Lloyd Hamilton
Contributing Writer
I love radio. I really do. I heart it. Ever since I was a kid. There’s something about the simplicity of it. The way you push a button and music and voice fill the space you’re in. The way it brings us together. The way it makes us feel. Radio for me is about more than a collection of ideas and idle chit chat, it is the enveloping of a nation, a generation. And many people think that it’s an irrelevant way of listening to music but that’s not the case. There are still people that are still finding the best shortwave radio in 2019 for them to listen to their favourite international broadcasts. My Granny listens to Marianne Finnoucan religiously, the same with Pat Kenny. Others choose Ray Darcy, or George Hook. It is funny the effect a connection with a lifeless box can have on us. Radio comes into our homes and allows us to open up and connect with our countrymen and women in a way that television does not. The beauty of it for me has to be that, simplicity. We can take our radio on the move; it can enlighten us on the way home from college on some idle Tuesday. It puts me to sleep at night and I wake up to it in the morning. I was lucky enough to work in two radio stations in secondary school and the feeling of satisfaction shared by all of the people in each station was something that had a lasting effect on me. The idea that all of these people, from the coffee shop workers to the DJ’s and presenters shared a real belief that they were reaching out to people and connecting with them in a way that others can’t gave me a real sense of happiness and it was a great privilege to be a part of it for even a little time.
For that reason , one of the first societies I joined in my first year was Trinity FM. Sure it’s a student radio station and not a national broadcaster , but the same ideals seem to be shared by everyone involved there. The goals and enjoyment that hosts of shows on TFM share is endearing and has continued to keep my belief alive that radio really can change lives. I heard an advert recently saying that the Irish listen to more radio than any other nation. Of course we do! We are a nation of talkers and thinkers, and most importantly, listeners. Chat shows such as Joe Duffy have been staples of the Irish community for years. Current affairs and chat shows give us insight into what’s going on in the world while keeping us involved and encouraging constructive thought. Radio is interactive and it is wonderfully liberating. The idea that someone can sit in a studio somewhere and bring engaging, stimulating conversation and music into peoples’ lives from miles away makes me hope that radio will continue to thrive.
For this reason I urge you to listen to your radio. Pop it on for half an hour a day and you’ll be amazed at what little bit of information you pick up or what new song you hear. There are so many distractions in today’s world , getting back to basics is important. At a Careers Advisory Service talk in the GMB recently I asked one of the speakers (who works in RTE) if she thought that radio would be as influential as it still is now in ten years time. She said she thought it would be and I was reassured. The knowledge for me that we as a whole may continue to keep radio at the forefront of our minds in the years to come with all the hype surrounding social media means that there is hope for us. There is hope that we will continue to share ideas and information on this most important of mediums and that voices of reason and intellectual debate will still be allowed to air their opinions. I’m finishing this article in the library, listening to a radio station I found in Chicago over the summer, and urging you to stick on your radio. You’ll be amazed at what you hear.
