Broadcaster
Gerry Byrne
Gerry is a native of Kingscourt, County Cavan.
He honed his craft in Ireland working in the border region on Radio Carousel and Telstar in Dundalk and Big M and Radio Star in Monaghan. Gerry recounts, "This ignited my passion for the magic of radio."
Gerry moved to London in the 1990s ambitious to develop his career but under no illusion that getting established would be easy as earlier precedents by others had faltered. Gerry reflects, "I knew there was interest in Irish Radio but nevertheless it was a challenge to get the right platform. We made it work. It was a different era, still a time of mass immigration of Irish. Dance halls and pubs enjoyed a heyday. People were going out more.
Now staying in is the new going out and I'm pleased I can provide entertainment for people in the comfort of their own homes! Of course, with modern technology, it's great that people can also opt to listen on the go or on our 'listen again' service. I'm delighted to have been a broadcaster continuously since relocating to London and, to this day, have retained my original listeners. As their families have grown and second, third and fourth generation Irish are so proud of their heritage,
the content of our channel appeals to them, too. I owe everything to audience support and my output is informed by comments and feedback. Iconic artists like BIg Tom, Louise Morrissey and more are ever-popular and today's artists such as Nathan Carter, Derek Ryan and Mike Denver have taken the Irish charts by storm and are selling out venues worldwide. Long may it continue that we can give the people what they want!"
The Irish diaspora numbers 80 million globally. Gerry is delighted to get emails from every continent - people are tuning in from America to Zimbabwe and most places in-between! Spread the word!
He honed his craft in Ireland working in the border region on Radio Carousel and Telstar in Dundalk and Big M and Radio Star in Monaghan. Gerry recounts, "This ignited my passion for the magic of radio."
Gerry moved to London in the 1990s ambitious to develop his career but under no illusion that getting established would be easy as earlier precedents by others had faltered. Gerry reflects, "I knew there was interest in Irish Radio but nevertheless it was a challenge to get the right platform. We made it work. It was a different era, still a time of mass immigration of Irish. Dance halls and pubs enjoyed a heyday. People were going out more.
Now staying in is the new going out and I'm pleased I can provide entertainment for people in the comfort of their own homes! Of course, with modern technology, it's great that people can also opt to listen on the go or on our 'listen again' service. I'm delighted to have been a broadcaster continuously since relocating to London and, to this day, have retained my original listeners. As their families have grown and second, third and fourth generation Irish are so proud of their heritage,
the content of our channel appeals to them, too. I owe everything to audience support and my output is informed by comments and feedback. Iconic artists like BIg Tom, Louise Morrissey and more are ever-popular and today's artists such as Nathan Carter, Derek Ryan and Mike Denver have taken the Irish charts by storm and are selling out venues worldwide. Long may it continue that we can give the people what they want!"
The Irish diaspora numbers 80 million globally. Gerry is delighted to get emails from every continent - people are tuning in from America to Zimbabwe and most places in-between! Spread the word!
13:00 - 15:00
