Turn on the radio. Move the dial to 97.7 FM. Then tell Dundalk FM what you could hear.
It did not sound like a grand moment in broadcasting history. There was no red carpet and no dramatic countdown. But that small request marked the beginning of a change that would become part of Dundalk life.
After years on 100 FM, the station was moving.
But would anyone hear it?
A new frequency only matters if the voices reach the people waiting on the other side.
So Dundalk FM asked listeners to become part of the test. People tuned in from their kitchens, cars, shops, and workplaces, then reported back on the strength of the new signal.
The first reports were promising. Reception appeared stronger in Knockbridge, Castlebellingham, and Ravensdale.
Every response helped reveal how the new frequency was travelling across Dundalk and North Louth. The audience was helping to build the next chapter as it happened.
That is what made the moment special. The people listening were not treated as numbers on an audience chart. They were participants.
That same idea still sits at the heart of Dundalk FM as a community station. Local people do not simply listen. They contribute, present, share stories, support programmes, and help the station reflect the place it serves.
The postcard that announced a new era
There were no social media algorithms to trust with such an important message. Dundalk FM went directly to local homes.
A postcard through the letterbox reminded listeners that the final day on 100 FM would be Saturday, 31 October 2015. When Sunday morning arrived, the station would have a new home at 97.7 FM.
For listeners, the task took seconds. Turn the dial, find the signal, and save the new preset.
For the station, it was much bigger.
The frequency changed, but the promise did not. Dundalk FM would continue to make radio about local people, local concerns, local culture, and the stories that national broadcasters could never know in quite the same way.
Three numbers that became part of the name
Today, 97.7 feels inseparable from Dundalk FM.
It appears beside the logo. Presenters say it on air. Listeners know exactly where to find it. What began as a technical change became part of the station’s identity.
More than a decade later, you can still tune to 97.7 FM across Dundalk and the surrounding area. You can also listen live to Dundalk FM online, wherever in the world you happen to be.
Yet the real connection has never depended on distance. It comes from hearing a familiar place reflected through familiar voices.
Were you listening when Dundalk FM changed frequency? Share where you heard the new signal and what the station has meant to you over the years. Your memory is part of this story too.
