Staying on air: How UCC's radio station has continued to broadcast through lockdown
A file picture from the studio of UCC 98.3 when more than one broadcaster was able to enter the studio.
It’s been a part of life for countless students over the past 25 years, but UCC’s 98.3FM student radio station, remains at the heart of campus culture. Formerly known as Cork Campus Radio, the station provides a non-commercial platform for students and staff of the college, as well as radio and broadcasting students from elsewhere in Leeside academia, and a handful of long-running volunteer presenters.
“The station was established in 1995, and it broadcasts from UCC’s campus to a 40km radius, 24/7, including live daytime programmes and evening repeats, as well as documentaries made by students and staff,” explains UCC 98.3FM programming director Kieran Hurley.
“The aim is to provide a medium for educational programming and an active community relations programme for individuals and groups to present their ideas and views, while continuing to entertain, inform, educate and facilitate the student body throughout Cork city.”
Pre-pandemic, the station was the subject of a massive infrastructural overhaul, including a new studio in UCC’s Student Hub. The co-presenter of music show Loose Patterns, and an MA student at UCC, Julie Landers has been part of the station for the past four years, and says her time at the station has been crucial to her development.
“The skills I’ve picked up have stood to me, and I’ve met some of the most amazing people through radio," says Landers. "It’s been a huge confidence boost - I really wanted to just play music, and that involved chat between the songs, and that’s come along. Even the act of walking into campus, and going up those stairs, there’s a physicality to it where you become part of the university, which is really nice.”
The lockdown happened in earnest last March - and suddenly, everything was blown off-course, across the board. Hurley and crew had to put together a plan of action to respond to the Covid crisis, and began to facilitate shows remotely, urging student producers to continue their slots as pre-records, and dipping into the station’s deep archive of documentaries.
Aside from keeping the broadcasts on track, the plan was to provide an alternative for the city’s listeners.
“We’ve put a plan in place to support people who are self-isolating in Cork city," says Hurley. "Listening to the radio is fantastic company, but the news cycle can really increase people’s anxiety. So, the idea is still to feel a connection to the people around you without being in that headspace: taking a break from the news for a while is just as important as staying informed.”
Hurley’s role has changed in the station as a result - on a production basis, in terms of scheduling, on a project-management basis, and in terms of funding for documentaries. While he keeps directing the station from his own home setup, the experience is, of course, quite different.
“We’d normally have about 50 students involved each week, providing their own original programmes, but at the moment, working remotely is playing a major part in keeping the broadcast going, as the doors to the station are currently closed. I miss the students, and the buzz around campus.”
One of the station’s longest-tenured contributors is Jim Morrish, a former fanzine-maker and chronicler of the Cork scene in his own right, whose Centrifugal show dates back to dearly-departed pirate station Radio Friendly. He’s adapted with the times over the years, and the lockdown proved to be no different.
“With the lockdown we switched to pre-recording, which is far better as using editing software means it's now much tighter than previously, so I just send in the finished file to the station for them to broadcast," says Morrish. "I’ve been getting a lot of people emailing, etc, with kind words, so it’s worked out really well.”
The station has a wide variety of programming from across the spectrum of student and cultural life in the city, especially with strong form in specialist music and documentaries - listener interaction and engagement has also changed over the course of lockdown, with many alumni and international listeners getting in touch, and joining the station’s dedicated following online.
It all bodes well for the station’s role, should lasting changes happen to the college post-Covid, in a future of blended learning and its knock-on effect on campus life.
“Students and staff can develop their communication skills, which will help them find their narrative voice within their own education,” says Hurley.
- Tune into UCC 98.3 on FM radio, or online at https://ucc983fm.rocks/
- The weekly radio show of UCC's Irish-language and culture society, with comhrá agus ceol broadcast entirely as Gaeilge: a touchstone of the society's activities and for Irish-language community media.
- A mix of uplifting pop music, from Irish archive/reissue cuts to the wider indie-label picture. Hosted by former Orange Fettishes man Conor O'Toole, and on the air since 2007 - one of a few stunning feats of community-radio longevity on the station.
- Co-hosts Julie Landers and Elle Kelleher dig into an eclectic mix of Irish and international tunes, as well as chats with a range of local arts/music guests. Currently available as a podcast, pending a post-lockdown radio return.
- Another long-running hour of power on the station, hosted by Leeside scene veteran/'zine magnate Jim Morrish, and taking in a wide spectrum of alternative and independent music. First hour available on FM radio, with a second hour of music available weekly on Soundcloud.
- As a long-standing community broadcaster under the auspices of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, UCC 98.3 provides a broadcast home for various documentaries as part of its funding schemes. Among the regular documentary-makers is Paul McDermott, whose trilogy on Cork bands Nun Attax, Microdisney and Stump are essential listening for anyone with an interest in local music history.
