On April 1st 2023, RTÉ announced the closure of the long wave service of Radio 1 on 252 kHz. Based in Clarkestown in Co. Meath, the transmitter designed to serve the Irish diaspora in Britain is to fall silent on April 14th. The closure was to happen originally in 2014 but a campaign by representatives of the Irish community in the UK achieved a number of stays of execution since then. RTÉ argues that listenership on long wave is negligible, that the facility costs too much to run and that people outside the state can listen to all radio services online. However, campaigners have said that elderly Irish listeners in Britain prefer analogue to digital and that long wave should be maintained. Wireless covered this story on various occasions over the years, including this interview in February 2017 with Richard Logue, then a representative of Save RTÉ Long Wave 252.
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