Sir, – I have been listening to BBC Radio 4 for over 80 years. In the old days it was the Home Service, and because we lived near the border with Fermanagh we had very good reception, much better than we had from Radio Éireann. Now, all these years later I still listen to Radio Four and in the last two weeks I have found it extremely interesting to hear the Irish voices therein. I listen to Nuala McGovern on Woman’s Hour, hear Orla Guerin referred to as “our senior international reporter”, and recently James Helm talking about his time in Dublin as the BBC correspondent.
And let us not forget Al Ryan, who, as an announcer, has the job of reading the BBC shipping forecast at 12 45am. When he has finished he wishes everybody a safe and happy night as Radio Four closes down, and always ends saying in his soft Irish accent “Oíche mhaith” .
With my failing eyesight my radio is my rock, and it is lovely to hear these Irish voices and realise that we are now considered as good as everybody else and in a lot of instances a hell of a lot better! – Yours, etc,
ITA McCORMACK,
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Maynooth,
Co Kildare.