Vincent Hanley

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Vincent Hanley (Clonmel, County Tipperary April 1954 — Dublin April 18, 1987)[1] was a pioneering Irish radio DJ and television presenter, nicknamed "Fab Vinny".[2] He worked mainly for Radio Telefís Éireann, and was the first Irish celebrity to die from AIDS.[3]

Hanley began presenting pop music shows on RTÉ Radio Cork in 1976. He also did stints in Dublin on RTÉ Radio One and RTÉ television,[4] including a special on Gilbert O'Sullivan.[5] When the first dedicated pop station, RTÉ Radio Two (now branded 2fm), was started in 1979, he was one of its best-known DJs.[6][7] In 1981, he moved to London to work for Capital Radio.[3] In 1984, he declined a lucrative offer to remain there and moved to New York City.[3]

Hanley founded Green Apple Productions in 1983 with Conor McAnally, an RTÉ television producer and son of actor Ray McAnally. The company produced MT-USA (Music Television USA), a three-hour-long music video show modelled on the new American cable channel, MTV.[4] MT-USA was broadcast on RTÉ from 1984–7 on Thursday evenings, repeated on Sunday afternoons. Each block of videos was followed by a segment filmed in New York City with Hanley introducing the videos, discussing American music and culture, and interviewing a celebrity.[4] RTÉ described him as Europe's first VJ (video jockey). All videos were of American acts, many previously little-known in Ireland.[3]

In 1987, Hanley died aged not quite 33.[1] He had been visibly ill for some time, and was rumoured to have AIDS, which he denied.[8] This reflected the stigma then associated with the disease and with homosexuality in Ireland, which was not decriminalised until 1993.[9] The illness admitted by Hanley was congenital cerebral toxoplasmosis, described as an "eye disorder"; he was blind in one eye by his death.[7] Toxoplasmosis is very rarely fatal in adults who do not have a weakened immune system. In 2000, Hanley's friend and colleague Bill Hughes, who had himself come out in the 1990s, agreed that Hanley had in fact died of AIDS.[9] The same year, the Sunday Tribune newspaper placed Hanley at the top of a list of Irish gay icons.[3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "JB". "Vincent Hanley: an appreciation", The Irish Times, 1987-04-20, p. 8. 
  2. ^ Kearney, Máire. "Broadcast News", The Irish Times, 2001-07-21, p. 46. Retrieved on 2007-10-18. 
  3. ^ a b c d e "Irish gay icons", Sunday Tribune, 2000-08-21. Retrieved on 2007-10-20. 
  4. ^ a b c "Green Apple now reaping the harvest", The Irish Times, 1987-10-13, p. 19. 
  5. ^ Gilbert O'Sullivan: Television Appearances. Retrieved on 2007-10-18. “Me And My Music, RTÉ Television [Ireland]. Broadcast: 6 Oct 1976. Gilbert is interviewed by Vincent Hanley and answers questions from fans in the audience.”
  6. ^ "The new radio channel", The Irish Times, 1979-05-30, p. 12. 
  7. ^ a b Brennock, Mark; Padraig Yeates. "Hanley friends deny he had AIDS", The Irish Times, 1987-04-20, pp. 1,8. 
  8. ^ Yeates, Padraig. "Private grief versus public good", The Irish Times, 1987-04-20, p. 8. 
  9. ^ a b "The love that is beginning to speak its name", Sunday Tribune, 2000-08-21. Retrieved on 2007-10-20.