SALLY Collins from Dunmanway is following in her father, Brian ‘Sparky’ Collins’ footsteps, having recently debuted as a DJ on West Cork FM.
Just 15, and currently in Junior Cert year, Sally has been using her time off school due to Covid-19 to keep up the spirits of young and old by hosting her own slot on Friday evening last, live on air on West Cork FM.
Sally said: ‘When dad first started on radio, I thought it was a cool thing to be involved in, but I never really pictured myself doing it. When I was around 13, I started going to the station with dad and I really enjoyed giving a hand.’
She helped out at West Cork FM on Saturdays and during school holidays as a runner, getting the coffees and running errands. The producers saw her talents and asked Sally to fill in for an hour on her dad’s show.
At first, she admits, she didn’t like the sound of her voice, but soon found her comfort zone and realised it was a lot of fun. Sally says what convinced her to host her own show was the support from the listeners texting in requests to the station: ‘It was only then I realised how much of a big deal it was to other people and what an amazing opportunity it was.’
With her first solo show in November 2019, she even grabbed the attention of Ian Dempsey, Irish television personality and presenter of the long-running breakfast show on Today FM, who tweeted: ‘You’ve got to have a dream. I had a dream when I wa s 14. Best of luck Sally.’
Sally received an amazing response to her first show, saying ‘People stopped me in the street to congratulate me and I think that the encouragement of the people really boosted my confidence and helped me to do more shows.’
