THE managing director of Radio Kerry, Mr Dan Collins, has been appointed chief executive of Radio Ireland Ltd, the new national radio station.
Mr Collins will now join the team negotiating with the Independent Radio and Television Commission (IRTC) over the contract for the 10 year franchise.
Mr Collins has been with Radio Kerry since it went on air in 1990. He won a Jacobs Award, the first won by a local station, in 1991, for his own programme, the Rambling House.
His appointment to Radio Ireland, though not unexpected, fulfills a promise the consortium made at the presentations earlier this year that it would appoint a chief executive with considerable radio experience.
Mr Collins was a senior radio producer with RTE before going to Radio Kerry.
His presence should help the consortium get over one of its major problems within the media industry - lack of radio experience.
Mr Collins has been one of the main people who has argued for local radio's public service role and his own station was used as a model of what local radio could do. Over 50 per cent of Radio Kerry's output is devoted to speech radio, including documentaries.
The Radio Ireland consortium, also known as Riverdance radio, beat four other consortiums seeking to run the national radio station. It is now negotiating the contract with the IRTC.
Radio Ireland is seeking an audience in the 25 to 45 age bracket, very much a young RTE Radio 1 audience.
A spokesman for the consortium said yesterday negotiations with the IRTC were progressing well and it was ready to go on air on November 1st.