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LMFM broadcasts from Drogheda in County Louth. LMFM broadcasts on frequencies 95.8 FM and 96.5 FM, reaching listeners as far south as Dublin and as far north as Northern Ireland.


LMFM first aired in 1989 and was one of 24 original local stations created by the 1988 Radio and Television Act, which ended the national broadcaster's (RTE) monopoly on the airwaves. There were originally 3 LMFM studios in Dundalk, Drogheda, and Navan but, as of 2026, only the Drogheda studio remains. LMFM's founders included brothers Fergus and Kearney McArdle, local hotelier Peter Quin, and Peter Govern, a local construction executive. There is some lack of clarity regarding the key founders: although LMFM's Wikipedia entry lists Peter Govern as the founder, a 1989 news report from the Drogheda Independent lists Govern among several other backers (including the McArdles and Quinn).


LMFM was originally conceived as a mixed-genre station, with programming ranging from "Irish country" to the 'hottest hits'. Notably, LMFM was the only local station to exceed the 20% news broadcasting requirement initially set by then regulator, the Independent Radio and Television Commission (station leaders initially allocated 30% of air time to news). Little public information is available about the station's first 10 years in existence. However, by the early 2000s, advertising revenues had grown significantly, and it was the most listened-to station in counties Louth and Meath.


In 2005, LMFM was sold to Belfast-based Ulster Television (UTV) for €9.5m. Beneficiaries of the sale included CEO Michael Crawley, builder Peter McGovern, and Gemma Hiney (who each owned a 17.5% stake worth €1.6m). Hotelier Peter Quinn had a 16.5% stake worth €1.5m, and food industry executive Eugene Caulfield owned 11.5% worth €1.05m.


It is important to note that the purchase of LMFM by UTV came after UTV had already acquired Lite FM (rebranded as Q102) in Dublin, Live 95 in Limerick, and 96 and 103 FM in Cork. Thus, LMFM was part of UTV's expanding footprint across the Republic of Ireland.


UTV's Irish holdings rebranded to Wireless Group ROI in 2016 reflecting UTV’s disposal of its television assets to ITV plc. In 2016, the WG's holdings were purchased for £UK220.3m by News UK & Ireland Ltd., which is ultimately owned by US-based News Corporation (News Corp). News Corp's largest single shareholder is Lachlan Murdoch. In 2025, News UK & Ireland Ltd. rebranded its Wireless Ireland Radio subsidiary as Onic.


In addition to LMFM, Onic also operates six other Irish radio stations, including FM104, FM95, and Q012. Onic also operates the commercial sales house, Urban Media, which works with Galway Bay FM and WLR. Onic stations reach 775,000 listeners weekly, representing 10.6% of the Irish radio market. Onic Audio Limited employs more than 200 staff in Ireland and recorded revenues of EUR €23.375m in 2024, up from EUR €22.4m in 2023.

Key Facts

Audience Share24.4% (Louth/Meath Market, JNLR 2025)
Ownership TypePrivate
Content TypeFree
Data Publicly Available
ownership data is easily available from other sources, e. g. public registries etc.
Operating CompanyIndependent Broadcasting Corporation Limited
Identifier: Companies Registration Office (CRO) Company No. 146206.

Ownership

Ownership Structure

LMFM is operated by Independent Broadcasting Corporation Limited, which is owned by Onic Audio Limited (formerly known as Wireless Ireland (ROI) Limited but rebranded in 2025). Onic is owned by News UK & Ireland, which is ultimately owned by US-based News Corporation (News Corp), a global media conglomerate listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
News Corp operates a dual-class share structure, in which Class B shares carry voting rights and Class A shares do not. In total, Class B shares represent approximately 33% of all shares outstanding and Class A shares the remaining 67%, but because only Class B shares carry votes, voting control is disproportionate to economic ownership.
As of September 2025, LGC Holdco LLC — a vehicle controlled by Lachlan Murdoch, son of News Corp founder Rupert Murdoch — holds approximately 33% of all Class B shares, representing around 11% of total shares across both classes. However, given the fragmentation of all other shareholdings, this translates into an effective voting power of approximately 39% at shareholder meetings, making LGC Holdco the single largest and most influential shareholder in the company. Voting control rests solely with Lachlan Murdoch through his appointed managing director.
The remaining shares are held by a broad range of institutional investors. The largest are Vanguard Group (~9% of total shares), BlackRock (~7%), State Street (~6%), and Independent Franchise Partners (~5%), alongside other asset managers and retail investors. These institutional shareholders hold primarily Class A shares, meaning their economic stakes are not matched by equivalent voting power.

