RTÉ unveils ‘The Signal’ – a specially commissioned 60-second film to celebrate RTÉ100
RTÉ 100
RTÉ unveils ‘The Signal’ – a specially commissioned 60-second film
to celebrate 100 Years of Public Broadcasting in Ireland
RTÉ 100 – Additional Details Announced
Wednesday 15th April 2026: RTÉ is today launching a new 60-second film, ‘The Signal’ as part of its campaign to mark 100 years of public service media in Ireland in 2026.
In 1926, a radio signal left the 2RN transmitter for the very first time. 2RN was the precursor to RTÉ. This transmitter carried voices into homes across the country, shrinking distances and shaping a shared national story. Over the decades that followed, that signal has travelled through time and technology, adapting as the ways we listen and watch have changed. But through it all, it has reflected who we are and brought the nation together.
Developed by RTÉ’s in‑house Creative Services and Marketing/Brand teams and produced by Dublin’s Piranha Bar following a public tender process, ‘The Signal’ brings to life the journey of that first signal, from the first crackle of radio through a century of change, connection and shared belonging. The film is a distinctive blend of live action and animation, and features the voice of Irish actress, Ruth Codd with sound design by Folding Waves.
‘The Signal’ will be rolled out across RTÉ’s video and digital services throughout the remainder of 2026 and will inspire a range of new RTÉ 100 idents for RTÉ One. The short film will sit alongside a range of special broadcasts, content, performances and events which are part of the RTÉ 100 programme. It follows the introduction of RTÉ100 graphical and audio signage across RTÉ’s video and audio services in January.
The launch of ‘The Signal’ comes as RTÉ reveals some additional details about programmes, commissions and events to mark 100 years of public service broadcasting in Ireland.
RTÉ 100 UPDATES
>>> 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.
Sunday 19th April: Special commission for New Music Dublin at the National Concert Hall
(Fanfare: From 2RN to RTÉ – Celebrating 100 years)
The RTÉ Concert Orchestra opens its 2026 New Music Dublin concert with Jane O’Leary’s Fanfare: From 2RN to RTÉ – Celebrating 100 Years, a special commission composed in celebration of RTÉ 100, marking a century since the newly formed state’s first public radio transmission. This is followed by the world premiere of Kevin O’Connell’s Paradiso.
RTÉ lyric fm will broadcast this live on the station on Sunday with a specially scheduled RTÉ lyric Live, as part of our New Music Dublin coverage, with Paul Herriott from 7.00pm.
This event is presented by New Music Dublin with support from the Arts Council and in partnership with RTÉ and the National Concert Hall.
Thursday 23rd April: Performance with Aoife Ní Bhriain and Cormac McCarthy in The Helix, DCU
The RTÉ Concert Orchestra will perform a special commission, “Aistear” (100 bliain cheoil RTÉ) with two of Ireland’s most distinctive musicians, Aoife Ní Bhriain and Cormac McCarthy, as part of a compelling programme, informed by a shared musical heritage and transformed through a contemporary lens.
This piece will be recorded in studio on 18th – 19th May.
>>> On RTÉ Radio 1/ RTÉ Podcasts
On Air: A Century of RTÉ Radio
On Air: A Century of RTÉ Radio is a ten-part half-hour radio and podcast series. From episodes on sounds and voices to music, drama, Gaeilge, milestones, commemorations and celebrations, the arts, emigration and new communities, belief and spirituality, sports and more, On Air is a story of what and how we uniquely expressed ourselves on RTÉ radio across a century.
The accompanying full colour extensively illustrated hardback book, On Air: A Story of a Century of RTÉ Radio by Clíodhna Ní Anluain will be published with New Island in October, with photographs and documents from the RTÉ Archives and elsewhere, many published for the first time.
RTÉ Radio 1’s Spoken Stories
RTÉ Radio 1’s Spoken Stories commissions new story collections on different themes from writers across the Island, or living in the country, all celebrated for their contribution to the short story form. The latest theme, Sound, has been specially chosen to chime with RTÉ100. Contributing writers include Lucy Caldwell, Aingeala Flannery and David Park.
On Friday 24th April the first RTÉ100 public audience event of Spoken Stories: Sound takes place in the Triskel, Cork as part of the official programme of Cork World Book Festival 2026 and will include writers, Cathy Sweeney and Danielle McLaughlin in conversation with RTÉ’s Clíodhna Ní Anluain.
Rolling Wave Outside Broadcasts and Mobile Exhibition
The Rolling Wave and the Irish Traditional Music Archive will be working together on two projects marking RTÉ Radio 100. The first is an audio exhibition which will be staged in a number of different venues around the country from July 2026. This will involve showcasing RTÉ Radio Archive material as well as recording new material from contemporary artists on site.
In addition, ITMA’s annual Drawing from the Well Concert Tour will partner with The Rolling Wave/ RTÉ100 to celebrate the solo voice in Irish music. Leading traditional artists Seán McKeon (uilleann pipes), Jesse Smith (fiddle) and Libby McCrohan (bouzouki) and local guests will perform music inspired by material sourced from the RTÉ and ITMA Archives. The concert will feature a panel dialogue to discuss the solo player in Irish music, chaired by RTÉ broadcaster Aoife Nic Cormaic and ITMA Director of Creative Development Seán Potts. The discussion will include excerpts from the Archive, chosen by the performing artists. This tour will be travelling to nationwide venues in November 2026.
