About

Where We Came From!

St. Ita’s Hospital Radio was located at St. Ita’s Hospital in St. Patrick’s Parish, Portrane, Donabate, Co. Dublin Ireland from December 1983 until November 2024. We broadcast on 97.4fm and in later years on 89.5 fm.

This Station Hospital Radio first broadcast in December 1983, using home-made equipment, from a storeroom at St. Ita’s Hospital in North Co. Dublin Irieland. One of the services provided at the time was a cable television service which piped movies to the wards. With the arrival of cheaper VCR’s in the wards the requirement for this service diminished and it was discontinued.

St. Ita’s Hospital Radio was the first radio station in Ireland to receive one of the new broadcast licenses when the minister for communications of the day introduced the broadcasting bill in the late 1980s.

Over years the station progresst to Broadcast quality studio with professional equipment in compliance with the criteria laid down by the Broadcast Commission of Ireland under its’s five year licence. In 1993 St. Ita’s Hospital Radio ceased broadcasting due to staffing issues.

Broadcasting recommenced in December 1993 in the run up to Christmas . I was approached and asked to present a few shows, which I did. In 1994 the Hospital advertised for someone to manage the station , I applied and was successful and started my new job in the summer of 1994, a position I still hold today.

However sadly Hospital Management did not renew our Broadcast licence which expired in November 2024 asnd the station ceased broadcasting.

Left with a void in their usual routine of creating and presenting radio shows the dedicated crew decided to launch a new Radio Station with the same principles and policies we had always adhered to and so HospitalRadio.ie was born.

The Station is doing very well and held on to and increased our audience. In 2025 we launched a sister station HR. Country playing .. you guessed it the best variety of American and Irish Country.

While our music is primarily middle of the road we always bear in mind the diversity of tastes of our listeners and endeavour to cater for all their music tastes . – you are as likely to hear Elvis Presley as to hear Taylor Swift ! We have a variety of new programs submitted every week such as Blues, Country, Music From the Movies, Classical, Country Irish and Irish and lots more every week.

While we are extremely fortunate to have gathered a very dedicated team of presenters and people with expertise in various areas of production and technology at the station we are always on the lookout for fresh ideas and new personalities to join our crew. If you have a few hours to spare or have a talent or area of expertise that you are willing to make available on a voluntary basis then don’t hesitate to contact us. No previous radio experience is necessary as training will be given.

That is a brief history of the Station . If you think you can add anything I would love to hear from you.

Tom Noctor

Station Manager