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‘Dear Gay….’ RTE to air documentary on the personal letters Gay Byrne received during his time on air

Pic: VIP Magazine

RTE bosses have revealed their plans to air a documentary surrounding the thousands of letters Gay Byrne received during his time on air.

The acclaimed broadcaster began working on the Late Late Show in the ’60s and continued to do so until his retirement in 1991. As well as hosting the popular Friday night chat show, he’d join listeners on the radio too.

Throughout his time in RTE, Gay received thousands of letters from people up and down the country, and further afield too.

‘Dear Gay’ aims to tell some of the stories behind the letters that were written to Gay and RTE hope to get in touch with some of the authors.

A statement reads: “We need your help in finding their authors. If you, or someone you know, wrote to Gay over those decades, and have a moving, surprising or funny story to tell about why you were inspired to write or what effect your letter had, we want to hear from you.

PIC: Lili Forberg for VIP Magazine

“RTÉ’s archives are bursting with boxes of letters from members of the public who wrote to Gay to tell their stories, to complain, to seek help, share information and advice, or simply to publicise their invention, band, business or cause.

“Their stories are often funny and touching and many tell a tale of a more innocent Ireland. But there are many letters, too, that detail immense personal challenges, poverty and marginalisation.

“People wrote letters to Gay sharing personal stories which they sometimes couldn’t even tell their best friends and family members, which lifted the lid on subjects such as domestic abuse, depression, alcoholism, divorce, abortion, forced adoptions, homosexuality, clerical and institutional abuse and more.”

If you – or perhaps a loved one – penned a letter to Gay, visit rte.ie/gaybo and fill in the form or write to:

Dear Gay
RTÉ,
Donnybrook,
Dublin 4
(And don’t forget to include your contact details!)

The documentary will air on RTÉ One later this year.

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