County Offaly which had declined following the Norman Conquest of Ireland. Both Laois (Leix) and Offaly (Uí Failghe) were petty kingdoms in Gaelic Ireland located just outside the Pale (a region around Dublin and the mid east of Ireland that remained loyal to the English Crown following the Norman Conquest). The older kingdoms of Leix and Uí Failghe are not coterminous with the present day counties that were formed. The Kingdom of Uí Failghe from which the name Offaly is derived, was ruled by the Ó Conchobhair Failghe (anglicised as: O'Conor Faly) whose territory extended from the east of the county into
I102-104FM life, Athlone. It was licensed to cover Counties Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Longford, Mayo, Roscommon and Sligo. It was also popular in the neighbouring regions of counties Clare, Limerick, Tipperary, Offaly, Westmeath, Cavan, Monaghan and the border areas of the North. In County Donegal, because local radio station Highland Radio was already broadcasting on 103.3 MHz, i102-104 used the frequency of 96.9 MHz. High-profile figures such as the comedian Tommy Tiernan and the presenter Hector Ó hEochagáin were signed up in an effort to raise the profile of the station. There had been five competitors for the lucrative northwest licence, with