At noon on May Day, the National Anthem heralded the birth of RTE's new music and arts radio service, Lyric FM. Broadcasting on 96/99 FM, the station was launched by the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, Ms de Valera, on Saturday afternoon.
The first voice on the new service was that of Drogheda-born Michael Comyn, who introduced the service in Irish and English. This was followed by the Lyric FM signature tune and fittingly, the Hallelujah chorus from Handel's Messiah. The presenter later linked up with John Kelly on RTE Radio 1 and introduced Lyric presenters and its newsroom team. He said phone lines were jammed with requests and people offering congratulations.
Ms de Valera said the establishment of the new service continued the proud tradition which started at the very foundation of broadcasting in Ireland, with the establishment of Radio Eireann more than 70 years ago and which had continued over the years.
She said the creation of a 24 hour arts and music service completed the public service family of broadcasting services nurtured by RTE. She hoped there would be novel and experimental approaches taken which would foster new Irish creative and performing talent.
She looked forward to the service developing its own identity which would be characterised by programmes of the highest quality which would meet the needs "of those of us who are especially interested in classical music, both ancient and contemporary, and that will cater for other forms of artistic expression that can be conveyed through the medium of Irish.
"I hope that there will be much that is novel and experimental in the programme schedules," she added, "and that the service will foster new Irish creative and performing talent."
She said that while the followers of an art and music service like Lyric FM would always be small, this did not mean that the commercial sector would not find it attractive to be associated with a prestige product.
"I approved RTE's proposal to carry advertising on the new service because I believe that the additional finances generated from this source will make a significant contribution to the creation and maintenance of a high-quality service," she said.
She congratulated RTE on its decision to locate the new national service outside Dublin and added that Limerick was a most fitting choice for a variety of reasons.
To mark the opening, a gala concert presented by Mary Kennedy was held in the University Concert Hall, featuring the National Symphony Orchestra with conductor Alexander Anissimov, Belfast pianist Barry Douglas and Limerick soprano Suzanne Murphy.
Among the guests were former taoiseach Dr Garret FitzGerald; Mr John Hume and his wife Pat; the chairman of RTE Authority Mr Farrel Corcoran; the Bishop of Limerick, Dr Donal Murray; the Bishop of Limerick and Killaloe, Dr Edward Darling; Fionnula Hunt, leader of the Irish Chamber Orchestra, Dail deputies, senators and local authority members from the region.
The RTE Director-General, Mr Bob Collins, told the 1,000 audience that it was not often a
new national service was launched outside Dublin. Lyric FM occupied the fifth national FM waveband and it had created the opportunity to extend the hours of broadcasting for Raidio na Gaeltachta, whose new schedule went on air today.
He said the schedule should reach out to as wide an audience as possible and would contribute to the cultural life of Limerick while bringing a wider audience to the musical excellence that was a hallmark of life in the mid-west.
The President, Mrs McAleese, who is patron of the National Symphony Orchestra, in a message said the decision to locate Lyric FM in Limerick confirmed the recent renaissance which the city enjoyed.
It added significantly to the musical and broader cultural infrastructure of the region, which was, she said, symbolised by the magnificent concert hall at the University of Limerick.