Sense of home will be lost with Longwave

IT’S the GAA matches in the car they’ll miss. Or Joe Duffy while out for a walk. Or the Angelus. Or the company of Irish voices from a portable radio propped up on a bedside locker when sleep won’t come.

‘Gutted’and ‘beyond sad’ are just a few of the responses from the Irish diaspora in Britain and their relatives after RTÉ announced their decision to axe its longwave radio service in January.

“Irish radio is an anchor for older people, it’s a cultural comfort for people who are already at risk of isolation,” says CEO of Irish in Britain, Jennie McShannon, who has launched an online petition against the move.