Tag Archives: Scariff Bay Community Radio

MULTI-AWARD winning radio station, Scariff Bay Community Radio (SBCR) makes a welcome return to the FM band, after renewal of its broadcasting licence. The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) has given the popular station a licence for the next 50 weekends, which means it will be available on air (88.3FM and 92.7FM), as well as online (scariffbayradio.com). In recent weeks, the voluntary team have been out and about broadcasting from locations around East Clare, as well as from their studios in Scariff. The ultimate goal for the station, which has been honoured for its Trojan efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic, is to secure a ten-year licence from the BAI for its popular weekend programming. As the BAI is restructured, the application process has been paused, but hopes are high that it will be back on track in due course. Fundraising for the important work of the station is ongoing. The annual church gate collection in parishes around East Clare takes …

SCARIFF Bay Community Radio will broadcast live from the local agricultural show, which makes a welcome return to the Autumn events calendar on Saturday, September 3.  The station’s popular ‘Saturday Chronicle’ will provide a flavour of the wealth of activities on offer as Scariff Show returns for the first time since 2019. This year’s theme is ‘Back to Basics’ with the focus firmly on friends, family and community as the show marks its 76th annual event.  Previewing the show, which was first held in 1944, Co-Chairperson John Blake noted the impressive credentials of the event, particularly its equestrian element. “In the old days, jumping was quite big in Scariff. In the old days, some of the biggest names in showjumping, Con Power, Jack Doyle, James Kernan and a lot of the Army riders, including Tommy Wade from Dundrum, all jumped in Scariff,” the told the station. “We have two Horse Sport Ireland (HSI) League qualifiers in the 1 metre 10 …

AN East Clare community radio station’s immediate future on the air has been secured after it was approved for a broadcasting licence, writes Dan Danaher. Scariff Bay Communty Radio is literally back on the wireless after securing another 100-day licence from the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI). This will ensure the station will continue to broadcast every weekend for the next 12 months. This latest licence, which came into force on Saturday is another boost to the station’s recent application for a 10-year licence, which is expected to be decided upon within the next six months. While no final decision has been made on the 10-year licence, early indications are positive, according to station public relations officer, Eoin O’Hagan. He said the BAI is very happy with the station’s governance, studio set-up and financial foundation. “We have built up a huge cohort of hard working and willing volunteers who give up their time and energy free to allow people to …

A RADIO play which prompts people to look at their lives before the Covid-19 pandemic will be broadcast this Saturday, June 5, with the support of Mountshannon Arts. To Myself; Before, will air on Scariff Bay Community Radio, and is a production of WayWord Theatre, founded by Clare-based artists Eavan Brennan, Siobhán Donnellan and Ruth Smith. As inspiration for the production, WayWord put out a call to members of the public inviting submissions in the form of letters asking what they would have told themselves had they known a global pandemic was on the horizon. According to the trio, the responses were as varied as they were surprising and encompassed a huge emotional spectrum. The radio play comprises pieces of text from the submissions and will air on Scariff Bay Community Radio on Saturday at 8pm. The special broadcast will include a live pre- and post-show discussion with the WayWord three. The work of WayWord Theatre is inspired by the …

SCARIFF BAY COMMUNITY RADIO (SBCR) will be online only until it secures another licence from the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI). The highly popular weekend station, run by volunteers, had been operating under a 100-day licence which expired on Saturday, May 29. A statement from the board said: “As before, we now have to stop FM transmissions until, hopefully, we receive our ten-year FM licence, which we have applied for.” In the meantime, SBCR said it is to continue its normal schedule and produce shows, making them available online, on mobile players and as podcasts on Scariffbayradio.com. Eoin O’Hagan, PRO for the station, said the long-term plan is to operate under a 10-year licence, which could be secured by the autumn. The 100-day licence is due to be granted in advance of that. “We’re delighted that our roster of presenters has grown through the Covid lockdown,” Mr O’Hagan said. “We’ve increased the number of shows broadcast, including broadcasting Mass, our …

AWARD winners have been revealed in the very first Clare Drama Radio Play Festival which concluded its hugely successful run on Easter Sunday night. The initiative involved groups from around the country sending their pre-recorded short dramas to Scariff Bay Community Radio (SBCR) who broadcast a feast of radio plays in collaboration with Clare Drama Festival. Ranked in first place for their production of When I Was God was the Kilmeen Drama Group, who received the The Alan Sparling Perpetual Trophy. The Clonakilty-based group beat off stiff competition from six other short-listed companies, including the Doonbeg Drama Group and the Sliabh Aughty Drama Group. The award for direction also went to Kilmeen with Denis O’Sullivan taking that prize. The title of Best Actress went to Muriel Caslin O’Hagan from Balally Players, for her role as Marion in Pizzazz, while Best Supporting Actress went to Lasairfhíona Kennedy for her role as Tríona in Manic Monday with the Sliabh Aughty Drama Group. …

A FESTIVAL of radio plays, hosted by Scariff Bay Community Radio (SBCR), has been lauded by one of the national amateur drama umbrella groups for finding keeping the flag flying for local theatre, in the teeth of the Level 5 lockdown. Joanne Keane, Chairperson of The Drama League of Ireland (DLI), described The Clare Drama Radio Play Festival, which runs at weekends until Easter Sunday night, April 4, as “hugely successful and innovative”. Ms Keane opened the festival earlier this month and will make a virtual presentation to the overall winners of the Alan Sparling Perpetual Trophy. While thousands of people across the country would normally be involved in the national festival circuit at this time of year, the pandemic put paid to that and caused deep disappointment across the amateur drama community. As a response to the restrictions, SBCR teamed up with the long-established Clare Drama Festival to provide an outlet for the drama groups and audiences who would …

SATURDAY will see the start of the very first Clare Drama Radio Play Festival, which takes to the airwaves on Scariff Bay Community Radio (SBCR). The inaugural event brings the station together with the long-established Clare Drama Festival to ensure that actors and their audiences get to enjoy the finest local theatrical productions in their own homes. Proceedings kick off on the East Clare community radio station with a special festival programme hosted by Eoin O’Hagan at 8pm on Saturday next. Thereafter, the drama will continue on Saturdays, and Sundays, presented by Festival PRO Tom Hanley, from March 7 until the final night on Easter Sunday, April 4. “The Clare Drama Radio Play Festival is a perfect addition to the schedule of SBCR and an antidote to the continuing lockdown for both the listeners to the local station as well as the devotees of amateur drama throughout Ireland,” a spokesperson for the station said. “This brand new drama festival is …