For 100 years, radio has been the voice of the nation, bringing us together and reflecting our changing society.

From the first broadcast of Radio Éireann on 1 January 1926, Irish families gathered around the wireless to listen in. Since then, we've tuned in to breakfast DJs and drive-time programmes, news broadcasts and talk shows that get us discussing national issues.

The presenters and commentators who have filled the airwaves – from Frankie Byrne to Gay Byrne, Din Joe to Dave Fanning and Marian Finucane to Mícheál Ó hEithir – have become household names. As author Rosemary Day delves into the history of radio, she also tells the stories of women in broadcasting, Irish language on the air, internet and pirate radio.

From the music we listen to and the sport we follow, to the news we tune in to, find out how radio has influenced the way we see ourselves and the world.



Introduction 

Forging the Nation: The Early Days of Radio 

Early Programming: What Did it Sound Like? 

Talk Programming: Education, Religion, the Arts 

Straight Talking: News and Current Affairs 

Music on the Air 

Sport on the Radio 

Pirate Radio 

An Gael agus an Raidió: Radio and the Irish Language 

Changing the Dial: Other Stations 

Who Pays the Piper? Radio Finances 

Women on Radio 

From Wireless to Wi-Fi: Radio and Technology 

Epilogue 

Acknowledgements 

Notes for Readers 

Select Bibliography 

Index