At 7.45pm on 1st January 1926, the precursor to RT , then 2RN, delivered the fledgling new Irish state's first public radio transmission. From those first crackling transmissions to the wide range of audio, video and social media services which are now part of daily life, for 100 years, public service media has remained a trusted and essential voice in Irish life. Across that century RT , in its guises as 2RN, Radio ireann, Teilif s ireann and latterly RT , has been at the centre of Irish life, informing, engaging and entertaining the nation across an expanding range of services.
For a century, RT , as Ireland's national public service broadcaster and more recently, with the expansion of its services beyond radio and television broadcasting, as Ireland's national public service media organisation has helped shape our national identity, telling our stories, good and bad, in English and in Irish, celebrating our achievements, supporting creative talent and bringing people together for important national moments cultural, political and sporting and preserving these valuable shared memories.
In 2026, RT will mark 100 years of public broadcasting in Ireland with a series of special broadcasts and performances outlined below as we look at how far we have come, but also where we are going.
Commenting on the year ahead, RT Director-General, Kevin Bakhurst said: I am privileged to lead RT as we mark an incredible 100 years and the special role public media continues to play in Ireland at a time when we face so much uncertainty and so many challenges in the world. While much has changed, the need for strong, independent and trusted public service media, available to everyone, has never been greater. These celebrations will inevitably look back at key events over the last 100 years, but will also focus on how RT will deliver to audiences in the future, as we continue to challenge disinformation, back creative ambition and innovation, support Irish culture, reflect all of the country and its rich diversity, and bring people together for significant national moments that unite the country.
I hope the programmes and performances we have put together below to mark this milestone are as celebratory as they are considered, prompting reflection and discussion on why public service media matters and why it is worth fighting for.
PROGRAMME AND PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS
Running across the year, RT will mark this centenary by presenting a carefully curated programme of content across our services as well as special performances and outreach initiatives from the RT Concert Orchestra.
AUDIO
New Year's Eve 2025
The RT Concert Orchestra presents 100 Years of Song, Swing and Soul at the National Concert Hall on New Year's Eve. The concert will feature a new piece by Guy Barker specially commissioned to mark 100 years of radio, to be performed just after midnight. The full concert goes out on RT lyric fm and the new piece will also be broadcast live on RT Radio 1.
Thursday 1st January 2026
A range of content from RT Archives will form part of RT 100: Voices of Radio from 7.00pm on RT Radio 1, marking the actual time the 2RN radio service launched in 1926.
RT live from the GPO
On Thursday 15th January, from 7.00am, RT will broadcast live from the GPO across RT Radio1, RT 2fm, RT lyric fm and RT Raidi na Gaeltachta to officially launch the 100th year of public broadcasting in Ireland.
My Sound Life
My Sound Life will be a new radio and podcast series that documents the role that sound, including radio, has played in the lives of a broad range of contributors. (Broadcast date to be announced).
RT Concert Orchestra Special Events
The RT Concert Orchestra will present a series of special performances around the country in front of live audiences and live on RT Radio 1 and RT lyric fm. Full details will be announced in early 2026.
On Air
On Air will be a ten part-half-hour radio and podcast series, a people's story of 2RN to RT , capturing what, where and how we heard of ourselves across a century. On Air will include some special commissions. The accompanying book published with New Island, will be fully illustrated with colour photographs and unique documents from the RT Archives and elsewhere, many of which will be published for the first time.
Sunday Miscellany
Sunday Miscellany will touch on the centenary of broadcasting periodically across 2026, starting in January with reflections and reminiscences from writers Olivia O'Leary, Gerry Stembridge, Doireann N Bhriain, Felicity Hayes McCoy, Margaret Galvin and many more.
Bowman: Sunday: 8.30
John Bowman will continue to showcase the richness of the RT Archive every Sunday morning throughout 2026, with editions focused on the history of radio; and the role which it has played in Irish life.
Rolling Wave Outside Broadcasts
RT Radio 1's The Rolling Wave will present a series of programmes spotlighting the role radio has played in the development the Irish traditional music scene in Ireland. There will also be additional programming across RT Raidi na Gaeltachta.
VIDEO
A Century of Stories
This two-part documentary will take a non-linear look at how 2RN, Raidi ireann and RT evolved to tell Ireland's story to ourselves and to the world. From the early crystal radio sets to TikTok trends and beyond, the series will look at music, sport, news, Irish-language, drama and comedy and how these helped shape the story of a nation. The series will also consider how public service media's creativity, constraints and occasionally even contrary nature continue to reflect Ireland and the world into the next century.
