Athlone Community Radio

Athlone Community Radio has been awarded a national award for its programme “Class Mates”, in the category of Social Gain at the CRAOL Achievements Awards 2008. The Community Radio Forum of Ireland – CRAOL Awards, supported by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) was on Saturday night at the Shamrock Lodge Hotel, Athlone.

Judicators evaluated this programme as a real example of “how Community Radio serves and reflects its community”, along with its “high production standard”.
“Class Mates” is a weekly radio programme for primary school children, in which they interviewed each other about their school or club and they also got the opportunity to show their talents and achievements. The programme “Class Mates “ was recorded on site, in Cornafulla NS, Summerhill NS, St. Mary’s NS, Cornamady NS, Scoil na Gceithre Maistri, Mixed National School and with children at the Saint Patrick’s day parade 2008, the Willow Park Football Club, Beavers and Scouts, Athlone youth Theatre and the Irish Wheelchair Association’s Sunshine Children’s Club. This is the first CRAOL A ward to be presented to an aspirant community radio station.
Athlone Community Radio would like to say thanks to all the members of the community who helped and participated in this programme, especially to all our talented children who made this programme to be nationally recognised and we accept this award on behalf of all who participated in the making of the programmes.

This award-winning programme was produced and recorded by Irena Cvetkovic, a member of the broadcasting and training staff on Athlone Community Radio. Irena is a native of Serbia and is living in Athlone for the past 7 years.
Irena went to the schools and clubs each week to record the children and then edited and produced the programme for broadcast.

Irena has also in the past been awarded funding from the BCI Sound and Vision to produce a series of programmes called across “The Divide”. These programmes explored the challenges of moving to Ireland from another country, of the similarities and differences between Irish and non Irish cultures, folklore, music and lots more.