Louise WhelanIf you haven’t yet tuned into RICC Radio and the amazing podcasts that go out every week where have you been? At the helm of the radio show are the three amigos, Mick Hanley who is the radio manager, Jennifer Gannon, presenter, and Dylan Clayton, the sound engineer. Together they bring their own talents and abilities to make RICC Radio a success. They are the core and the heart of the radio station and it shows every single week how much of their skills are poured into each episode.
Mick Hanley has a very impressive radio background. He started off working on Ana Livia radio, then went on to Dublin City FM for 13 years where he was also the CEO. Sport is Mick’s forte and he deems all sports so important in life; great for kids, great for adults and the social aspect can improve mental health. There is a little bit of sport at the moment on the radio but that’ll be expanded into a wider variety as there are so many sporting organisations in the locality.
When Mick retired from Dublin City FM at the end of June 2021 he was contacted by Lorraine Barry, the manager of RICC to see if he would be interested in getting the radio station up and running again with a team. So after Mick had a good six months rest he decided that the time was right and started in January 2022. What he brings to the radio is his brilliant coordination, his motivation and vast knowledge and expertise from his own career into this new chapter in his life. Mick’s main aim is to get all the podcasts out to people to listen to, including those who are away or live abroad, so they can still stay in touch with the area through the radio station.
As we all know, the RICC Radio relaunch was on Valentine’s Day with the first community newsdesk starting the ball rolling. The newsdesk is all about the local communities and all the people and groups who use RICC on a daily and weekly basis. The purpose of the newsdesk is to highlight everything that happens around the area and spread the word on any upcoming events or interesting topics that would appeal to the masses. It goes out every Monday at 12pm.
Jennifer Gannon is the host of this podcast. She started working in RICC last year on reception and when there was talk of the radio station being phoenixed from the flames Jennifer was the perfect choice as host. Not only has she an amazing background in media, with writing freelance and doing bits for Today FM, RTE, The Last Word with Brendan O’Connor, Dave Fanning and Arena, she also has the gift of drawing out people’s voices, whether you are a bit shy or a bit out of your comfort zone on the radio, Jennifer’s wonderfully clear, refreshing and confident tone puts people at ease when they go in to do their interview.
She had never done presenting to this extent until now. Jennifer loves seeing what goes on around the area as there is always so much happening that people might not be aware of. She enjoys meeting many different people and allowing them to tell their stories, and she is so passionate about what she does in RICC. Growing up, Jennifer was mad about the radio and music but there was never a proper outlet or resource where you could progress during that time so she thought she’d never get to experience the kinds of things she does now. She enjoys working with the youth group from Riccy’s where they can come in and learn to set up their own podcasts and see how a radio station works. Jennifer talks about how there is so much more now for young kids and teens to expand their interests and to get involved in the learning process of something like a radio station; whether it be production, sound, presenting, podcasts or engineering, even management organisation. It can give them a little taste of that career.
Dylan Clayton is the original innovator who started off RICC Radio way back when and takes the win for the longest golf podcast still running since day one which is called Tee Time! Back then, Dylan knew there was a gap in the market for a local radio station (sound wise) and as Dylan is a qualified sound engineer, he knew his talents could benefit the whole community. Dylan had already been working in Ricc and himself and Noel McGuinness, who was the radio manager at the time worked nine hours a day on the internet radio in the hope that they would go for the live mast for FM radio, but it was just too hard to keep it going at the time as Dylan and Noel were the only qualified radio media-based people. This time around though, there is still that intention to go live every day and get on those FM airways as it would be fantastic for the area if eventually that goal was to materialise.
Dylan also trains people with an interest in radio and has already started with a couple of Transition Year students that are also in his Rockschool.(see page 26) These students have a huge interest in technology and media-based subjects and as all the software in Ricc Radio is specifically built for media, it enables the students to be skilled-up with the best of the best equipment.
At the moment there are eight or nine different podcasts being broadcast. As well as the community newsdesk and RICCY’S Youth Voices, there’s also Poetry Circle by Áine Ní Chaoimhe, Urban Gardening, Food & Wellbeing with Tobias Gunning, Sport, and Time Waves which is about the history of Dublin 4 with Turlough Kelly and friends, plus much more.
And please don’t be shy. If anyone has any suggestions or anything of interest that you think people would like to hear about, or a specialist subject that you would like to get highlighted or spoken about, do get in touch with RICC Radio in the Ringsend and Irishtown Community Centre, and the gang will be more than happy to assist you with any queries. The new RICC website is up and running too so check that out at www.ricc.ie. Or you can email at riccradio2020@gmail.com
You can find RICC Radio on Spotify and all streaming platforms or you can always click the link in RICC Facebook page and on Instagram when each podcast is online and that will bring you to the episodes to play.
