Vincent Hanley

Vincent Hanley (born in Clonmel, County Tipperary on 2 April 1954, died in Dublin on 18 April 1987[1]) was a pioneering Irish radio DJ and television presenter, nicknamed "Fab Vinny".[2] He worked mainly for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, and was the first Irish celebrity to die from an AIDS-related illness.[3][4] He has been described as "Ireland's first gay celebrity."[5]

Vincent Hanley
Vincent Hanley presenting MT-USA from New York City in 1984, three years before his death.
Born	(1954-04-02)2 April 1954 Clonmel, South Tipperary, Ireland
Died	18 April 1987(1987-04-18) (aged 33) Dublin, Ireland
Cause of death	Cerebral toxoplasmosis resulting from AIDS
Nationality	Irish
Other names	Fab Vinny
Occupation	Radio and television presenter
Employer	RTÉ
Known for	Radio presenting, MT-USA and his early death

Hanley began presenting pop music shows on RTÉ Radio Cork in 1976. He also did stints in Dublin on RTÉ Radio 1 and RTÉ television,[6] including a special on Gilbert O'Sullivan.[7] When the first dedicated pop station, RTÉ Radio Two (now branded 2FM), was started in 1979, he was one of its best-known DJs.[8][9] While in Dublin he shared accommodation with Charles Self.[10] 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.[6] MT-USA was broadcast on RTÉ from 1984–87 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.[6] RTÉ described him as Europe's first VJ (video jockey).[3]

In 1987, Hanley died shortly after his 33rd birthday.[1] He had been visibly ill for some time, and was rumoured to have an AIDS-related illness, which he denied.[11] This reflected the stigma then associated with the disease and with homosexuality in Ireland, which was not decriminalised until 1993.[12] The illness admitted by Hanley was congenital cerebral toxoplasmosis, described as an "eye disorder"; he was blind in one eye by his death.[9] 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 an AIDS-related illness.[12] The same year, the Sunday Tribune newspaper placed Hanley at the top of a list of Irish gay icons.[3]