When music lover Tommy Mulholland launched Draperstown’s first ever radio station just under a year ago, six or seven listeners tuned in.
Last Monday night, the south Derry man’s weekly interview feature had an audience reach of 19,000.
It’s fair to say the station has come a long way in 12 months.
Although it is locally focused, the station is broadcasting on the web, reaching listeners right around the world.
Tommy got the idea for the station, which is a hobby for him, while he was browsing through US-based radio websites.
“I would hear American listeners requesting songs, taking part in phone-ins and generally making contact with friends and family on a global scale. I got the idea of creating something similar in our own local area and get rid of all the negative outpouring which was being broadcast by other mainstream stations. I found that music was the way to bring people together and so I sought to do that,” he said.
The dad-of-five, who has been in a number of bands touring pubs in Scotland, England and Ireland, said although the idea of launching a radio station ‘scared’ him, he was up for the challenge.
“As music is my passion, I didn’t feel that this part of broadcasting was going to be difficult but other aspects of presenting a programme did scare me quite a bit, but I was up for the challenge.
“With a great deal of technical help and advice from a very good friend of mine, Damien Donnelly from Draperstown, I decided to run with it. Looking back, I didn’t think I could have done it on my own and Damien more or less set the station up for me. This technical help and computer skills were invaluable. One problem remained though. My public speaking was terrible. Don’t forget anyone in the world can play music but I soon realised the important bit lay between the songs. I spent two whole days talking into a mirror but I’m still far from perfect.”
Unfortunately, during the first broadcast things didn’t go as well as Tommy had hoped.
He continued: “In February 2015, I decided to do my first show. To be honest, although I was sitting in my own little studio at home, I was shaking like a leaf. Things didn’t go too well, too much volume, too much echo and stuttering like a dog chewing bread. I then decided that a radio station wasn’t for me but after a few months, I decided to give it another try.”
When Tommy decided to go back on the air in May, things were different this time, however he explained that he felt something was missing.
“By this time most of my problems had been rectified and believe it or not it sounded not too bad although Damien was only a phone call away in case of an emergency. Thankfully he had me fully prepared,” he said.
“On the first night I did a show I had six or seven listeners although four of them were my family. This was the official launch of Draperstown Country Radio. I then started to put up stuff on Facebook and as a result I did get a few more listeners but not as many as I would have liked. I trundled on but to be honest I was starting to lose interest.
“Then a good friend and publican, Maurice Regan, came up with a great suggestion – change the name of the station from Draperstown Country Radio to Draperstown Irish Radio. With the original name ‘Country’ I was pigeon-holing myself to the point where the listeners were getting a nightly dose of country music but people who didn’t like country were getting nothing. Hence I dropped the word ‘Country’.”
Explaining why he decided to include the word ‘Irish’, Tommy said: “Internet radio is a growing medium and a lot of ex-pats in Australia and America flick through the channels like I did in the beginning.
“Imagine you are searching through radio stations and you come across the word ‘Irish’ – the chances are you’ll stop at that name which greatly attracts that person to become a regular listener.
“Damien put me up a new website and now I play a few different music genres such as pop, rock and traditional music although country is still the backbone of the station.”
Tommy, a native of Bellaghy, now has fans right across the world, including his daughter Paula, who lives in New York.
He said: “As things continue to grow I now have listeners across the world, in places such as Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, North America and Canada, as well as Holland, the UK and of course Ireland. I also have one listener in Turkey. As Draperstown Irish Radio continues to grow, I have a few ideas for the future. Recently I have introduced a feature called ‘The Monday Interview’ where I interview a well-known member of the community, but I keep the name under wraps until the broadcast on Monday night.
“This is proving a big hit, especially with my Australian listeners, many of whom are young boys and girls from our parish.”
Although the station is currently non-funded and run on a voluntary basis, Tommy says his long-term goal is to treat it as a business, rather than a hobby, so he can make a living out of it.
In the short-term, he is hoping to introduce more voluntary presenters and plans to upgrade the equipment.
Tommy broadcasts every night, except Saturdays, between 9pm and 12 midnight.
The Monday interview feature broadcasts at 10pm each Monday night.
To tune in, visit www.draperstownradio.co.uk
You can also listen via the station’s Facebook – Google-Mixlr app.
The Facebook page is ‘Draperstown-IRISHRadio’ or text or phone Tommy on 07724815311

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