St Mary’s Cathedral in Killarney, Co. Kerry, has launched a new radio system to broadcast Mass and other services to parishioners in their homes.
An older local broadcasting system that the cathedral had operated for several years, was knocked out of action early in 2010 when the transmitter was hit by a freak lightning strike.
The church authorities decided that the opportunity should be taken to replace the entire service with new state-of-the-art technology that went live over Christmas.
Fr Kevin McNamara said that the old system had 200 subscribers who were mostly elderly or housebound and was a vital service for those who cannot attend Mass.
“We now have a licence to broadcast on a special frequency; the old system was dependent on the weather for a signal and some people didn’t get reception but the new one will give a much better signal,” he said.
“If there are any problems, a special transmitter can be installed outside to boost the system and also, it won’t interfere with any other radio system.”
Fr McNamara said the new radio service was “guaranteed to be crystal-clear and provide a top class service. It’s a great link for people and it is very helpful spiritually and gives information on what is going on in the parish,” he added.
“It will even allow for the relay of Mass from locations other than the cathedral itself with a portable transmitter,” he explained.
“The old radio receivers are now defunct and we are taking orders for the new ones – they cost €100, but the parish will subsidise half the cost. We are only too aware that money is scarce, so people will only pay €50 and they can pay that over time.”
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