Westmeath to host Hamfest gathering
Mullingar will welcome ham operators from across Ireland at the start of next month for a gathering of the amateur radio enthusiasts.
Cullen Showgrounds, home of the Mullingar Agricultural Show, will host this event of a different kind. The Irish Radio Transmitters Society hosts Hamfest 2025 over the weekend of September 6 and 7.
The Irish Radio Transmitters Society (IRTS) is a volunteer-led national non-profit organisation for amateur radio enthusiasts in Ireland. IRTS Hamfest is the first event of its type in Ireland and will feature a very wide array of amateur radio equipment, stations, and related technologies.
Amateur radio is a popular technical hobby with people from all walks of life. It is a volunteer activity that uses designated radio frequencies for non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, and emergency communications. Amateur radio in Ireland goes back to experiments in radio transmission and reception carried out in Wicklow in 1898.
Members of the IRTS also support emergency communications and coordinate help efforts across the county and wider country where phone and internet connectivity are lost during storms especially during the start of this year.
Members also enable school pupils to communicate directly with astronauts on the International Space Station and help connect what they are learning in school with practical use cases and outcomes, for example how core mathematics, science, and engineering skills enable humans to communicate over long distances and in extreme environments.
Despite advancements in technology and communications where the ability to communicate with someone can be taken for granted these days, interest in amateur radio and experimentation continues to grow worldwide.
Attendees will be able to sample many different aspects of amateur radio and learn via practical hands-on learning opportunities from experts on site. Members of the public are welcome to see for themselves what the hobby is about from 12pm to 6pm on Saturday, September 6 and from 10am to 4pm on Sunday 7. Entry costs €10 per day.
Amateur radio stations are licensed by the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg). To obtain a licence, the station owners must pass an exam. There are approximately 2.6 million licensed radio amateurs across the world.
The Irish Radio Transmitters Society (IRTS) is the national amateur radio society for Ireland. It was formed over ninety years ago and has over 1,000 members. Michael D Higgins, President of Ireland, is the patron of the society.
IRTS is the member for Ireland of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU), which has over 160 national amateur radio societies as members and represents the interests of the Amateur Radio Service worldwide. Amateur radio is the only hobby governed by international treaty.
Further details are available at irts.ie/hamfest