RTÉ to broadcast from lighthouses to mark 100 years

RTÉ is set to mark its 100th anniversary with special broadcasts from two Irish lighthouses for the summer solstice.

The broadcasts will mark its partnership with Irish Lights, the body over the Great Lighthouses of Ireland and to showcase the power of radio.

They will celebrate the strong strong connection that radio and lighthouses have always had - one as a voice in the darkness, the other a light in the darkness.

Céilí House will feature music, stories and reflections inspired by Ireland's coastal heritage from the Baily Lighthouse, Howth from 9pm to 10pm tonight.

Late Date will then be broadcast live from Blacksod Lighthouse, Co Mayo between 10pm and 1am. The lighthouse became operational 160 yeas ago this month and remains vital for vessels operating in the Atlantic.

Presenter Ray Cuddihy will be based at the lighthouse itself, while Cathal Murray will broadcast from the Inishkea Islands, which have remained uninhabited for the last century.

Elizabeth Laragy Editor of Entertainment, Music and Commission for RTÉ Radio 1 said: "Radio communications have long been integral to lighthouse operations.

"For generations of lighthouse keepers, radio provided essential weather updates, maritime information, and a dependable human voice in some of the most remote stations on our coastline."

She said that radio communications remain equally important today.