Celebrating 100 Years of Public Broadcasting in Ireland in 2026

At 7.45pm on 1st January 1926, the precursor to RTÉ, 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 RTÉ, in its guises as 2RN, Radio Éireann, Teilifís Éireann and latterly RTÉ, has been at the centre of Irish life, informing, engaging and entertaining the nation across an expanding range of services.

For a century, RTÉ, 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, RTÉ 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, RTÉ Director-General, Kevin Bakhurst said:   “I am privileged to lead RTÉ 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 RTÉ 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, RTÉ 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 RTÉ Concert Orchestra.

AUDIO

New Year’s Eve 2025

The RTÉ 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 RTÉ lyric fm and the new piece will also be broadcast live on RTÉ Radio 1.

Thursday 1st January 2026 

A range of content from RTÉ Archives will form part of RTÉ 100: Voices of Radio from 7.00pm on RTÉ Radio 1, marking the actual time the 2RN radio service launched in 1926.

RTÉ live from the GPO 

On Thursday 15th January, from 7.00am, RTÉ will broadcast live from the GPO across RTÉ Radio1, RTÉ 2fm, RTÉ lyric fm and RTÉ Raidió 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).

RTÉ Concert Orchestra Special Events

The RTÉ Concert Orchestra will present a series of special performances around the country in front of live audiences and live on RTÉ Radio 1 and RTÉ 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 RTÉ, 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 RTÉ 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 Ní Bhriain, Felicity Hayes McCoy, Margaret Galvin and many more.

Bowman: Sunday: 8.30

John Bowman will continue to showcase the richness of the RTÉ 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

RTÉ 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 RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta.

VIDEO

A Century of Stories

This two-part documentary will take a non-linear look at how 2RN, Raidió Éireann and RTÉ 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 across the country.

On RTÉ.ie 

Online, RTÉ.ie will curate and contextualise the wealth of content associated with the centenary across all RTÉ platforms, drawing on the rich resource that is RTÉ Archives.

CAMPAIGN SUPPORT

From Thursday 1st January, RTÉ will introduce RTÉ 100 graphical and audio signage across its video and audio services, while RTÉ has also commissioned a 60 second film, titled “The Signal”. Created by RTÉ’s in-house creative services and marketing/brand team, the promo will mark 100 years of public service media in Ireland and reflect RTÉ’s legacy and future, capturing the evolution of Irish broadcasting through a blend of live-action and animation. The campaign will run for 12 months, in various iterations, and the estimated cost is reflective of standard industry costs for campaigns of this ambition and scale.

For more, visit www.rte.ie/100 and check out RTÉ’s social media across Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, X and LinkedIn using #RTE100.

– Ends – 

Maureen Catterson, Communications Manager

Laura Fitzgerald, Communications Manager