This is a study of the development and implications of a local commercial radio service in the west of Ireland (Galway Bay FM). It examines the relationship between local radio and local identity and the success of the new local radio services in meeting the diverse interests of the local audience. Other forms of communication are becoming increasingly global and are constantly expanding into the international market. Communication and information are crucial elements in the new world order but there is a tendency to concentrate on international media structures to the detriment of regional and local media. The role of local radio as a counteracting force capable of being used to promote localism is the focus of this project. The research is informed by the view that local radio stations, like Galway Bay FM , are in an ideal position to promote, redefine and protect local cultures and local identity in face of the challenge from global networks. ’Localism’ and ’local identity’ are more desirable and more necessary right now because globalism, and the global media, have failed to recognise their importance. One’s ’locality’ provides the greatest possibility of shared experience and identification with others, as opposed to the ’other’ which is what globalism presents to us. The case study of Galway Bay FM incorporates an indepth analysis of programming in two categories - news and current affairs and music - and content is assessed in terms of its relationship to Galway.