Who actually listens to Spirit FM?

Spirit isn't Catholic, it's evangelical. A tiny audience willing to part with cash to fund what they like, and also get donations from abroad.

Aren’t they not too fond of the papists?

As the saying goes; christian rock doesn’t make christianity better, it makes rock worse

There are still many of faith in Ireland and around the world.

There's a Radio Maria that (somehow) managed to get on Saorview.

I dont know what kind of audience numbers these, by now, niche interest stations get in this country.

There are several (at least) evangelical churches in every Irish city, and at least one in many towns. Look at who goes there, and you'll have your answer.

Every broadcaster is required to be balanced in reporting of current affairs, not push a political stance, BAI rules etc etc.

EXCEPT religious broadcasters who can broadcast any sort of claptrap as fact, and even push a political line during a referendum.

I've no idea why we allow religious broadcasters to exist in Ireland. We wouldn't allow a political party to own a radio station...

It's all singalongs and acoustic renditions of Craig David & Creed until someone spikes the punch.

or the kool-aid

Spirit was intended to be a Medium Wave station but somehow managed to get FM frequencies all over the country, which seems like a complete waste to me. They still have a MW service but it's at such low power that it's barely usable in about half the country.

I don't care what religious sect it's from, I hate it, I hate the fact that I can't block it. I hate anything religious. They have found a new way of interfering in my private life. At least I can press the scroll button but it always bloody stops at Spirit, I guess they have some serious power on that transmitter lol

What frequency is it on? I can never find it

That American style tele (or radio) evangelism never sat well with me. I don't have any religious beliefs anymore and I'm relieved that the Catholic Church don't have that stranglehold on Irish society that it once had but I think one downside is a vacuum thats partially being filled by shady baptist, evangelist type organisations plus the likes of the Scientologists and also weird breakaway Catholic sects who seem to be obsessed with turning the clock back to pre Vatican II.

because we do, as we do have a tiny semblance of a radio market in this country, very tiny as that is.

there is no reason not to allow such broadcasters either given nobody is forced to tune in to them.

if you honestly expect a religious station of which the religious teachings they follow would be against a subject, to provide balance in relation to that subject, then i am afraid that your expectations are unrealistic, given that unlike the rest of the radio, there would be no actual point in doing it given there would be no minds to be changed meaning they would be doing it for the sake of doing it and wasting their and their listeners time providing something they don't wish to listen to.

just don't tune in to such broadcasters, i don't and never would and they don't effect my life in any way, just like the rest of commercial radio in this country to be honest.

EOTR, they are propaganda stations, we don't allow it in any other area of life but as usual, religion gets a free pass - why?

Should we have a KKK radio station, after all people are free to not listen to it? A frankly stupid argument. Either we have standards, or we do not, and if we do have standards then they must be applied equally to all.

There is already religious broadcasting on RTE, BBC etc. and nobody is proposing to get rid of it.

What I'm talking about in particular is stations promoting a political viewpoint during a referendum campaign, this is not allowed but the religious stations are either exempt from the rules every other broadcaster has to obey, or were just let away with it - either is wrong.

You're really not getting the point at all. Broadcast stations (in our part of the world) are not supposed to be for promoting the viewpoint of a particular group or media owner. But religions are an exception to this rule, and no justification for this exception has been put forward by you, the BAI or anyone else.

So if broadcast stations have to be impartial- all published books, magazines etc should have to do the same, surely?

Much better to have teachers running the country.

I'm Christian. I don't listen to Spirit, no one is forcing me to. Hotblack has an obvious abhorrence to anything that doesn't support his atheist beliefs. So his, dislike of the station isn't a surprise.

Listening to him going on about his hatred of religion is no different to listening to the pope saying his is the one true church and I'm a heretic.

I just can't get people who have such a hatred of something spending so much time discussing it. Surely they have better things to do with their lives.

I think atheists are wrong in their belief. I don't spend endless hours discussing those beliefs and telling everyone about it. I've more important things to be doing with my life.