RT lyric fm turns 25!
Music station Where Life Sounds Better celebrates birthday with a gala concert
RT lyric fm celebrates 25 years today Wednesday, May 1st. The debut broadcast on the dedicated classical and arts music station started at 12noon on May 1st 1999 and RT lyric fm has continued to grow in popularity over those 25 years.
The 25th birthday celebrations will be marked by a gala concert in Limerick, home of RT lyric fm, tonight. The concert features the RT Concert Orchestra conducted by David Brophy and a host of performers and lyric presenters. It will broadcast live on lyric fm from 7.30pm and listeners can join the party.
President Michael D. Higgins sent a message of congratulations ahead of the birthday, and said: Over the past quarter-century, lyric fm has truly enhanced the cultural landscape of Ireland, showcasing the beauty and diversity of not just classical music but also such a wide range of music that includes traditional, jazz, world music, musicals and film scores.
It has drawn on such an incredibly diverse range which is one of the station's greatest strengths. In embracing contemporary compositions, also and bringing innovative, insightful programming to audiences nationwide, the station has become an integral part of our artistic tapestry. It represents public service broadcasting at its best.
Presenters from some of the station's best-loved shows gathered to mark the birthday at rehearsals for the RT Concert Orchestra's performance earlier this week, with Marty Whelan, Aed n Gormley, Paul Herriott, Niall Carroll, Liz Nolan and Lorcan Murray on hand to raise a cheer to RT lyric fm
The concert will feature the music of Puccini, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Bizet, Morricone, Bernstein, John Williams, Strauss, Copland, Mascagni, Mancini and many more. Celebrating the joy of music and its power to connect, performers on the night include soprano Celine Byrne, tenor Emmet Cahill and the Our Lady Queen of Peace choir from Limerick who won the RT lyric fm Choirs for Christmas competition in 2023.
Ann-Marie Power, Group Head of Arts and Culture said: Lyric fm is at heart of RT 's arts and cultural offering for Irish audiences sitting alongside our TV programming, RT Radio 1's Arena, live performances from the RT Concert Orchestra, RTE.ie/culture, specialist folk and traditional music programmes and events such as Culture Night and the RT Folk Awards. As the national public service media organisation, RT is proud to provide a unique range of arts and cultural content and is delighted that audiences have connected and grown with lyric fm over the past 25 years and look forward to it continuing to flourish into the future.
As well as a host of much-loved favourites, the lyric's birthday concert will debut three new pieces of music that were commissioned by RT lyric fm in their birthday year and written by Irish artists. The new works for orchestra focus on themes of nostalgia, hope and rebirth.
Limerick composer and Cranberries drummer Fergal Lawler's work The Curragower Falls reflects on memories of childhood by the River Shannon. Cork composer Paul Frost's A New Day Rising captures the feeling of waking up to a new day to the sounds of nature and the irrepressible sense of optimism. Dundalk composer and fiddle player Zoe Conway's Bualadh an cheoil, bualadh an chro (Music playing, heart beating) is about the powerful connection of Irish music to the body and dance.
Head of RT lyric fm Sin ad Wylde said: RT lyric fm emerged from a chorus of birdsong on May 1st, 1999 and the celebration of our 25th birthday is a very nostalgic time for me, having been part of the original RT lyric fm team. On behalf of everyone at lyric fm, I would like to thank our listeners on this special anniversary. We have grown and connected with our audience to become an integral part of our listeners' lives birthdays, marriages, new beginnings, first days at school, the morning and evening commute, candlelit dinners, times of despair and times of happiness RT lyric fm is proud and privileged to provide the musical backdrop.
Central to our service is the experience of live music and we are dedicated to bringing the wonderful music making that takes place throughout the country in Cork, Wexford, Dublin, Limerick, Galway and elsewhere directly into our listeners' homes.
On this special anniversary, I would like to pay tribute to everyone at lyric fm, colleagues past and present who are dedicated to serving our listeners. From those who helped shape the identity of the station from the earliest days to the present. Our growing audience numbers reinforce the fact that RT lyric fm has a valued place in the lives of Irish audiences.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
14/06/2026
Library captures 1960s R&B/pop drum sound
Following on from their recent wave of plug-in effects, Iconic Instruments have just launched an all-new virtual d...
14/06/2026
HBO Comedy Rooster Shot with URSA Cine 17K 65
Brie Clayton June 14, 2026
0 Comments
Large format brings viewers intimately close to characters.
Black...
13/06/2026
Latest expansion pack includes 252 presets
Devious Machines have recently introduced another expansion for their powerful multi-effects plug-in, Infiltrator...
13/06/2026
Create custom DAW/plug-in controllers using prompts
MetaGrid have recently introduced an all-new AI Builder function to their touchscreen-based control surf...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...
12/06/2026
The United Football League will host its FAST Innovation Suite at the 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank on Saturday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi...
12/06/2026
PTZOptics and LayerJot will present live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how natural-language AI prompting, robotic camera control, and on-device comput...
12/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...
12/06/2026
Ateme has announced that Eurovision Services is using Ateme's software-based frame-rate conversion technology for international live event workflows. The de...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin and Simplestream have announced a partnership with Xperi to simplify the launch of OTT streaming services on TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The collabo...
12/06/2026
Net Insight has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...
12/06/2026
MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the MLB Players Association, has announced a partnership with Athletes First to develop and sell brand partnerships across...
12/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...
12/06/2026
Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...
12/06/2026
Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...
12/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced KONA IP25 support for Colorfront Transkoder and ...
12/06/2026
Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7321, Ce...
12/06/2026
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has announced the appointment of Scott Adametz as Chief Technology Officer. The Pac-12 describes the hire as the first CTO appo...
12/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced AMPP Edge Live, a production system combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration, and AMPP OS in a single platf...
12/06/2026
At one time a trailblazer with the launch of the Longhorn Network, the Universit...
12/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
12/06/2026
Chyron has announced PAINT 10.4, an update to its illustrated replay and sports ...
12/06/2026
SVP, Production, Mark Gross: With the new schedule, with not having every Sunday night, it has given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what o...
12/06/2026
For Televisa Technical Engineering Manager Roberto N nez Ibarra and the small team of 12 technicians and two production personnel at the IBC things are already ...
12/06/2026
Simple Steps to Better Acoustics - Taming The Small Room
Most of us mix in spare rooms and small spaces, where the acoustics fight us at every turn. At Gear...
12/06/2026
Latest addition expands vintage-inspired effects palette
Meris' Ottobit pedal range draws its inspiration from vintage gaming consoles, and the latest a...
12/06/2026
Soundbox-based chamber strings series expanded
Sonora Cinematic have just announced the launch of the second instalment in their Soundbox-based chamber stri...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
How Aussie indie games and screen are levelling up with IP 11 June 2026
Ari Harrison, Pro Jank Footy
Head of Games Joey Egger and Ari Harrison of Umbrella sha...
12/06/2026
AgentPerf from Artificial Analysis, the industry's first agentic AI benchmark, gives developers, enterprises and infrastructure providers a clear way to com...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First-Look Images from Villaflor, Santiago Mitre's New Film
Entertainment
12 June 2026
GlobalArgentina
Link copied to ...
RT lyric fm turns 25! 
