When do you know that Christmas has arrived? Most people will say it’s when the Coca-Cola ad comes on the TV, or when the shopping trip to Dublin is made on 8 December, but for this writer, Christmas begins once Christmas FM appears on the car radio.
With this in mind, Irish Country Living was more than a little excited to go behind the scenes at Christmas FM headquarters in Dublin. Now in its seventh year, the station broadcasts for a month and – as the name suggests – plays Christmas songs from morning to midnight, all in aid of charity.
“It’s an obvious theme,” deadpans Dan McDermott, Christmas FM’s station manager. Dan, who is one of approximately 80 volunteers, shifts through countless songs in the weeks prior to airing to compile the station’s library of 500 records, often listening to many versions of the same song.
“Did you know there’s upward of 300 versions of White Christmas from all around the world?” he says. Suddenly we realise that working at Christmas FM mightn’t be as much of a lark as initially envisaged.
To be honest, we thought the studio would be littered with tins of roses and tinsel, but what we saw was entirely different to our expectations. Based in a room in the Ballsbridge Hotel, the studio is impressive. Using funds from Centra, the station acquired new software this year and backup decks, which increased its reach nationwide.
Though there is a fun side to Christmas FM, it’s immediately apparent that volunteers take the job very seriously. Judging by the presenters’ guidebook we spot being read by a volunteer, you can’t just walk in and ask to have your own show. In fact, many of the presenters have decades of experience in radio, dating back to the pirate years. It’s a testament to their dedication that some will even work on Christmas Day.
“There’s no shortage of talent and presenters do a great job of donating their time,” says Dan.
“Everyone gets tired from the push and pull of Christmas and it’s not easy to volunteer during this time, especially if you’re from outside of Dublin.”
Since its inception, Christmas FM has raised more than €500,000 for charities such as Barnardos, Focus Ireland and the ISPCC. This year’s chosen charity is Age Action, with listeners asked to text in to donate. Since Centra covers the cost of running the studio, every cent donated by listeners goes straight to charity.
Raising awareness
Age Action is a cause that resonates strongly with Dan.
“For me, this year’s chosen charity is very important,” he says. “We had three generations under the same roof and I was raised by older people. My grandparents were in their 70s when I was born.
“Our approach is two-pronged. We want to raise money, but also awareness. Some older people mightn’t have a conversation for days and Christmas is an especially difficult time for them,” he adds. “It only takes a few minutes to call in to an elderly neighbour and make sure they’re OK. We hope people will listen in and think: ‘I’m going to visit my nan now,’ or ‘I’ll say hello to my neighbour.’”
Christmas FM has achieved something of a cult status in the relatively short amount of time it has existed. Since the station was made available online, Dan has noticed how popular it has become abroad.
“We’re growing every year in terms of reach in Ireland and across the world,” he says. “Thousands of our listeners are based abroad. We get messages from everywhere, from South Africa to Philadelphia.
“The midnight-to-2am slot would be considered the graveyard shift in a lot of stations, but it is daytime in America and Australia. We get messages saying: ‘Just home from a great night – say hello to my mam.’ It’s great to bring that warmth of an Irish Christmas to the diaspora.”
Before we leave, there is one important question to ask Dan: does he get tired of listening to Christmas songs all day?
“No,” says Dan, who has clearly been asked this question on numerous occasions. “You want to create a station that people can listen to throughout the day. You can’t have one song on a loop,” he adds. “And I’m more concerned with how people sound on air.
“We did, however, put a ban on saying happy Christmas for a while – we say happy Christmas FM instead.”
Christmas FM is broadcast
in the following areas:
• Dublin – 94.3 FM• Kildare – 88.1 FM• North Wicklow 99.5 FM• Cork –106.7 FM• Galway – 89.5 FM• Limerick –105.5 FM• Southeast –103.8 FM• Northeast –101.6 FM• North Midlands – 99.4 FM• UPC Channel – 900Visit their website for more or to listen online. Text ‘xmas’ followed by a space and your message to 50300 to donate €2 to Age Action.
