News

Dundalk FM took home three awards from the Craol Achievement Awards 2026, held at the Shamrock Lodge Hotel in Athlone, Co Westmeath, on Thursday, July 16th. “These awards are a true reflection of the dedication and passion of our volunteers, staff and everyone who makes Dundalk FM the heart of our community,” said Dundalk FM. The local community station received two Gold awards and a Silver, with the Dundalk Library Poetry Reading Group also collecting a second special honour for its Irish language programme. Grúpa Léitheoirí Filíochta Leabharlann Dhún Dealgan, the Dundalk Library Poetry Reading Group, received Gold in the Irish Language category. The award recognised a programme created by Yvonne Bagnall, Deirdre McDermott, Pat McKenna, Noel Sharkey, Jervis Byrne, Sally Lambe, Michael Farrell, Patrick Bermingham, Irene Maloney, Loretta Byrne and Alan Byrne. The group’s work brings Irish language poetry to the airwaves, providing an accessible meeting point between language, literature and community broadcasting. Alongside its Gold award, the group received a second special recognition for the programme, underlining the quality of its entry and the members’ commitment to sharing Irish language and culture with Dundalk FM’s listeners. A second Gold award went to presenter Joanne Lavelle for Families of Dundalk in the Irish Culture Showcase category. The six part series explored the history and continuing importance of independent family businesses in Dundalk. Through personal conversations with local business owners, Lavelle examined how well known enterprises began, evolved and overcame the challenges involved in serving the town across several generations. Among the businesses featured were Michael Lynch Menswear, McCormick’s Butchers, Christy McGee Insurance, Holland Hardware, Connell & Co., Terry Kelly Paints, Life Pharmacy in Seatown, Conlon’s Food Deli, McEvoys Stores and Michael Lavelle Estate Agents. The programme also considered the wider role played by Dundalk Chamber of Commerce and the Dundalk Business Improvement District Scheme in supporting the commercial and social life of the town. Common themes running through the series included the importance of families serving families, the trust built between local businesses and their customers, and the pride these enterprises take in contributing to Dundalk. Dundalk FM chairperson Joe Duffy was honoured with Silver in the Social Benefit Music category for his work on the Afternoon Show, Showband Street and as a documentary maker. Duffy’s broadcasting celebrates music as a source of shared memory and community connection. Showband Street, in particular, helps preserve the story and sound of Ireland’s showband era for existing fans while introducing that important part of Irish cultural history to new audiences. The awards were presented by Community Radio Ireland, also known as CRAOL or Raidió Pobail na hÉireann, with the support of Coimisiún na Meán. The latest success continues Dundalk FM’s strong history at the national community radio awards. In 2022, presenter Jason Kelly received Gold in the Access and Inclusion category as well as a special Outstanding Award, while Dundalk FM’s flagship Town Talk programme received Gold for Social Benefit. Kelly was recognised for the confidence, skills and sense of belonging he developed through community broadcasting, including his determination to learn how to broadcast remotely during the pandemic. Town Talk was honoured for its extensive coverage of local affairs and its engagement with community organisations across Dundalk. The 2026 awards demonstrate the breadth of Dundalk FM’s programming. From Irish language poetry and traditional popular music to the stories of local family businesses, the winning entries share a commitment to preserving local identity and giving members of the community an opportunity to tell their own stories. For Dundalk FM, the awards are not simply an acknowledgement of broadcasting quality. They recognise the volunteers, presenters, contributors and community groups whose work ensures that Dundalk’s voices, experiences and cultural traditions continue to be heard.

