WEDNESDAY, August 25 was a red letter day for all concerned with the efforts to establish a community radio station in Charleville.

It was the day when representatives of Ballyhoura Community Radio (BCR), chairman, John Harrold and director, P.J. O'Gorman signed a contract to broadcast with Kieran Kissane and Michael Moriarty of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) in Dublin.

BCR community radio studio is located in Smith's Lane and will broadcast on the 92.6fm waveband to communities within an eight miles radius of Charleville town in counties Cork and Limerick. Presenters have been undergoing training in the studio over the past few months in preparation for going on air, all going well, around mid-September.

Speaking at the signing, Ciarán Kissane, Head of Contract Awards BAI said: "I would like to congratulate Ballyhoura Community Radio on their contract signing and wish them every success over the term of the license. Community Radio is an important element of local media and I am confident the service can add to the sense of Community in the Charleville area."

BCR FM, operated by Ballyhoura Community Radio Limited, will provide a community radio service to the town of Charleville and its environs. The service is expected to launch in mid-September and will initially broadcast at weekends with plans to extend the schedule further during 2011.

Founder members P.J. O'Gorman and John Harrold, travelled to Dublin on Wednesday to sign the ten year contract with the BAI. This comes on foot of six years of gruelling work and effort by a large number of people, some of it very frustrating as they strived to overcome the many obstacles which they had to surmount including the financial aspect of locating premises and equipping the studio.

Many people dropped out along the way due to varying circumstances but a small group stuck to the task and they are now finally rewarded with the signing of the contract. Commenting on the new BCR contract, chairman, John Harrold, said it was tribute to the hard work of a big number of volunteers who have given their time and talents to get the station up and running.

"It has been a long and tortuous journey over the past six years with many false starts and disappointments but a core group of people persevered and the project is now one step away from coming to fruition. The final part is the erection of a transmission mast at Broghill, which is due to be completed in the coming weeks.

"Community Radio is a not for profit organisation and only the station manager and a small staff get paid, financed by Pobal funding, otherwise volunteers present programmes and offer support to the running of the station in other spheres such as fund raising, liaising with the other communities, researching programmes and sourcing volunteers. The new radio station will give a massive boost to the town and area as local people will now have a platform to make their views known on matters concerning their localities," said Mr. Harrold.

The idea for a community radio station in the town was first proposed to Charleville Chamber in 2004 who then appointed P.J. O'Gorman and Michael McGrath to further research the idea. They, in turn, were joined by Jim Foley from Charleville Community Council and John Harrold to assist in the project.

They visited other community stations around the country before deciding that having such a radio in Charleville was a feasible proposition. Along the way they received the utmost cooperation and encouragement from the other community radio stations and invaluable help from CRAOL the umbrella body for community radio stations on many issues relating to the concept of community radio.

This small committee reported back to the Chamber and got permission to call a public meeting, which was held at the Schoolyard Theatre, where the idea was enthusiastically endorsed by a capacity meeting and the committee was expanded and mandated to continue the process of applying to the then Broadcasting Commission of Ireland, now the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, for a licence to broadcast.

Now that the contract has been secured the station manager Ms Dee Collins and her staff and volunteer presenters face into a very busy period as they will be ensuring that everything is in readiness for going on air later on this month. The community radio will add another exciting dimension to life in the town and in the surrounding areas in the years ahead.

- MIKE MCGRATH