Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

'It's nostalgia - it's like no other radio station I've ever been on': Inside Christmas FM

The staple of Irish Christmas listening is in its fifteenth year — and has a new studio.

YOU WOULD BE forgiven for thinking that after 15 years at the helm of Christmas FM, the station’s veteran staff might be a bit weary of the festive hits that propelled their station to success.

However, as co-founder Garvan Rigby explains, he continues to “love all Christmas songs equally.”

Having recently relocated to a new home in Liffey Valley’s Clayton Hotel, the station is now what Rigby calls “quasi-national” in its FM format, and available globally online.

Halfway through its second decade, Christmas FM now boasts 10 million annual streams, more than half of which come from outside of Ireland.

“Even in May and June, people are listening online.”

So, how did we get here?

“The idea came about in August 2008 when four of us – me, Paul Shepard, Walter Hegarty, and Daragh O’Sullivan were sitting in the pub. The BAI was making temporary licenses available, so we thought, ‘what could we do with a 30-day radio station?’”

After briefly considering other themes, such as disco, the quartet prudently settled on Christmas, and have seen the idea grow into a staple of Ireland’s festive culture. 

Nowadays, all of the station’s costs are covered by sponsorship deals with major brands, such as Coca-Cola, Cadbury’s and An Post, whose products decorate the studio and give it the feel of a post-Christmas living room. The Leo Suite of the Clayton Hotel is being used rent-free in exchange for the occasional on-air shoutout for Dalata Hotel Group. 

It’s a business model that allows Christmas FM to focus on raising funds for charity.

IMG_2980

“Our listeners are very generous,” says Ann-Marie Walsh, a presenter and part of the core management team. “Over the last 14 years, they have donated over €3 million.”

Typically, the station partners with a single charity each year, but Walsh explains that the station has set a goal of raising €1 million over the next three years as part of their Magic of Christmas Initiative, in partnership with Barnardo’s, Barretstown, Make A Wish Ireland and the Community Foundation for Ireland. 

A key element of the fundraising is the station’s Donation Day, which is a radiothon from 7am to 7pm during which regular programming is sidelined, to give service users and charities a chance to communicate their stories to listeners. 

“On that day the phones will be hopping, the studio will be full, we’ll be giving regular updates about the donations coming in,” Walsh says. 

While the station represents a major Irish success story, its popularity is hardly a mystery.

“It really is a beacon for a lot of people at Christmas. It’s a comfort factor, it’s nostalgia. It’s like no other radio station I’ve ever been on,” Walsh says. 

IMG_2974

Asked how things have changed in the last 15 years, Rigby says:

“There’s a lot more work. We’re looking after prize-winners in January, doing reports for sponsors, planning in March and April. The core management team of seven or eight is working part-time on Christmas FM throughout the year.” 

In recent years, certain Christmas lyrics – such as those in Baby, It’s Cold Outside and Fairytale of New York – have come under scrutiny, with some stations playing a censored version of the latter. Rigby says that Christmas FM has not received much communication from listeners on the subject.

“We’ve had a few people ask about it. We review all songs every year, it’s something we keep on review all the time.” 

While the station operates on a library of “a few hundred” songs, Rigby says they are always trying to add covers by Irish artists – and the occasional new Christmas hit, or unearthed gem.

With some pride, Rigby says: “José Feliciano’s Feliz Navidad … That was a song that never really got played in Ireland. I would say 15 years ago, that song had almost never been played in Ireland. Now it’s one of our most popular, it’s in the top five.” 

Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

Close
7 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy here before taking part.
Leave a Comment
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Declan Moran
    Favourite Declan Moran
    Report
    Dec 3rd 2022, 8:49 PM

    Bring back the pirates. Greatest era of radio in Ireland. Ah the memories :)

    142
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Dave Ryan
    Favourite Dave Ryan
    Report
    Dec 3rd 2022, 9:11 PM

    @Declan Moran: totally agree radio Nova was brilliant…signal for Christmas fm is very bad in some parts of the country this year for some reason

    55
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Sean Walsh
    Favourite Sean Walsh
    Report
    Dec 3rd 2022, 9:36 PM

    @Dave Ryan: Agree, last year on 87.7 in North Co.Cork, it was blowing the head off me, this year its weak and hissy at times

    15
    See 1 more reply ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Declan Moran
    Favourite Declan Moran
    Report
    Dec 3rd 2022, 10:28 PM

    @Dave Ryan: ah it was great Dave. Nova, Q102 all the local ones in a lot of county towns. I always wanted to work in radio. The closest I came was playing music over the PA system in secondary school at lunchtime every day with two friends :). But I did spend most Saturdays in the studio of our local station Kiss FM in Tullamore. I was supposed to be gathering sports results but was having a great laugh with the guys on air. Such great times and they had so much freedom to broadcast properly. Today it’s minimum requirements for this and that and repetitive playlists. Haven’t listened to radio in Ireland for such a long time. It’s made up of a lot of shouty presenters with big egos. For me these days it’s spotify, my own collection or a station in Madrid that plays a great mix of music.

    18
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Brendan Shanahan
    Favourite Brendan Shanahan
    Report
    Dec 3rd 2022, 10:45 PM

    Well done to them

    38
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Dick Nagle
    Favourite Dick Nagle
    Report
    Dec 3rd 2022, 10:27 PM

    If I hear Bruce Springsteen once more I’m switching back to regular stations. They must be playing him twice an hour and it’s a terrible Christmas song.

    47
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Paul Gorry
    Favourite Paul Gorry
    Report
    Dec 4th 2022, 12:50 AM

    @Dick Nagle: Have to agree with you on that dick. His shouting would frighten me never mind the kids.

    12
Submit a report
Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
Thank you for the feedback
Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.

Leave a commentcancel

 
JournalTv
News in 60 seconds