When do you know that Christmas has arrived? Most people will say it’s when the Coca-Cola ad comes on the TV, or when the shopping trip to Dublin is made on 8 December, but for this writer, Christmas begins once Christmas FM appears on the car radio.
With this in mind, Irish Country Living was more than a little excited to go behind the scenes at Christmas FM headquarters in Dublin. Now in its seventh year, the station broadcasts for a month and – as the name suggests – plays Christmas songs from morning to midnight, all in aid of charity.
“It’s an obvious theme,” deadpans Dan McDermott, Christmas FM’s station manager. Dan, who is one of approximately 80 volunteers, shifts through countless songs in the weeks prior to airing to compile the station’s library of 500 records, often listening to many versions of the same song.
“Did you know there’s upward of 300 versions of White Christmas from all around the world?” he says. Suddenly we realise that working at Christmas FM mightn’t be as much of a lark as initially envisaged.
To be honest, we thought the studio would be littered with tins of roses and tinsel, but what we saw was entirely different to our expectations. Based in a room in the Ballsbridge Hotel, the studio is impressive. Using funds from Centra, the station acquired new software this year and backup decks, which increased its reach nationwide.
Though there is a fun side to Christmas FM, it’s immediately apparent that volunteers take the job very seriously. Judging by the presenters’ guidebook we spot being read by a volunteer, you can’t just walk in and ask to have your own show. In fact, many of the presenters have decades of experience in radio, dating back to the pirate years. It’s a testament to their dedication that some will even work on Christmas Day.
“There’s no shortage of talent and presenters do a great job of donating their time,” says Dan.
“Everyone gets tired from the push and pull of Christmas and it’s not easy to volunteer during this time, especially if you’re from outside of Dublin.”
Since its inception, Christmas FM has raised more than €500,000 for charities such as Barnardos, Focus Ireland and the ISPCC. This year’s chosen charity is Age Action, with listeners asked to text in to donate. Since Centra covers the cost of running the studio, every cent donated by listeners goes straight to charity.
Raising awareness
Age Action is a cause that resonates strongly with Dan.
“For me, this year’s chosen charity is very important,” he says. “We had three generations under the same roof and I was raised by older people. My grandparents were in their 70s when I was born.
“Our approach is two-pronged. We want to raise money, but also awareness. Some older people mightn’t have a conversation for days and Christmas is an especially difficult time for them,” he adds. “It only takes a few minutes to call in to an elderly neighbour and make sure they’re OK. We hope people will listen in and think: ‘I’m going to visit my nan now,’ or ‘I’ll say hello to my neighbour.’”
Christmas FM has achieved something of a cult status in the relatively short amount of time it has existed. Since the station was made available online, Dan has noticed how popular it has become abroad.
“We’re growing every year in terms of reach in Ireland and across the world,” he says. “Thousands of our listeners are based abroad. We get messages from everywhere, from South Africa to Philadelphia.
“The midnight-to-2am slot would be considered the graveyard shift in a lot of stations, but it is daytime in America and Australia. We get messages saying: ‘Just home from a great night – say hello to my mam.’ It’s great to bring that warmth of an Irish Christmas to the diaspora.”
Before we leave, there is one important question to ask Dan: does he get tired of listening to Christmas songs all day?
“No,” says Dan, who has clearly been asked this question on numerous occasions. “You want to create a station that people can listen to throughout the day. You can’t have one song on a loop,” he adds. “And I’m more concerned with how people sound on air.
“We did, however, put a ban on saying happy Christmas for a while – we say happy Christmas FM instead.”
Christmas FM is broadcast
in the following areas:
• Dublin – 94.3 FM• Kildare – 88.1 FM• North Wicklow 99.5 FM• Cork –106.7 FM• Galway – 89.5 FM• Limerick –105.5 FM• Southeast –103.8 FM• Northeast –101.6 FM• North Midlands – 99.4 FM• UPC Channel – 900Visit their website for more or to listen online. Text ‘xmas’ followed by a space and your message to 50300 to donate €2 to Age Action.
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