An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has publicly acknowledged the contribution of independent radio stations during the recent storms Ophelia and Emma.
At a special event in Dublin Castle, An Taoiseach shared the accolade with John Purcell and Lisa Ní Choisdealbha of the IBI on behalf of the independent radio stations.
Beat 102 103 along with over 30 other independent radio stations were honoured with the accolade.
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IBI Chairman John Purcell said “For most people the storms meant a few days off work. This wasn’t the case for the staff of the 34 independent radio stations throughout the country.
"Radio comes into its own in times of crises and it was to the radio that people turned to find out about road conditions, school closures, travel disruptions and weather updates. Independent radio stations provided up to the minute local news and updates which proved invaluable to listeners.”
Purcell said “radio is the first port of call when disasters strike. I would like to commend the staff of every independent radio station who despite extremely difficult conditions showed their dedication to their audiences and kept the radio stations on the air. All of our staff can be very proud of the official recognition of their efforts from An Taoiseach”.
No #snowdays in #Radio! Myself & @Kev_OMahony working around the clock the last 3 days during #stormemma here in Beat providing the South East with the latest news on air and online! @KolynByrne @Robbie3Byrne @mrniallpower working hard online too! #chooseradio @IBIreland pic.twitter.com/Sga6H9jZFm
— Ciarán O' Regan (@ciaranoregan) March 3, 2018
IBI Director and CEO of Beat Gabrielle Cummins says the acknowledgement of broadcast journalists and presenters around the country is well deserved.
Speaking about the accolade, Cummins said "it's quite a thankless job. Our team at Beat here in particular, were absolutely fantastic.
"They were here for very long hours, didn't complain and were just delighted to be able to share the important information to our listeners, not just on air on an hourly basis but also online.
"They made sure there was coverage across all of our platforms so that people could access all of the relevant information on air and online".
Staff at every local, regional and national radio station went over and above the call of duty during both Storm Ophelia and Storm Emma with each radio station’s live broadcasts complemented by a strong social media presence.
Of course, as a youth radio station, we had to have a bit of fun in the snow too!