Nationwide
Over the course of the year Nationwide will feature themed reports which explore how public service broadcasting has helped communities acro
Most recent headlines
18/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
18/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
18/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
18/12/2025
Long-term agreement includes the SES SCORE platform and hybrid distribution worldwide to deliver more than 5,000 hours of golf tournaments annually featuring th...
18/12/2025
At 7.45pm on 1st January 1926, the precursor to RT , then 2RN, delivered the fledgling new Irish state's first public radio transmission. From those first c...
18/12/2025
Step out of the vault and into the future of gaming with Fallout: New Vegas streaming on GeForce NOW, just in time to celebrate the newest season of the hit Ama...
18/12/2025
December 18 2025, 05:30 (PST) The Movie Experience SLO Becomes First U.S. Exhib...
17/12/2025
Investigative journalists across the Western Balkans and T rkiye continue to con...
17/12/2025
Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame Inducts 10 Industry Icons During Unforgettable ...
17/12/2025
ESPN to Debut MNF Playbook with Next Gen Stats, a New AI-Driven NFL Data-AltCastThe series, powered by Adrenaline TruPlay AI, launches Dec. 22 and runs through ...
17/12/2025
Inaugural Optum Golf Channel Games Debut Under the Lights' in Primetime on ...
17/12/2025
The right playlist is essential on New Year's Eve, building the energy as you get ready and keeping it high as you count down to midnight. This year, Spotif...
17/12/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
17/12/2025
Audiences Watched Over 103 Billion Minutes of TV on Thanksgiving Day
NFL Games ...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
KPop Demon Hunters Stars Visit Berklee for Weeklong Celebration Andrew Choi and EJAE, who voiced the film's main characters and contributed to its soundtr...
17/12/2025
December 17 2025, 17:00 (PST) Dolby and LG Unveil a New Era of Home Audio With ...
17/12/2025
Wednesday 17 December 2025
Heated Rivalry will be coming to Sky and streaming service NOW on 10 JanuaryTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy opti...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Inside The Unseen World Of Indian Customs: Netflix Reveals The...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix announces PAPARAZZI KING: the docu series coming to Ne...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First Look at Jo Nesbo's Detective Hole Pr...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Welcomes Warner Bros. Discovery Board Recommendation
Business
17 December 2025
Global
Link copied to clipboard
After Careful Revi...
17/12/2025
RT has announced that Kathy Fox has been appointed Commissioning Editor with re...
17/12/2025
The Hao AI Lab research team at the University of California San Diego - at the forefront of pioneering AI model innovation - recently received an NVIDIA DGX B...
17/12/2025
Editor's note: This post is part of Into the Omniverse, a series focused on ...
17/12/2025
With the new season of Dancing with the Stars shimmering in the not-too-distant future this New Year, the celebrity and dancer pairings of the twelve couples ha...
16/12/2025
Hawkins has landed on Spotify, just in time for Stranger Things Season 5, Volume...
16/12/2025
Wherever you are, your favorite music and audio content should go seamlessly with you. That's why Spotify has partnered with NAVER Corp, Korea's leading...
16/12/2025
2025 Wrapped arrived bigger and bolder than ever. This year's experience is designed to be ultra personal and shareable, with new features like Wrapped Part...
16/12/2025
Three 12-kilowatt Advanced Electric Propulsion System thrusters, supplied by L3Harris Technologies, form the core of Gateway's propulsion system. Pictured i...
16/12/2025
The challenge facing America's defense industrial base is not just about speed - its about rebuilding the foundation that makes speed possible. Our nations ...
16/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
16/12/2025
SEVILLE, Spain Canal Sur, the public broadcasting service for Andalusia, Spain, has completed a total technology refresh based on Pebble's resilient, softwa...
16/12/2025
NEW YORK Teleprompting hardware provider Telescript International has acquired all software code and intellectual property previously owned by Telescript West. ...
16/12/2025
As cable operators face increased competition from 5G fixed wireless access providers, a new report from Ookla Research finds that T-Mobile is the FWA speed lea...
16/12/2025
Apple has announced a major upgrade to the Apple TV app for device owners outside the Apple ecosystem with news that the Apple TV app for Android now supports G...
16/12/2025
Space42 grows Direct-to-Device partner ecosystem through a Memorandum of Underst...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON Announces Release Date for Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2025 R...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON's Kyivstar Invests in Renewable Energy in Ukraine with Acq...
At 7.45pm on 1st January 1926, the precursor to RT , then 2RN, delivered the fledgling new Irish state's first public radio transmission. From those first crackling transmissions to the wide range of audio, video and social media services which are now part of daily life, for 100 years, public service media has remained a trusted and essential voice in Irish life. Across that century RT , in its guises as 2RN, Radio ireann, Teilif s ireann and latterly RT , has been at the centre of Irish life, informing, engaging and entertaining the nation across an expanding range of services.
