About IRTS

The Irish Radio Transmitters Society (IRTS) is the national society for radio amateurs in Ireland.  Its purpose is to encourage radio experimentation, to provide services to its members and to represent the interests of radio amateurs both nationally and internationally.  Through arrangements negotiated with the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) the Society looks after setting, organising and correcting the examination for an Amateur Station Licence as well as administering Morse tests as required.

You can find out a lot more about IRTS at its web site www.irts.ie.

The Society has more than 900 members including a loyal band of overseas members.  Membership is open to anyone who is interested in amateur radio whether holding an amateur licence or not.  There are no paid employees: administration and all other work done by its officers and members on behalf of the Society is done on a voluntary basis.  Among the services provided for members are weekly radio news bulletins, a monthly news-sheet, a printed journal and a QSL Bureau service.

IRTS is the member society for Ireland of the International Amateur Radio Union www.iaru.org.  It supports its work through promoting its policies, contributing to its finances and participating in its triennial international conferences at which issues of vital importance to amateur/experimental radio are discussed and decided.

IARU was founded in Paris in 1925 and since then it has been the spokesperson for the world amateur radio community.  It is organised in three regions worldwide that broadly mirror the structure of the three regions of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).  Ireland is a member of Region 1 of IARU.  IARU is recognised by ITU and attends its conferences with observer status.  This is of tremendous importance for amateur radio interests as it provides the opportunity to contribute to and even indirectly influence what may be done by official government delegations at ITU conferences.  IARU through its Regional Organisations and Member Societies adopts unified policies and conducts campaigns of preparatory work with licensing authorities in the run up to World Conferences of ITU.  Such policies and campaigns have helped to secure three extra bands at 10, 18 and 24 MHz in 1979, the extension of the 7 MHz band by 100 kHz in Regions 1 and 3 of the ITU in 2003 and a new band at 472 to 479 kHz in 2013.