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.”
SIC: CIN/IE