The Community Radio Forum of Ireland was established in 1997, is a Legal Entity and is a Registered Friendly Society (2004).

Craol’s role is as a representative, coordinating, advocating, training, and support network for the Community Radio sector.

The Craol Coordination Committee has 9 members who are elected by named Station Representatives at the annual Craol AGM. These Station Representatives have speaking and voting rights.

At the recent AGM held on February 24th, 2022, at the Shamrock Lodge Hotel in Athlone and via Zoom, nine people were elected from the 21 member-station representatives to form the executive body called the Coordination Committee. The Coordination Committee is the Governing Body of the Craol Cooperative.

These nine members constitute Chair, Vice-Chair, Treasurer, Secretary and five other ordinary members. Craol has four working groups: Governance, Training and Events, Finance and Income Generation and Advocacy.

Decisions are taken through a combination of email, audio/visual conference and physical meetings. Workgroups ensure effective implementation and evaluation of actions. Most are time bounded based on need. The co-ordination committee  also deals with unforeseen issues, workgroup coordination as well as overall governance. One third of the members are rotated at every AGM. The members of the co-ordination committee receive no payment for their time except the refund of receipted travel expenses incurred in attending meetings.

This year Jack Byrne was appointed Honorary President of Craol. The role is considered an ‘ambassadorial role’ for dialogue with external agencies. The role of Honorary President is solely focused on these tasks, with no executive or decision-making powers other than aligned with that of a Coordination Committee member. The role is appointed by the Craol Coordination Committee on an annual basis if deemed necessary. 

The Members of the Craol Coordination Committee are:

Clair Hall – Chair, Jeff Murphy- Vice Chair, Liz Kett- Secretary, Pat Quinn- Treasurer, Jack Byrne- Honorary President and Craol Committee Member, Ray Burke, Mairéad Cullen, Heather- Hinchon-Quinn and Pat Hamilton, Craol Committee Members.

Craol has 3 Contractors: Mary Lennon-Project Coordinator (full time), Niall Byrne -Governance Advisor (4-5 days per month) and Sally Galiana- Bookkeeper (2 days per month)