April 20 - So sad at silencing of our community voice

I write this letter with a heavy heart and I could not let this event go by without voicing my sadness and the sense of loss I feel here in our beautiful Ballyhoura region. On March 14 our community lost a treasure when Ballyhoura Community Radio ceased broadcasting.

At first appearance it may seem that a community, not-for-profit radio station should not rate highly when compared with so many worthy charities out there. But allow me to first tell you what this station has done for the local area.

Not only did it reach into the heart of our community and bring us together but it gave us a voice. It rewarded its volunteers with a new confidence and self-belief which may have otherwise been unattainable. In a time when we, as communities, have lost our voice, our jobs and we battle daily with the incessant negativity out there, the station offered new friendships, free invaluable training to volunteers to use equipment and a chance to reconnect with our community roots.

BCR raised awareness on what was happening locally, crossing the Cork/Limerick border weekly from Newtown to Kilfinane and from Bruff to Ballyhea, and uniting people with its common goal. It was a classic example of a community reaching out. The people that were involved were mostly volunteers, except for a few core staff who went above and beyond to help co-ordinate the whole lot of us! Those dedicated staff have sadly lost the jobs they loved.

The station was also involved with the St Joseph’s Foundation where their service users had the opportunity to present their own innovative and CRAOL award-winning show every week.

Since I myself began as a volunteer with the station in September 2011 the experience has changed me completely. My confidence has grown and I found employment though the people I connected with at BCR. I now network with so many wonderful people which is something that I never thought possible before my involvement. This could only have happened through the support of the lovely people involved, who cared so much about making a small but positive difference in our area.

Every week I took a recorder out to the local schools and engaged the children in classrooms all over the region, interviewing them about what was happening in their world. I called it Children’s Choice, and it was such fun for them! It gave them the confidence to speak on radio and it gave them a voice too. They felt listened to, which sometimes our children so desperately need in this busy world we live in. They loved to tune in to hear themselves on air! Where else would all of us have found this opportunity to be on the airwaves and learn how to use all the equipment, gain self belief and the confidence to realize our potential and abilities?

I would be deeply comforted if this letter encouraged you readers to see what a positive and worthwhile entity Ballyhoura Community Radio was in these difficult times. I wish we could have continued to flourish, to do the things we did with such gusto in the community but, alas, this was not to be. Since the doors abruptly closed I have asked myself why. I hope that my letter explains just how much value this station has brought to my life and the lives of the whole community and how I will miss it dearly along with the wonderful people I met. I wish to thank everyone who supported our fundraisers throughout the years, from local businesses to individual members of our community. Our community is at a loss which I fear we cannot replace, but I dream that some day we may once again be heard, as we were at BCR.

To say my heart and head weighed heavy as I closed my eyes at the end of that dark day does not come close to describing how I felt, and still feel, at the loss to our community. I will treasure the memories and friends I made at BCR.

Charlotte Grimley

Volunteer and Co Presenter of The Ballyhoura View