Voting RightsVoting rights at News Corp are governed by a dual-class share structure, in which Class B shares carry full voting rights and are predominantly controlled by the Murdoch family, while Class A shares carry no voting rights. As of September 2025, Murdoch-affiliated entities hold approximately 72 million Class B shares, representing around 39% of all Class B shares outstanding, giving the family effective control over the company.
Individual Owner
  • Free Float

    "The remaining shares in News Corp are publicly traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market, where they are held by a large and diverse range of institutional investors, asset managers, mutual funds, and retail investors. Collectively, these publicly traded shares represent approximately 61-89% of total shares outstanding, though the vast majority are Class A shares carrying no voting rights. The largest institutional shareholders among this publicly traded float are Vanguard Group (~9% of total shares) and BlackRock (~7%), which together hold approximately 16% of News Corp's total share capital. These are followed by State Street Corporation (~6%) and Independent Franchise Partners (~5%). A notable feature of this institutional ownership landscape is what is sometimes described as circular or interlocking ownership. Vanguard, BlackRock and State Street — the three largest index-fund managers in the world — are not only major shareholders in News Corp but are also significant shareholders in each other. Vanguard is the largest shareholder in State Street, holding approximately 13% of that company, and also holds around 9% of BlackRock. BlackRock in turn holds shares in State Street. This means that the same pool of underlying investors — the millions of pension funds, retirement savers and institutional clients whose money these firms manage — has indirect exposure to News Corp through multiple channels simultaneously. It is important to note, however, that Vanguard, BlackRock and State Street hold these shares in a fiduciary capacity on behalf of their underlying clients, not as owners in their own right. Their economic interest in News Corp is therefore indirect, and their voting behaviour at shareholder meetings is governed by their own stewardship policies rather than by any single controlling interest. Because they hold almost exclusively Class A shares, their combined ~22% economic stake in News Corp carries no voting rights, limiting their ability to influence corporate decisions despite the scale of their financial exposure."

Operating Company

Facts

Founding Year1989

LMFM first aired in 1989 as one of 24 local stations licensed under the Radio and Television Act 1988, which ended RTÉ's monopoly on Irish broadcasting.

Founder
  • Peter Govern

    Peter Govern was a founder of the public radio station LMFM in Drogheda County Louth. He was also a prominent builder in the Waterunder area of Drogheda. Several news reports from the late 1980s also describe Govern as an ‘activist’ for the Fianna Fáil political party.

CEO
  • Missing Data
Editor-In-Chief
  • Michael Carolan

    Michael Carolan has served as the News Director for LMFM since 1999. He holds an Advanced Diploma in Social Media and Media Law from the Honourable Society of King’s Inns in Dublin.

ContactRathmullan Road
A92 T274 Drogheda
info@lmfm.ie
+353 (0) 041 983 2000
www.lmfm.ie
RevenueMissing Data
Operating ProfitMissing Data
Advertising (in % of total funding)Missing Data
Market ShareMissing Data
Headlines
Meta Data

Historical Information about LMFM was obtained from a variety of news sources, including the Irish Times and Drogheda Independent articles accessed via the Irish Newspaper Archives. https://irishnewsarchive.com/

Ownership and financial information was gathered from archived newspaper articles as well as the A1 (articles of incorporation) filings with the Companies Register: Core https://core.cro.ie/

Information about founder Peter Govern was obtained via archived Drogheda Independent articles. Information Regarding News Director Michael Carolan was taken from his LinkedIn profile.

Accurate estimation of national market share was not possible because reporting on income levels in Ireland is typically done at the group level rather than the individual title level. Additionally, overall revenue details for the market as a whole are not available.

Audience share is based on the report published by Joint National Listenership Research/IPSOS B&A in February 2026. It covers the period from January to December 2025. The latest results show 3.47 million listeners (15+) tune into radio every weekday – that is daily radio listening at 78.1% of all adults. Listening levels in the past week stand at 89.7% of the population. A total of 16,750 people were interviewed during the survey period by Ipsos B&A, on behalf of JNLR - Joint National Listenership Research - that is commissioned by all national, regional and local radio stations, AAI, IAPI and Coimisiún na Meán. Accurate estimation of audience share at a national level cannot be derived from published figures as LMFM operates in a local market.

Sources
Documents (PDF)
  • Form A1 Independent Broadcasting Corporation Limited (incorporation
    Link File
  • Four Groups Bid for New License (1989)
    Link File
  • Articles of Incorporation: Independent Broadcasting Corporation Limited
    Link File
  • 2025 Proxy Statement: Notice of annual meeting of stockholders
    Link File
  • Joint National Listenership Survey (2025)
    Link File