About Radio Kerry
Radio Kerry first went on air on July 14th 1990. The station headquarters are in Tralee, the county town of Kerry, with additional offices and studios in Killarney.
In April 1995, Radio Kerry moved to a new custom-built building in Tralee town centre with top quality digital broadcasting and production facilities, a fully equipped editing suite and a television studio. Approximately 60 people are employed at the station in full-time, part-time and freelance positions.
In January 2005, the station opened custom-built studios in Killarney town centre, from where many programmes and features are broadcast daily.
August 2005 marked a major expansion: Radio Kerry completed the purchase of Shannonside/Northern Sound, becoming the first original local radio station to reach this level of growth. Shannonside/Northern Sound broadcasts to Longford, Roscommon, Cavan, Monaghan and Leitrim. That same year, Radio Kerry was named Local Station of the Year at the PPI National Radio Awards for the first time.
In 2006, a Broadcast Media Skills course was launched in conjunction with FAS, and the Radio Kerry Training Centre was established. A new logo, building refurbishment and broadcast network upgrade followed.
2007 saw the introduction of a new Outside Broadcast Unit equipped with the latest digital broadcasting and IP satellite technology. The station was named Local Radio Station of the Year for the second time.
2008: Radio Kerry Sport received a prestigious McNamee Award for Best Local Radio Programme for the extended Sunday Sports 2007 All Ireland Final Day programme.
In 2009, two new events were introduced: The Kerry Wedding Show in February and Kerry's Got Talent for the summer.
2010 brought X Factor winner Alexandra Burke and Britain's Got Talent winners Diversity to Tralee, and a free App for iPhone and iPod Touch. The station won Local Station of the Year for the third time.
2011 marked 21 years on air. 2012 brought a new 21st Century website, and General Manager Fiona Stack was presented with the Outstanding Achievement in Radio award – the only female in local radio to ever receive it.
In 2013, the Kerry Business Awards were launched. Over 12 months, 72 businesses were rewarded in 6 categories; Quinlans Fish emerged as Kerry Business of the Year, presented by Republic of Ireland manager Martin O'Neill in March 2014.
May 2014 saw a new 10-year broadcasting licence. In October, Radio Kerry was named PPI Local Station of the Year for a record fourth time in 9 years, also collecting gold for Sports Programme of the Year (Terrace Talk) and silver for JJ O'Shea in the Specialist Music Broadcaster category. December saw the first Radio Kerry Christmas Jumper Day in aid of St Vincent de Paul, raising €10,000.
2015: Radio Kerry received a McNamee GAA Award for Best GAA Related Radio Programme (Terrace Talk). 2016: PPI Local Radio Station of the Year for the fifth time. 2018: a standalone training centre was developed in Tralee and studio facilities were upgraded.
National Radio Awards
Since 2005, Radio Kerry has received 98 Radio Awards nominations and won 44 awards – 15 gold, 13 silver and 20 bronze.
Broadcast
Radio Kerry broadcasts on five frequencies – 96.2, 96.6, 97.0, 97.2 and 97.6 FM – throughout County Kerry. The station can also be picked up in parts of Cork, Limerick, Tipperary and Clare, and on the internet at radiokerry.ie. Listening is also available via our App for iOS and Android.
Listener Profile
Our typical listener is aged between 25 and 65, with main information requirements covering current affairs, local news, sports, music, specialist speech programming and weather. Music interests are very varied, so we broadcast a number of special interest music programmes nightly.