Red FM and Blarney

Today we first visited Red FM. It is located in Cork and it is the number one radio station between the ages of 15 to 35- year-olds. It won best breakfast show in Ireland two years in a row. Grainne Murnae is the advertising sales manager who spoke with us. She actually went to school for English and philosophy. She said that there is no government subsidy. They get revenue from advertising which then pays for wages and keeps the show going. Their license is specifically for the ages from 15 to 35 because they have the most disposable income. If someone requests to play oldies, they can’t because that is not targeting their demographic market. The age group slightly differs from the U.S. In the U.S we start at 18. There are pros and cons to either side as to why Red FM is specific. Eilsh Barry is Red FM scriptwriter. She prepares scripts in English and Irish. There are no Irish commercials because that would cause too narrow of a demographic and some people may not understand. They also can’t talk about drinking in a glamorous manner. Public service announcements must be in Irish and English language. Collin O’Sullivan was the last to speak to us. He is program director who basically makes sure everyone is doing their job. After the lectures we saw a room where they have production.

Our next stop was Blarney Castle where I kissed the famous stone for good luck. Though it is a touristy thing to do, I am glad I did it for the experience. Waiting and walking up the narrow staircases I felt like I was at an amusement park such as Hershey Park. But this time I didn’t get to the top and ride a three minutes roller coaster, I bent over backwards for a two second kiss. I believe I took some great photos from the experience to remember always. It was fun and memorable. Then I went shopping at the Woolen Mills located right next to the Blarney Castle!

Now that everything is done on the agenda. I have free time which will be most likely spent editing photos and chilling!! I love this hotel and I will be sad to leave tomorrow morning at 8:30 a.m. There is a church a few blocks away that keeps ringing at least every half hour. I don’t mind it but I think others are annoyed. In fact while writing this song I recognized a hymn. :-)