Frances was first of station’s flagship anchors

Frances Shanahan from Hilltop, Kilotteran, became the newly-licensed WLRfm’s first Head of News & Features when the station launched on September 8th, 1989.

The then 36-year-old also presented the flagship 10-12 Morning Magazine programme, later made famous by Billy McCarthy as Deise AM. Butlerstown man Rick preceded her with Breakfast Serial and Timmy took over at midday with Ryan and Rhythm.

From a farming background, with a keen love of horses, after finishing secondary school in the Ursuline Convent, Frances spent a year at Gurteen Methodist Agriculture College near Birr in the late sixties. However, she put her interest in farming on hold while graduating with a social science degree from from UCD.

She subsequently worked as a social worker in Northern Ireland at the height of the Troubles before entering journalism. Indeed, in 1996 she would win a national media award for her documentary “The Vanished and the Banished” about those who were ‘Disappeared’ and exiled during the conflict in Northern Ireland.

After returning home to the land, by 1979 Frances was single-handedly running a substantial beef and tillage farm at Coolfin, Portlaw — being a well-known breeder of Charolais cattle (winning many top show prizes at local, regional and national level).

She began her broadcasting career with RTÉ South-East, based in Waterford. She later moved to London as an overseas correspondent, before joining BBC Bedfordshire, producing Irish Link, a popular programme for exiles in Britain.

Her late sister Ella was also a noted journalist, and was London Editor of the Irish Times as Frances went on air with WLR 30 years ago, taking a live congratulatory call from Taoiseach Charles Haughey that opening morning.

Having moved on to RTÉ Radio in Cork in late 1990, Frances came to prominence through her comprehensible and comprehensive coverage of the beef tribunal and later as a reporter for programmes including Drivetime and Countrywide.

She continued to work for the national broadcaster in various roles up until her retirement in late 2016; fittingly ending her career at the RTÉ Southeast studios at Carriganore, Waterford, practically next door to where she grew up.

As well as being a distinctive voice on Irish radio (whose delivery and attention to detail was meticulous), Frances was also a regular contributor to the Irish Times, the Sunday Tribune and the Sunday Independent, and had her work broadcast in Australia, the US and Canada.

Top photo: Taoiseach Charlie Haughey in 1989.