RTÉ to air from GPO to mark a centenary of broadcasting
2RN began transmitting in January 1926
At 7.45pm on 1st January 1926, the precursor to RTÉ, then 2RN, delivered the fledgling new Irish state’s first public radio transmission. From those first crackling transmissions to the wide range of audio, video and social media services which are now part of daily life, for 100 years, public service media has remained a trusted and essential voice in Irish life. Across that century RTÉ, in its guises as 2RN, Radio Éireann, Teilifís Éireann and latterly RTÉ, has been at the centre of Irish life, informing, engaging and entertaining the nation across an expanding range of services.
For a century, RTÉ, as Ireland's national public service broadcaster - and more recently, with the expansion of its services beyond radio and television broadcasting, as Ireland's national public service media organisation - has helped shape our national identity, telling our stories, good and bad, in English and in Irish, celebrating our achievements, supporting creative talent and bringing people together for important national moments - cultural, political and sporting - and preserving these valuable shared memories.
Running across the year, RTÉ will mark this centenary by presenting a carefully curated programme of content across all services as well as special performances and outreach initiatives from the RTÉ Concert Orchestra.
On Thursday 15th January, from 7am, RTÉ will broadcast live from the GPO across RTÉ Radio1, RTÉ 2fm, RTÉ lyric fm and RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta to officially launch the 100th year of public broadcasting in Ireland.
'My Sound Life' will be a new radio and podcast series that documents the role that sound, including radio, has played in the lives of a broad range of contributors.
The RTÉ Concert Orchestra will present a series of special performances around the country in front of live audiences and live on RTÉ Radio 1 and RTÉ lyric fm.
'On Air' will be a 10 part-half-hour radio and podcast series, a people’s story of 2RN to RTÉ, capturing what, where and how we heard of ourselves across a century. On Air will include some special commissions. The accompanying book published with New Island, will be fully illustrated with colour photographs and unique documents from the RTÉ Archives and elsewhere, many of which will be published for the first time.
'Sunday Miscellany' will touch on the centenary of broadcasting periodically across 2026, starting in January with reflections and reminiscences from writers Olivia O'Leary, Gerry Stembridge, Doireann Ní Bhriain, Felicity Hayes McCoy, Margaret Galvin and many more. John Bowman will continue to showcase the richness of the RTÉ Archive every Sunday morning throughout 2026, with editions focused on the history of radio; and the role which it has played in Irish life, on 'Bowman: Sunday: 8.30'
RTÉ Radio 1’s 'The Rolling Wave' will present a series of programmes spotlighting the role radio has played in the development the Irish traditional music scene in Ireland. There will also be additional programming across RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta.
'A Century of Stories' is a two-part documentary whi h will take a non-linear look at how 2RN, Raidió Éireann and RTÉ evolved to tell Ireland's story to ourselves and to the world. From the early crystal radio sets to TikTok trends and beyond, the series will look at music, sport, news, Irish-language, drama and comedy and how these helped shape the story of a nation. The series will also consider how public service media's creativity, constraints and occasionally even contrary nature continue to reflect Ireland and the world into the next century.
Over the course of the year, 'Nationwide' will feature themed reports which explore how public service broadcasting has helped communities across the country.
Online, RTÉ.ie will curate and contextualise the wealth of content associated with the centenary across all RTÉ platforms, drawing on the rich resource that is RTÉ Archives.
RTÉ Director-General, Kevin Bakhurst says: "I am privileged to lead RTÉ as we mark an incredible 100 years and the special role public media continues to play in Ireland at a time when we face so much uncertainty and so many challenges in the world."While much has changed, the need for strong, independent and trusted public service media, available to everyone, has never been greater. These celebrations will inevitably look back at key events over the last 100 years, but will also focus on how RTÉ will deliver to audiences in the future, as we continue to challenge disinformation, back creative ambition and innovation, support Irish culture, reflect all of the country and its rich diversity, and bring people together for significant national moments that unite the country.
“I hope the programmes and performances we have put together below to mark this milestone are as celebratory as they are considered, prompting reflection and discussion on why public service media matters and why it is worth fighting for."
Centenary Broadcast
The centenary year will be officially launched on Thursday 15th January, with live broadcasts from the GPO in Dublin beginning at 6am and finishing at 8pm. The GPO is a special place for this celebration as it was the transmission location for Irish radio from 1928 and was the building that housed Radio Éireann until 1976.
The first broadcast took place right around the corner on Little Denmark Street.
Programming this Thursday will be broadcast, in English and in Irish, across RTÉ 2FM, RTÉ Radio 1, RTÉ lyric fm and RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, bringing listeners together to mark this historic milestone.
RTÉ 2FM Breakfast, with Carl, Roz & Aisling will kick-start the day live from the GPO, with their own signature take on Irish events from the last 100 years.
RTÉ Radio 1 Today with David McCullagh will take over at 9am and will feature panel discussions on Irish history, society, sport and music with leading voices from across public life including GAA President, Jarlath Burns, music presenters Dave Fanning and Jenny Greene, Professor of modern Irish history Diarmuid Ferriter, Dublin South Central Historian-in-Residence, Cathy Scuffil and Archivist and author Catriona Crowe. The programme will also include reflections on the evolution of radio advertising and live music from The Henry Girls, Zoe Conway and John McIntyre.
RTÉ lyric fm’s The Full Score with Liz Nolan will mark the centenary with a special programme featuring the Army No. 1 Band, who played the first music heard on 2RN. Tenor Gavan Ring joins them for a number of songs, including two which were performed during that first 1926 broadcast. The symmetry with the original broadcast continues as harpist Aisling Lyons plays music from the era alongside contemporary compositions. Guest speakers include Mairéad Delaney, archivist with The Abbey Theatre, who will illustrate arts life in Ireland in the 1920s and 1930s and Lieutenant Colonel Fergal Carroll, director of the Irish Defence Forces School of Music, on the role of the School and its bands, past and present, as ambassadors for Ireland.
RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta's Tús Áite, presented by Fachtna Ó Drisceoil, will take over from 5pm. The programme will include conversations about the history of the broadcasting service, a look through the archives and special guests will share their memories of Irish radio, including the historian Iarfhlaith Watson, an expert on national identity and Irish-language broadcasting. Doireann Ní Bhriain will share her memories of visiting her mother Neasa Ní Annracháin's workplace, Raidió Éireann as a child, as well as her own career in radio and drama. Ian Lee will reflect on his experience as a radio producer and presenter in Donnybrook, and Síle Ní Bhaoill will recall stories from the control room, major landmark broadcasts and her experience as a pioneering woman in sound engineering among men.
RTÉ Radio 1’s Arena will mark the centenary with a special programme, featuring live music from piper Louise Mulcahy, and Paul Noonan and Brian Crosby, formerly of Bell X1 but now performing as Pilgrim. Arena will also explore writing and the enduring relationship between artists and radio as a creative and cultural space with Booker Prize winning novelist Paul Lynch, Walter Scott Prize winning novelist Christine Dwyer Hickey and Oscar nominated filmmaker Colm Bairéad.
Morning, lunchtime and afternoon RTÉ Weather forecasts will also be broadcast live from the GPO. In addition to the normal forecast, we’ll also get an insight into what the forecast was this day 100 years ago.
Running across the rest of this year, RTÉ will mark this centenary by presenting a curated programme of content across our services as well as special performances and outreach initiatives from the RTÉ Concert Orchestra.