Féile FM
Encyclopedia
Féile FM was a community radio station
based at Conway Mill in the Gaeltacht Quarter
in west Belfast
.
The station first broadcast
in July 1996 on a 28-day restricted service licence
, operating as an outlet for the west Belfast community. Within two years, Féile FM began broadcasting for two four-week periods each year, providing a build up to Féile an Phobail
's Draíocht Children's Arts Festival, their West Belfast Festival and the St Patrick's Day
events.
The station was operated under the banner of Féile an Phobail
by a radio co-ordinator and a large number of volunteers from the local community. Volunteers were involved in many aspects of the station from hospitality, telephones, news team, production, presenters and even managers.
of 106.2 FM
. This frequency changed to 107.7 FM for the radio broadcast in July/August 2005. Although the station had been a roving unit for many years, broadcasting from various venues, it returned to Conway Mill in February 2004 to a purpose-built studio with a full studio and modern equipment. The studio was created through a partnership between Féile an Phobail and Conway Mill and was funded by the Belfast Local Strategy Partnership.
In October 2005, Féile FM was granted a full-time community radio licence by Ofcom
. The terms of the licence
allowed Féile FM to take two years to develop the radio station. After the period of two years, Féile FM was granted permission to broadcast throughout the year as opposed to its previous restrictions on broadcasting only in the run-up to St. Patrick's Day and the West Belfast Festival. This allowed the station to provide a full-time community radio service to the entire city of Belfast and across area of counties
Antrim
and Down
.
The station closed at 4pm on Friday 25 March 2011 owing to financial difficulties and increasing overhead costs.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
based at Conway Mill in the Gaeltacht Quarter
Gaeltacht quarter
A Neo-Gaeltacht is an area where Irish is the predominant spoken language, but is not part of the officially defined or traditional Gaeltacht areas.-Belfast:...
in west Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
.
The station first broadcast
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
in July 1996 on a 28-day restricted service licence
Restricted Service Licence
A UK Restricted Service Licence , is typically granted to radio stations and television stations broadcasting within the UK to serve a local community or a special event...
, operating as an outlet for the west Belfast community. Within two years, Féile FM began broadcasting for two four-week periods each year, providing a build up to Féile an Phobail
Feile an Phobail
Féile an Phobail , also known as the West Belfast Festival is a community arts organisation known for its August Féile . The organisation is prominent for its promotion of Irish and international culture...
's Draíocht Children's Arts Festival, their West Belfast Festival and the St Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day is a religious holiday celebrated internationally on 17 March. It commemorates Saint Patrick , the most commonly recognised of the patron saints of :Ireland, and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. It is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion , the Eastern...
events.
The station was operated under the banner of Féile an Phobail
Feile an Phobail
Féile an Phobail , also known as the West Belfast Festival is a community arts organisation known for its August Féile . The organisation is prominent for its promotion of Irish and international culture...
by a radio co-ordinator and a large number of volunteers from the local community. Volunteers were involved in many aspects of the station from hospitality, telephones, news team, production, presenters and even managers.
History
Over the first nine years, Féile FM broadcast on the same frequencyFrequency
Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency.The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency...
of 106.2 FM
Frequency modulation
In telecommunications and signal processing, frequency modulation conveys information over a carrier wave by varying its instantaneous frequency. This contrasts with amplitude modulation, in which the amplitude of the carrier is varied while its frequency remains constant...
. This frequency changed to 107.7 FM for the radio broadcast in July/August 2005. Although the station had been a roving unit for many years, broadcasting from various venues, it returned to Conway Mill in February 2004 to a purpose-built studio with a full studio and modern equipment. The studio was created through a partnership between Féile an Phobail and Conway Mill and was funded by the Belfast Local Strategy Partnership.
In October 2005, Féile FM was granted a full-time community radio licence by Ofcom
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
. The terms of the licence
License
The verb license or grant licence means to give permission. The noun license or licence refers to that permission as well as to the document recording that permission.A license may be granted by a party to another party as an element of an agreement...
allowed Féile FM to take two years to develop the radio station. After the period of two years, Féile FM was granted permission to broadcast throughout the year as opposed to its previous restrictions on broadcasting only in the run-up to St. Patrick's Day and the West Belfast Festival. This allowed the station to provide a full-time community radio service to the entire city of Belfast and across area of counties
Counties of Ireland
The counties of Ireland are sub-national divisions used for the purposes of geographic demarcation and local government. Closely related to the county is the County corporate which covered towns or cities which were deemed to be important enough to be independent from their counties. A county...
Antrim
County Antrim
County Antrim is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,844 km², with a population of approximately 616,000...
and Down
County Down
-Cities:*Belfast *Newry -Large towns:*Dundonald*Newtownards*Bangor-Medium towns:...
.
The station closed at 4pm on Friday 25 March 2011 owing to financial difficulties and increasing overhead costs.