on-air staff they went on to hire such as '' Ray Stone, Eddie Caffrey, Daire Nelson, Dermot Finglas & Michael Gerrard'' were DJs from the pirate days of Radio Carousel, Telstar Radio and Boyneside Radio. In 1997 LMFM attempted to attract a larger volume of listeners in the North Dublin & East Meath area by offering an opt-out station with studios in Clonee, Co. Meath. The new venture was called "Fresh 95.5FM". LMFM was successful when it reapplied to keep its current licence in 2003 and was again awarded a licence to providing a radio service to the Louth/Meath area. LMFM is currently based in purpose studios in

, Co. Louth. In 2009 it was the centre of controversy when a call-in programme discussed tensions in the

taxi industry between native Irish and immigrant African drivers. Kevin Faulkner of the Drogheda Taxi Drivers' Association complained about foreign drivers who "speak little English, don't know the geography of the area, have lost their photographic ID or claim it has been stolen" and that complaints could not be pursued because " they all look much the same to the general public." This led to protests outside the station by African drivers.

People

Mattie Kerrigan is an analyst with the station.

References

External links

* * {{Coord missing, Ireland Drogheda Radio stations in the Republic of Ireland Mass media in County Louth Mass media in County Meath Wireless Group