Irish broadcaster visits former employer at WTBQ

WARWICK - Irish Radio Telefís …ireann (RT…) host Carl Corcoran recently flew across the “pond” from Ireland to the USA to pay a visit to Frank Truatt, owner of Warwick Radio WTBQ (1110 AM/FM 99.1). The two met on Saturday, March 29. Between 1995 and 1998, Corcoran, an internationally known song writer and entertainer, who was then a Warwick resident, could be heard on WTBQ with his Irish music program, “A Drop of the Irish.” He also hosted a popular music and talk show on the station, which aired weekday mornings. Today Corcoran hosts a nightly classical music show on RTE Lyric FM, which can be heard over the Internet beginning at 5:30 p.m. local time. One of the reasons for his brief visit was to learn how WTBQ, now broadcasting from a state-of-the-art modern studio at 87 Ronald Reagan Boulevard in Warwick, utilized its new computers for making musical selections. Corcoran may soon become involved with another RTE program broadcasting popular music geared to an audience, age 40 and over. “He also wanted to see which songs we play from our library, which totals over 5,000 songs,” said Truatt. “He’ll look at the list I’m making up for him, go through it and add the Irish hits that would be popular to his listeners.” Corcoran and Truatt also discussed the possibility of producing an Irish traditional music program, much like his former “Drop of the Irish,” in Ireland and sending it digitally from station to station each week. “With the marvelous technology we have today,” said Corcoran, “it is no longer a problem to produce a quality musical program in Ireland and broadcast it almost immediately from WTBQ in Warwick.” When he was living in Warwick, Corcoran produced an award- winning CD, “Dancing the Dublin Reel,” and performed live in numerous New York City clubs as well as local night spots such as Bodles Opera House, The Lycian Theater, Mount Peter Ski Area, Mountain Valley, Emerald Point and Gavin’s Catskill Resort, just to name a few. In 1998, The Irish Echo, the largest Irish-American newspaper, included Corcoran’s CD among the 100 all-time favorite Irish albums. The following year, its readers gave him the most votes for favorite Irish artists in the show-band category. Corcoran began his music career in the 1970s. Many of his Warwick fans may be surprised to learn that it was rock and roll, folk and pop that brought the young Dubliner to the pubs, clubs and coffee shops as both a singer and songwriter. An offer to sign a recording contract produced three original albums containing songs written by Corcoran who adopted the stage name, Jamie Stone. His first album “New Day” earned six awards at the RMI Awards in 1974, including “Artist of the Year.” Corcoran’s songs, “Gulliver” and “I Believe in Love” were chart toppers in the Irish market. After returning to Ireland in 1998, Corcoran was asked to host Lyric FM’s “The Third Wave,” which he hosted for three years. During his brief visit and just before returning to New York City, Corcoran stopped to meet some old friends at Halligan’s Public House on West Street. “Returning to Warwick one day,” he told them, “is not out of the question.”