Dear Gay review: A reminder of a brilliant broadcaster and his empathy for women
Gay Byrne in 1965. Picture: RTÉ
It began in 1963 as an hour-long music programme but the Gay Byrne Show became one of the most popular and influential radio programmes in Irish history, and a lightning rod for social change. The poverty, repression and shame that generations lived with was there for all to see in the RTÉ documentary Dear Gay, which explored the late broadcaster’s legacy through the letters sent in to the show over three decades.
Hearing Byrne’s distinctive voice and the trill of the theme song was a powerful Proustian madeleine but what was immediately clear from this skilfully composed programme was the unique relationship that Byrne had with female listeners in particular.
