Happy 100th birthday to Irish public broadcasting. A century on, we're still talking to each other

On New Year's Day 1926, an experiment in nationhood began with the birth of 2RN. And public service radio remains a vital place where Ireland goes for argument and debate

RTÉ's predecessor, 2RN, began broadcasting 100 years ago. Sources including playwright Hugh Leonard have said 2RN was named for the last two words of the song title 'Come Back to Erin' by Count John McCormack. iStock

When Ireland’s first national broadcaster crackled into life on New Year’s Day in 1926, the State itself was barely out of infancy. 

The War of Independence and the Civil War had left deep scars. Institutions were fragile, loyalties divided, and the idea of a shared national story remained uncertain. 2RN, later Radio Éireann and eventually RTÉ, was never just a technological novelty. It was an experiment in nationhood. Could a young country learn to speak to itself — confidently, critically, and honestly — through a single, shared voice?