How to Listen to Irish Radio Online (RTÉ, Trad, Folk and Celtic Sound)

Updated 11 September 2026

You can stream Irish radio online from any browser, anywhere in the world, with nothing to install and no account required to start. Open 72FM's Ireland page and press play. Irish radio has a warmth and particularity that comes through even at a distance: the cadence of the accent, the easy intimacy of the presenter-listener relationship, the genuine seriousness with which traditional music is treated alongside contemporary pop and news. For fans of the broader Anglo-Irish cultural orbit, the UK radio online guide and folk radio online guide sit alongside this one naturally.

RTÉ: the shape of Irish public broadcasting

RTÉ (Raidió Teilifís Éireann) is Ireland's national public broadcaster, and its radio networks define much of the country's broadcast culture.

RTÉ Radio 1 is the flagship: news, current affairs, documentaries, sport, and cultural programming, all delivered in a style that reflects Irish public life — engaged, often opinionated, comfortable with complexity, and with a relationship to the island's history and politics that is never far from the surface. Long-running programmes like Morning Ireland and The Late Debate have shaped how the country understands its days and evenings for decades.

RTÉ 2fm is the contemporary music network, programming chart pop, Irish artists, and current music alongside entertainment features. RTÉ lyric fm is Ireland's classical and arts station — broadcast from Limerick and covering classical music, jazz, opera, and cultural features. It has a quieter, more considered tone than the main network, and is particularly beloved by listeners who want music without interruption.

RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta is a particularly distinctive offering: a public service broadcaster operating entirely in the Irish language (Gaeilge), designed to serve Ireland's Irish-speaking communities — the Gaeltacht regions of the west, northwest, and south — and available to anyone who wants to hear Irish music, culture, and language in their native broadcasting context.

The sounds worth knowing

Irish traditional music: the living form

Irish traditional music — trad — is one of the most vital living folk traditions in the world. It is primarily an instrumental tradition, built on a set of dance forms: reels, jigs, hornpipes, polkas, and slip jigs, played on fiddle, uilleann pipes, tin whistle, flute, accordion, banjo, and bodhrán. Unusually for a folk tradition, it is largely unwritten — learned by ear, transmitted through sessions, and constantly being developed by active players. The session (seisiún) — an informal gathering at a pub or hall where musicians play together — is the social institution at the heart of the tradition.

On radio, trad finds a serious home. RTÉ Radio 1 programmes it regularly; Raidió na Gaeltachta carries it extensively; specialist stations and programmes dedicate entire hours to the form. Hearing traditional music in a broadcast context — announced, discussed, placed in the flow of a programme — is quite different from hearing it on a compilation, and the difference matters.

Sean-nós: singing without accompaniment

Sean-nós (literally "old style") singing is the unaccompanied Irish song tradition, particularly associated with the Gaeltacht. It is ornamented, modal, and intensely personal — a singer's voice over silence, following a melodic path that differs subtly with each rendering. It is not immediately accessible to ears accustomed to contemporary pop, but it rewards patient listening enormously. Raidió na Gaeltachta is one of the few places you'll encounter it in a broadcast context.

Irish folk and singer-songwriters

Ireland has a tradition of the singer-songwriter that runs deep — from the ballad-revival of the 1960s, associated with groups like The Clancy Brothers and the Dubliners, through the folk-rock of Planxty and De Dannan in the 1970s, to contemporary artists who continue to write songs in English and Irish from a tradition-rooted perspective. Radio has been central to this culture. Programmes on RTÉ Radio 1 have historically been among the few broadcast spaces in Europe where a new folk recording could receive primetime attention.

Contemporary Irish music: rock, pop, and beyond

Ireland's contribution to rock and pop music extends well beyond what its small population might suggest. The country has produced artists who, at different moments, shaped what popular music sounded like internationally. Contemporary Irish commercial radio reflects both this history and the current scene — a mix of domestic artists and international chart pop, discussed in a specifically Irish cultural frame. The Irish music industry is active, internationally connected, and regularly producing interesting new artists.

The Irish language on radio

For listeners interested in the Irish language — whether learners, diaspora members reconnecting with heritage, or simply the curious — Raidió na Gaeltachta is an invaluable resource. Irish is a Celtic language with a complex grammar and a phonological system quite different from English; hearing it spoken naturally in broadcast contexts is one of the better ways to develop an ear for it. The station combines music, news, conversation, and cultural programming entirely in Irish, and streaming it from anywhere in the world is an extraordinary thing to be able to do.

How to start listening

1. Open the Ireland page. Visit /radio/ie in any browser — phone, laptop, or tablet. No download, no account.
2. Choose your entry. RTÉ Radio 1 for the full texture of Irish public life; lyric fm for music without distraction; Raidió na Gaeltachta for Irish language and culture.
3. Save what returns. Add up to ten stations to your free-tier favourites as you explore.

If you're interested in the broader folk tradition, the folk radio online guide is a natural companion. The radio map lets you explore Ireland geographically — useful for finding regional and local stations.

If a stream won't play

Certain RTÉ streams are restricted to listeners within Ireland, particularly for content that involves rights-restricted music or sports. If a stream won't load from your location, it's a broadcaster-level decision rather than a connection problem on your end. Try an alternative on the Ireland page — commercial Irish stations and community broadcasters often stream without restriction.

In short

Irish radio online is a place where warmth, rigour, tradition, and wit meet in a distinctively Irish combination. From RTÉ Radio 1's engaged public broadcasting to the quiet depth of Raidió na Gaeltachta, there is more to hear here than most listeners from outside Ireland expect.

Browse Irish stations on 72FM and let the dial speak.

Listen now: All stations from Ireland