Scariff Bay Community Radio in East Clare has signed contracts for a 10 year broadcasting licence in the Dublin HQ of Ireland’s Media Regulator: Coimisiún na Meán.
The contract signing was overseen by the Broadcast Commissioner Aoife MacEvilly on this truly historic day for Scariff Bay Community Radio.
The new Chair of Scariff Bay Community Radio, Patrick O’Brien, signed the contract along with SBCR Compliance Officer Tom Hanley. They were accompanied by Station Manager Jim Collins and board members Pat McNamara along with SBCR PRO Eoin O’Hagan.
A SBCR spokesman said: “This is a long held dream come through for former Chair Jim Collins who, 10 years ago, gathered a couple of people and discussed starting up a radio station to serve the local community. Our first broadcasts were from a broom closet in Scariff GAA but we soon outgrew this tiny space as our schedule and roster of volunteers grew.”
With the support of Scariff GAA and later the Derg Active Alliance Group, Scariff Bay Community Radio moved into a first floor meeting room which we utilised as a studio, before building a “fit for purpose” radio studio on the ground floor of the Derg Active Alliance Building where we now broadcast from.”
“During the 10 years since we first broadcast online we have engaged with what was formerly the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) and has now become Coimisiún na Meán, to qualify for a FM Licence. The procedure was rigorous and rightly so as there is a lot of legal responsibility involved in radio broadcasting.
The Board of SBCR, led by former Chair Jim Collins had to oversee the growth of our community station and make sure that what we were broadcasting was of a standard that would enable us to attain a full licence,” the spokesperson said.
“Today in Dublin, was the summation of all the hard work put in by the Board and by all our volunteer broadcasters as they made their way through the application process to attain a 10 year licence. We would like to offer our thanks to the Commissioners and all the staff of Coimisiún na Meán for their trust in us, and their support throughout the application process.
Now that Scariff Bay Community Radio has a full licence we will broadcast on FM on Friday evenings as well as all day on Saturday and Sunday. We will also be able to broadcast on FM on days like St. Patrick’s Day, Christmas Day and other special occasions which may fall on weekdays.
Scariff Bay Community Radio will, of course, continue to broadcast online all over the World as well as locally (in East Clare) on 88.3 and 92.7 FM. We are always on the lookout for those that have stories to tell and we always have a slot for those that would like to host their own show.”
