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heritage · Wednesday 16 September 2026 · 7:30pm 
MAHS Seamus MacGabhann Lecture: Tuning the Radio - Rath Cairn
At Comharchumann Rath Chairn · Rath Cairn, Co. Meath
At Comharchumann Rath Chairn · Rath Cairn, Co. Meath
Few speakers are better placed to talk about the century-long marriage between Irish radio and traditional music than Peter Browne. A retired RTÉ producer with over 40 years at the broadcaster, Browne spent his career on programmes including The Long Note, Céilí House and The Rolling Wave, and conducted one of the most thorough studies of traditional music on Irish radio ever undertaken. That the Meath Archaeological and Historical Society has chosen him for the 2026 Séamus MacGabhann Lecture - and has chosen to host it in Rath Cairn’s Irish-language Gaeltacht - gives the evening a particular depth that is hard to manufacture.
The lecture is titled “Tuning the Radio: A Century of the Connection between Irish Broadcasting and Traditional Music” and it traces exactly what the title suggests: the relationship between RTÉ and the tradition from the station’s first broadcasts in 1926 to the present day. Browne is not just an academic observer. He played uilleann pipes and flute with The Bothy Band in the 1970s, was tutored by Séamus Ennis, Leo Rowsome and Willie Clancy, and drew on the RTÉ Sound Archives to produce recordings of rare early sessions. Expect a talk that moves between broadcast history and lived musical memory.
The Séamus MacGabhann Lecture is a named annual event in the MAHS calendar, so the format is a settled one - a single speaker, a focused subject, an audience that tends to know its history. Voluntary contributions are welcomed at the door. No advance booking is needed.
The venue is Comharchumann Ráth Chairn, the community co-operative at the centre of Meath’s only Gaeltacht. Founded in 1973 to support the Irish-speaking community that was resettled here from Connemara in the 1930s, the Comharchumann has long been the cultural hub of the area - a fitting room for a lecture about language, music and the airwaves.
Rath Cairn sits approximately 8km south-west of Athboy on the R154, about 55km north-west of Dublin. From Dublin, the M3 to Navan and then the R147 and R154 west is the straightforward route; from the north or west, the N52 through Kells or Athboy brings you close. There is no regular bus service to Rath Cairn itself, so a car or lift share is the practical option. Parking at community venues in the area is generally easy.
Athboy is a quiet market town with a long history - its medieval town walls still stand in places, and the hill of Tlachtga (Ward Hill) nearby is one of the more atmospheric ancient sites in Leinster. A night lecture in Rath Cairn pairs well with a daylight explore of the town and surrounding countryside. There is more to see in Athboy and across Co. Meath.
Heading to Comharchumann Rath Chairn in Athboy? Meath has plenty more to see. Read the Athboy area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.