Passion FM

About

Based in Bray, Co WIcklow, Passion FM was primarily a dance music service which first hit the airwaves in June 1999 on 103.7MHz (105.2MHz was added as a dedicated Wicklow transmitter in June 2000). Their playlist expanded to include youth-oriented tunes.

By September 1999, the station were operating out of a back garden shed. This period was at the height of the dance music boom; Passion FM proved hugely popular and at the end of 1999 they were based in commercial premises at the Seaview complex in Bray.

In many ways their massive success around Bray and south Dublin proved to be their downfall. On August 30th, 2000, during Barry Clarke's drivetime show, a visit from the ODTR proved to be the final calling for the station. Ordered to close by the following Sunday (September 3rd), the station had no choice but to cease transmissions and their transmitter was switched off at 7pm, after a weekend of celebration and sadness.

Their young presenter line-up, under the stewardship of station manager Dave Sheehan, matched their target audience, perhaps key to their popularity. Some presenters went on to forge a successful career in pirate and local radio. Most notable amongst these were Nikki Hayes, who worked for RTÉ 2FM and Spin 1038 to name just two, and Rob Gormley at Dublin's FM104.