Love of radio – and her mam! – drove Mullingar presenter to Christmas FM
Christmas FM’s annual ‘Donation Day’ to raise funds for Barnardos is today, Tuesday December 21,
By Sarah Slevin
A love of music and radio at home inspired Mullingar woman, Áine O’Neill, to volunteer her time on Christmas FM.
Áine O’Neill (33) has been volunteering with Ireland’s main Christmas station since 2016 and has since taken on a presenting role.
Having grown up playing the harp and piano and surrounded by her brother Dylan playing the drums with bands in Mullingar, music was always an interest for Áine.
“The interest would’ve been there with family members, and I played different instruments myself, the harp, piano, some trad and rock,” Áine said.
However, Áine said that her mother always seemed to be drawn to radio and wanted Áine to try it out.
“My mother was always trying to get me on Christmas FM, telling me there were positions there and radio courses, trying to get me into that area,” Áine said.
Áine initially got involved with Christmas FM with the production side of things, having studied related courses.
“I studied music production and that was the initial link with the station. When I started working with them, I began doing some editing first off before I got involved with presenting,” Áine said.
“I did one of the radio training programmes and went from there to presenting over the last few years, so it was a gradual move into it,” Áine added.
Áine said it has given her a great opportunity and has opened up a few doors for her in the radio world.
“There are so many different areas to be involved in and when you get an opportunity just get stuck right in,” Áine said.
“I’ve worked on a few different radio shows separately, going from Christmas FM has opened up doors into other radio projects,” Áine said.
Áine had nothing but praise for the festive station, her colleagues, the atmosphere and work they do.
“We all do it for charity, we’ve invested our energy, and everyone encourages each other.
“We’re four weeks in and exhausted now but when we see the results of the money raised for the partner this year, Barnardos, it will feel amazing,” Áine said.
Christmas FM’s annual ‘Donation Day’ to raise funds for Barnardos is today, Tuesday December 21,
This year, Christmas FM wants to ‘Give the Gift of Childhood’ by raising over €250,000 for Barnardos. The funds will provide targeted and intensive support for over 5,000 children most in need – including nutritious food, support with education, and therapeutic services with their trained support teams – because childhood lasts a lifetime.
During the 12-hour radiothon from 7am to 7pm today Tuesday December 21, the station will be asking listeners to dig deep and make a donation through www.christmasfm.com or via the telephone number 0818 911 977.
This is an example of what a listeners donation can do:
• €50 can help Barnardos provide a month of warm, nutritious breakfasts for a vulnerable child.
• €100 can make a child feel warm again by helping Barnardos give Winter Warmer Packs to vulnerable children, complete with a waterproof coat, hat and gloves
• €250 can assist a child’s education by helping Barnardos buy books, school supplies and resources for their After School Homework Clubs.
Garvan Rigby, Co-Founder of Christmas FM says: ‘This is our 14th year on air as Christmas FM. Over the years we have raised almost €2.7 million for deserving charities, and we will continue to keep raising vital funds with the generous help of the Irish public. In addition to fundraising during the month of December, our specific Donation Day event on 21st December will hopefully help us to raise as much as possible for this year’s chosen charity, Barnardos.’
Suzanne Connolly, CEO, Barnardos, says: ‘On behalf of everyone here at Barnardos, I would like to thank the team at Christmas FM for choosing us to be part of this very special campaign and we are very excited about the upcoming Donation Day event. I hope that Christmas FM listeners across the country will get involved on December 21st and help us transform the lives of vulnerable children all across Ireland. Our gift of childhood partnership with Christmas FM, with your support, can make a difference.’
To find out more about Barnardos visit www.barnardos.ie follow @Barnardos_IRL on Twitter or visit Barnardos Ireland on Facebook.
Christmas FM is this year being supported by premier FM sponsors An Post, Cadbury, and Coca-Cola - this ensures that all on-air fundraising and listener donations will go directly to Barnardos. Christmas FM is broadcasting from the offices of askpaul.ie who have kindly donated the studio space this year. The station is run each year by a core management team, assisted by more than 100 volunteers who devote hundreds of hours of their time.
The main FM radio frequencies for Christmas FM are Bray 99.5, Cavan 99.4, Clare 105.2, Cork City, part county 106.7, Cork North, part county 87.7, Dublin City & County 105.2, Dundalk/Drogheda 104.2, Galway City, part County 87.9, Kildare North 88.1, Kilkenny City 104.3, Letterkenny 105.7, Limerick City 105.5, Longford 94.2, Sligo Town 95, South East 103.8, Tralee/Killarney 105, Waterford City 105.9, Wicklow Town 106.6FM.
Christmas FM is also available on Virgin Media Channel 900. Find out all the ways to listen at https://christmasfm.com/listenin/
Christmas FM also has a number of sister stations that are available globally, helping to sprinkle Christmas cheer right across the globe!
• Christmas FM Classical plays ‘Classical and Carols’. The station brings you the best in Classical Christmas music mixed with a wide range of festive carols.
• Christmas FM Classics plays ‘Classics and Crooners’. It’s a mix of classic, pre-1970s Christmas songs from Bing to Frank and Nat to Eartha.
Just log onto www.christmasfm.com or listen on the app, your smart speaker, or connected device at any time of the day or night!
You can follow the station on social at @christmasfm