Tom Gernon / Presenter

Tom Gernon is one of Dundalk FM 97.7’s most devoted and longest-serving volunteer presenters, and his two programmes, Rock Around Dundalk and Back to the 60’s, are among the station’s most consistently loved shows.

Rock Around Dundalk airs every Wednesday at 6pm and is dedicated to rock and roll in all its forms, from its origins in the 1950s through the British Invasion, the blues-rock explosion of the late 1960s, and the classic rock decades beyond. Tom’s encyclopaedic knowledge of the music, built over decades of deep and dedicated listening, makes every episode feel like a conversation with someone who has spent a lifetime thinking seriously about something he loves.

Back to the 60’s, airing every Sunday at 2pm, is a direct celebration of what Tom regards as the most creative and transformative decade in popular music history. The variety of what the 1960s produced, from Motown and soul to psychedelia and folk rock to the British Invasion and beyond, is staggering, and Tom navigates it with both expertise and enthusiasm.

He has been a familiar presence at the station’s community events, serving as question master at a 60s and 70s Pop Music Quiz event that Dundalk FM has hosted at various venues over the years. His warmth and his genuine pleasure in sharing his knowledge with an audience make him a natural in that role.

Tom is also connected to the station’s social media community through his personal Facebook profile and the Rock Around Dundalk Facebook Group, where listeners can keep up with the show between broadcasts and join conversations about the music that means most to them. He is exactly the kind of presenter that community radio was designed to give a platform: deeply knowledgeable, utterly genuine, and completely committed to the station and its community.