We’re delighted to share some news with our listeners, volunteers, presenters and everyone who supports community radio in County Louth: Dundalk FM has a brand new website, and it’s live right now at dundalkfm.ie. Community radio has always been about more than just what goes out over the airwaves. It’s about staying connected to the people we serve, morning, noon and night, whether that’s through Good Morning Dundalk at breakfast time or Classics with Colette as the evening winds down. These days, that connection doesn’t stop at 97.7FM. A huge number of you find us online first, whether you’re checking the schedule before a show starts, catching up on local news, or tuning in to the live stream from your phone on the school run. A modern, easy-to-use website has become just as much a part of how we serve Dundalk and the surrounding area as our broadcasts themselves, and we felt it was time ours reflected that. Why It Was Time for a New Website Like anything that’s been around a while, our old website had served us well, but the way people use the internet has moved on quite a bit. More of you are browsing on phones than ever before. You want to find a programme, a presenter, or a way to get in touch without having to hunt through menus. And behind the scenes, our own team needed something simpler to update, so that news, schedules and station announcements could go up quickly rather than getting stuck in a queue. So we set ourselves a fairly simple brief: make the website easier to navigate, quicker to load, friendlier on mobile phones, clearer to look at, and more accessible for everyone, including listeners who use screen readers or other assistive technology. We also wanted programme discovery to be genuinely simple, so that anyone new to Dundalk FM could land on the site and understand within seconds what we do, who’s on air, and how to listen. This wasn’t about starting from scratch or leaving the old site behind with any regret. It was the next natural step for a station that’s been growing steadily and wanted its website to grow alongside it. As part of this project, we worked with Astory Media, a Dundalk-based digital agency, to help us plan and build the new site properly, rather than patching things up piecemeal. More on that a little further down. What Visitors Will Notice A Cleaner, More Modern Design The first thing you’ll spot is that the site simply looks tidier. Pages are less cluttered, text is easier to read, and there’s more breathing room around photos and headlines. We wanted the design to feel calm and welcoming, much like tuning into the station itself, rather than something you have to work hard to make sense of. Built for Mobile A large share of our audience now listens and browses from a phone, whether that’s someone catching Town Talk on their commute or a parent checking what time Drivetime starts. The new site has been built with mobile visitors in mind from the outset, so pages resize properly, buttons are easier to tap, and the listen-live player works smoothly whether you’re on a phone, tablet or laptop. Finding Programmes Is Much Simpler We know one of the main reasons people visit is to find out what’s on. The new site makes it far easier to browse the full programme schedule, see who’s presenting each show, discover our specialist music programmes, and find community-focused shows that cover local issues and events. Station information, like how to contact us or get involved, is also much easier to locate than before. A Faster Website Nobody enjoys waiting for a page to load, especially if you’re just trying to check today’s schedule before you head out the door. A faster website means less waiting, smoother browsing on slower mobile connections, and a generally more pleasant experience for anyone popping in for a quick look. Better Accessibility for Everyone We’ve paid close attention to accessibility throughout this project, from clearer typography and stronger colour contrast to more straightforward navigation. Community radio is for everyone, and we wanted our website to reflect that same principle, so it’s easier to use whether you’re a longtime listener or visiting Dundalk FM online for the first time. Supporting the Local Community At its heart, Dundalk FM has always been about the community, first, last and always. That hasn’t changed with this new website; if anything, it’s easier now to stay close to what matters. You’ll be able to keep up with local news, find out about community events happening across Dundalk and County Louth, get to know our presenters a little better, discover new music, catch up on interviews, and learn more about the local organisations we work alongside. For anyone thinking about volunteering, whether behind the scenes or on air, the new site makes it simpler to find out how to get involved. Community radio only works because people give their time to it, and we wanted that route in to be clear and welcoming rather than buried away. Our Official Launch We marked the launch with a gathering at the Dundalk Media Centre, and it was, honestly, a lovely evening. Presenters, volunteers, committee members and supporters who’ve been part of Dundalk FM’s story over the years came together to celebrate, along with plenty of familiar faces from the local community. The undoubted highlight of the night was a performance from renowned Irish fiddle player Gerry O’Connor, who played a set of traditional music before officially introducing the launch of the new website. It felt like exactly the right way to mark the occasion: a celebration of where Dundalk FM has come from as much as where it’s heading, with traditional music and local voices sitting comfortably alongside a very modern milestone for the station. Working with Astory Media Throughout this project, we worked closely with Astory Media, a marketing and web design agency based

  Sracfhéachaint siar ar a rogha agallaimh agus scéalta ó chláir chainte Raidió na Life Scoth na Seachtaine is a weekly Irish language show first broadcast on Raidio na Life, an Irish language community radio station broadcasting on 106.4 FM in the Dublin area. If you would like to find out how to start a local Dundalk Irish language music, sports or magazine show call the station on 9395100. We would like to have a home grown weekly Irish radio show.

