There has been strong criticism in some quarters at the winding down of Ireland’s only dedicated radio broadcasting course. The Higher Certificate in Radio Broadcasting course has been running successfully at Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT), Dublin for the past 14 years.
But despite the continuing strong demand for places on the course, the college authorities have decided to pull the plug. They are now in the process of developing a postgraduate radio programme in its place.
“The course is ending – somebody stopped it and I don’t understand why,” said course tutuor Brendan Balfe. He was speaking at the launch of a radio station set up by the final batch of students to mark the end of the course. “Over the years students have made their mark in everything from station management to production, in presentation and as recording engineers in local and national radio. They became what we always hoped they would – they changed from been students to being colleagues.”
Past graduates of the course include Dan Hegarty (2FM), Kevin Brew (RTÉ1), Damien Farrelly (2FM) and Siobhan Madigan (RTÉ Radio 1 and 2FM). Balfe, the veteran RTÉ broadcaster who has been involved with the course since it started in 1993, recalled the reasons for it being set up in the first place. “The time was right. Local radio was coming into its own and there was a need to train people in the craft of radio,” he explained. “I’d met many of them when I supplied syndicated programmes to the local radio sector and was surprised at the lack of skills. I mentioned the idea casually to the then principal Roisin Hogan and suggested that if ever she contemplated a radio broadcasting course I was her man. When it came to pass in 1993 I got the call to act as a tutor. For the first course the students not only learned radio but built a studio from scratch.”
The course, which has been run in recent years by Roger Greene (Newstalk 106), featured many lecturers who are prominent figures in Irish media including Balfe (RTÉ1), Kevin Rafter (Sunday Tribune), Eoghan Harris (Sunday Independent) and Ferdia McAnna.
“It’s a real pity it’s ending,” says student Rebecca Lee, who is also press officer and deputy managing director of the college radio station. “There’s a lot of applicants every year but only 19 places in the class. The job prospects for people on the course are quite good. People here have made very good contacts in City Channel, East Coast Radio, Dublin’s Country and Flirt FM in Galway.”
Another graduate, Sinead Gallagher says the course provided students with every conceivable skill needed to work in radio. “It covered everything you need to know,” she says. “We can all present, produce, research and operate the technology.”
Meanwhile, Radio IADT has aired successfully since it started broadcasting on May 16, with an impressive variety of shows designed to showcase the course participants’ skills. “It’s all gone very well,” says Rebecca Lee. “We’ve a few flagship shows including Drivetime and The Breakfast Show and a couple of our current affairs shows – Talking Heads and The Hard Question – received a great reaction too. It proved that there is a gap in the market for a good local radio station in the Dun Laoghaire area.”
With performances by Luan Parle and Roesy, the launch of the radio station was more a celebration of the success of the course rather than a wake for its untimely demise.
“The idea of having this launch is not only to promote the station for its two-week temporary license but also to ensure that the course goes out with a bang,” Lee concluded.