Paul Kavanagh

This adventure started for me back in 1994.

Kiss 103 FM came on air, and from there my radio journey began. This started lifelong friendships with Ralph McGarry and Sean Power. Ralph had given me an introduction to Garv Rigby who was the Kiss Fm programme director at the time and now Director and co-founder of Christmas FM. Kiss was hot hits, CHR, it was fresh, it was a different kind of radio from the likes of Sunset 106.8, Club 106.4 and Vibe 107.2. These stations played dance and dance only. Kiss FM was based on the super pirates from the 80’s; the likes of Nova, Q102, Sunshine, Kiss & Energy103. Kiss Fm was all about the hot hits and my love of all things radio began. Kiss closed down in 1994 and myself Sean and Ralph set up Freedom Fm.

We started our first broadcast in march of 95 and decided to go the route of hot hits and chart music, CHR because everybody else in Dublin was playing dance music 24/7. Everything went well for us for 8 years, our popularity soared and we became a house hold name on the FM band in Dublin. We helped raise a generation during the nineties and noughties until Tuesday 20th May 2003 Black Tuesday.

Black Tuesday was the day the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) took control of the air waves in Dublin. We went out on a high, we went out doing what we loved. It was decided not to return to the air as this would result in further action from the authorities. Freedom FM has remained in the hearts and minds of all that had worked with us over the 8 years that we were on air. Moving forward to 2020 to be exact, lockdown.

In an effort to occupy ourselves it was decided to bring Freedom back to relive the nineties and noughties. As social distancing had to be observed, we decided to become an online station with 25 presenters currently working from home studios and broadcasting to the world on freedomfm.ie. You can catch me every Wednesday and Thursday from 6 to 9 reliving those 90s and Noughties! Talk to you then.