| Vincent Hanley | |
| Birth Date: | 2 April 1954 |
| Birth Place: | Clonmel, South Tipperary, Ireland |
| Death Place: | Dublin, Ireland |
| Death Cause: | Cerebral toxoplasmosis resulting from AIDS |
| Nationality: | Irish |
| Other Names: | Fab Vinny |
| Known For: | Radio presenting, MT-USA and his early death |
| Employer: | RTÉ |
| Occupation: | Radio and television presenter |
Vincent Hanley (2 April 1954 – 18 April 1987)[1] was an 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]
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 to 1987 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]
In February 2022, RTÉ aired a new documentary about Hanley, titled Vincent Hanley: Sex, Lies and Videotapes.[13] [14]