SMALL PRINTS:'IF YOU'VE HAD your fill of inane talk-radio topics, depressing news bulletins, Rihanna singles and politicians screaming at each other, then it's probably best to escape into a sonic winter wonderland. Christmas FM runs until St Stephen's Day and is staffed entirely by volunteers, with revenue from text messages going to Focus Ireland.
I popped in earlier this week to co-present for an hour, and I don’t think there’s any greater festive pick-me-up than sitting in a makeshift radio studio (based in a suite in the Alexandra Hotel in Dublin) talking into a mistletoe-covered microphone and listening to Christmas tunes through the headphones, while reading out a barrage of messages from people wishing each other a happy Christmas. A hot port, a mince pie and some snow outside, and you’re basically Santa.
In all my years sitting at radio desks, I’ve also never seen as many texts coming in from listeners. Hundreds of messages, requests, and all-round feel-good vibes came into the station in the hour I was there. And while it would be pretty easy to make commercial gain from the station given its listenership and level of audience interaction over the Christmas period, the station does the right thing by handing over its revenue to a charity that will be helping thousands of people dealing with homelessness and housing issues this winter and beyond.
Christmas FM is on 94.3FM in Dublin, 88.1FM in Kildare, 105.5FM in Limerick, 106.7FM in Cork, 89.5FM in Galway and 103.8FM in the south east, and also available as an iPhone app
