A Spirited showing

Even as Mass attendance continues to drop, a Christian radio station is going from strength to strength

Rob Clarke, chief executive of Spirit Radio Picture: Fergal Phillips

There is no denying that Ireland is becoming more secular. While weekly Mass attendance levels in Dublin’s Catholic archdiocese are estimated to be at about 22 per cent, this is expected to drop by over a third by 2030. Once-packed churches are now peopled by mostly greying heads.

But the fall-off in Mass attendance is not reflected in Ireland’s only Christian radio station, Spirit Radio. It has more than doubled its audience in ...