            Congratulations to The Creative Flow – winner for Dundalk FM at the Craol Achievement Awards held in the Regency Hotel on 28th May 2016. Jacinta Matthews is the producer and presenter of The Creative Flow which highlights local and national writers, poets and short story writers. Jacinta also has set up a vibrant Book Club as part of the show. The judges commented on the Creative Flow as being ‘a great platform for creative writers, a very engaging programme with lots of local voices’. You can listen in at 7pm on the first Wednesday of the month or email jacinta@dundalkfm.ie if you would like to take part.     The Creative Flow Submission Guidelines All entries must be original and not previously published or broadcast/recorded in any form of commercial recording. Entries may be on any theme. Short stories must have a word count of between 1500 and 2000 and be typed in double spacing with pages numbered. While copy rights remain the property of the author, Dundalk FM / The Creative Flow programme reserve the right to arrange broadcasting of the selected works. All entries must be accompanied by a submission form. You may submit entries throughout the year. You may enter as many times as you wish. Each entry must have its own submission sheet (one per short story, one per 3-4 poems). The Judges decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into regarding their decision. Entries will not be returned, so make sure you retain your own copy. All submissions, both short story and poems must be in English. All submissions chosen to be aired on The Creative Flow programme will be entered into our annual The Creative Flow Short Story Award and The Creative Flow Poet of The year Award. Submit entries online by email to Jacinta@dundalkfm.ie, or hand in a hard copy to The Creative Flow, DundalkFM, Partnership Court, Park Street, Dundalk. Download an application form below. THE CREATIVE FLOW submission sheet 2015     The Creative Flow was born out of a love of writing and media training at Dundalk FM. Interested in writing short stories and poetry, I joined a creative writers group and quickly came to realise that there is a wealth of talent in Dundalk and the surrounding areas. I thought it would be great to have a programme that showcased this talent and proposed an outline of the programme to the production team at Dundalk FM and The Creative Flow was born. On the first Wednesday in February 2014, the first programme of The Creative Flow aired and the submissions flowed in. So good was the standard that by November, we decided to have an awards show to celebrate the first anniversary of the show and give recognition to the participants. Our winners were Noel Sharkey for poetry and Jean Reinhardt for short story submissions. I really love receiving the submissions and choosing what will make it to air. I am currently accepting submissions for the 2015 awards which is open until November 2015. Keeping story telling in mind, we also have a book club. Each month we feature a new book and are currently building up a panel of reviewers. We chat about the book and I also interview the author. This gives us a unique opportunity to get the inside scoop on the process of writing, what drove the author and the reviewers can put any questions to the author that helps give a greater understanding to the book. So, if you would like to submit your poetry or short stories (download the submission sheet from the website)or are interested in being one of our book reviewers, contact me on Jacinta@dundalkfm.ie or drop into the station at Partnership Court , Park Street, Dundalk . Looking forward to hearing from you. Jacinta    

Thursdays at 6pm Ian Coogan highlights the Glam Era with songs from 19 70 to 1975 such as Alice Cooper, Sweet, T Rex and Sparx.

Cover Up with Ronan Mullen and David McGuinness was a music show which featured bands doing cover versions (yes really!) that ran during 2015 on the first Saturday of every month from 8.00 pm to 9.00 pm.  

  Great music from DJ Jason Kelly – join Jason, (who is also the sound desk man on the Sports Academy) on the third Saturday at 8pm.

Tune into Only the 80’s on the first Saturday of every month, to be treated to an hour of music all from the 1980’s, from 8.00 pm to 9.00 pm with David Rogan.

  Thanks to Margaret Hoey for these fascinating close up photos taken at Stephenstown Pond, Knockbridge. For more photos like these see Margaret’s Facebook Page. Wonderful work, Margaret, very impressive.