RTÉ Radio 1 with Irish Lights
RTÉ Radio 1 is partnering with Irish Lights for a special series of broadcasts to celebrate RTÉ 100 and the power of live late-night radio. The lighthouse is a powerful symbol of connection; a light in the dark is as powerful as a live voice on the air and for 100 years RTÉ Radio 1 has been that live voice – a companion for many thousands of listeners at home and abroad, early in the morning and late at night.
On the summer solstice June 20th, Céilí House will broadcast from the Baily Lighthouse in Howth in Dublin, featuring beautiful music and stories. Tristan Rosenstock will hand the on-air baton to Ray Cuddihy who will be live for Late Date from Blacksod Lighthouse in Mayo which celebrates its 160th anniversary this year. A few miles offshore, on an island uninhabited for almost 100 years, Cathal Murray will bring us the sounds and stories of the Inishkea Islands.
Later in the year, Folk on 1 and The Rolling Wave will broadcast from other Great Lighthouses of Ireland.
RTÉ Radio 1 celebrating radio for the diaspora
At one stage it was said there was better traditional music in the UK, than at home in Ireland, as so many of our best were forced to emigrate for work. Their legacy lives on, and we will capture those stories in RTÉ Radio 1’s Arena LIVE from London later in the year.
Since its inception, radio has played a vital role in the lives of those who emigrated to England as it offered news, music, sports commentary, and memories from home via longwave radio. We know how much the Irish have impressed upon the rich cultural landscape of Britain, and we will capture that in some broadcasts from London including Arena and Céilí House.
>>> RTÉ lyric fm Commissions
Orchestral Commission
RTÉ lyric fm has commissioned composer Michael Gallen, winner of the 2025 FEDORA Opera Prize (the world’s largest award for new opera) to mark 100 years of Radio Éireann in a new orchestral piece. This work will reflect the integral role RTÉ radio has played in Irish life for the past century and how RTÉ provides a voice for the people of Ireland.
The work will express the rich and varied tapestry of Irish life broadcast on RTÉ radio over the past 100 years and reflect the historical significance, socio-cultural impact, and the evolving nature of RTÉ’s public service broadcasts, from the early days of pioneering radio in 1920’s Ireland to broadcasting on digital platforms today. Anchored in a familiar sound world this piece will evoke times passed while looking towards the future with hope and RTÉ’s continued relevance and importance to Irish society.
Choral and Orchestral Commission
Composer Laura Sheils has been commissioned by RTÉ lyric fm to write a choral work with an original text set to music. The text, written by Doireann Ní Ghriofa, considers women of Ireland and how media has impacted women’s voices over the past 100 years, giving them a voice, connecting women and connecting communities of women around the country. The work will focus on the power of radio, and now digital and online media, to bring people together and to give them a voice.
>>> On RTÉ Radio na Gaeltachta
From May 30 to June 1, RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta will be broadcasting live from Comórtas Peile na Gaeltachta in Cill Charthaigh, Donegal throughout the June bank holiday weekend, with 30 hours of live content on air from Friday morning all the way through to Monday evening.
A series of special broadcasts, live from of some of Ireland’s most loved traditional music festivals this summer will be heard from the Willie Clancy Summer School in Miltown Malbay, Clare and the Scoil Acla Summer School on Acaill island in July, and Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann in Belfast in August.
>>> On WWW.RTE.IE/100
Drawing on the rich resource that is RTÉ Archives, RTÉ continues to curate a dedicated online space – www.rte.ie/100 – publishing a range of content and clips (audio and video), broadcast over the course of RTE’s history, from political events to sporting events, and from human interest stories to cultural highlights, as well as a selection of TV broadcasts, and more.
The site also hosts two weekly slots, On This Week and RTÉ Guide Flashback:
On This Week presents an eclectic mix of RTÉ archive footage broadcast on the given week over the course of RTÉ’s existence, covering everything from news events and lifestyle issues to arts, entertainment and sport.
RTÉ Guide Flashback takes a weekly look through the sixty years of archives of the RTÉ Guide, sharing stories that capture the spirit of times past that appeared on this week over the years and sharing extracts and images from the pieces. Stories so far include everything, from a profile of Gerry Ryan at the peak of his success and an homage to Jack Charlton to a long-forgotten historical drama by James Plunkett and a groundbreaking drama about AIDS.
>>> And there’s more
For Heritage Week, from 15-23 August 2026 and Open House, from 10-18 October 2026, RTÉ 100 will offer curated tours / talks on the RTÉ Donnybrook Campus, bookable as part of their official programmes.
More RTÉ 100 announcements will be made throughout the year.
For more information, visit www.rte.ie/100 and follow RTÉ across Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, X and LinkedIn using #RTÉ100.
ENDS
For information:
Neil O’Gorman | Corporate Communications Manager, RTÉ | neil.ogorman@rte.ie