Connacht Tribune
DJ hangs up headphones to become full-time dad – in Canada
Neil Molloy – better known as Molly on Galway Bay FM’s breakfast show – has hung up his headphones for now to become a full-time dad.
The broadcaster was still in something of a state of shock when he caught up with the Connacht Tribune this week.
“I’m used to getting up at 3.30am and being on the road by 4am. Today I am after going for a walk, having breakfast with my daughter and talking to friends on the phone. I’ve a little bit of an empty feeling. I’ve worked my entire life since I was 15 – it’s strange not being answerable to anyone.”
The native of Attymon came to the difficult decision to quit his very popular ‘Molly in the Morning’ breakfast show due to a confluence of personal circumstances.
His partner Leonora O’Brien founded and runs a software company called PharmaPod which reduces medication errors by pharmacists and doctors. Her job entails a great deal of travelling. And following a major take-up of the platform across pharmacies in Canada, the family decided the time was right to base themselves in Toronto for up to a year.
Neil said they had become ships in the night. He was doing a round trip of 340km each day commuting from Killucan, Co Westmeath.
By the time he returned home he was too exhausted to spend quality time with their daughter Fódhla, who is just 20 months.
“All she wanted was full-on daddy. It was getting to the stage that all I wanted was go to bed. I was going to bed the same time as babba,” he laughs.
Neil has been fronting Molly in the Morning since early 2015 with Ollie Turner. Their ratings have shot up from 12,000 to 24,000 in that short time, garnering them two national PPI radio awards, one for best entertainment inserts, the other for best comedy show.
Their sketch about Storm Emma featuring retired weatherman Gerald Fleming set to the 1990s Vanilla Ice hit ‘Ice Ice Baby’ attracted more than 200,000 views.
“I can safely say that I’ve never worked with anyone as good as Ollie before. He was very easy to bounce off. What I wanted on the show was to be a part of people’s lives in some way. The amount of text message we’ve got has been incredible, saying they loved us sharing our stories, so it’s clear we achieved that,” he muses.
“There’s not many jobs where you can be jumping around a studio every day. I loved getting the people of Galway on air – whether it was 80-year-old Bridie or a teenager.”
Neil started on Galway Bay FM 20 years ago as a broadcaster. He left to run the Hop Inn Pub in Athenry for ten years but the lure of the media never left him. He worked for a spell on Clare FM and starred as the character Martin Muff on the popular magazine show Republic of Telly.
He’s currently finishing filming on that show’s spin-off, Bridget & Eamon, playing Garda Paul.
He is not ruling out a return to radio at some stage. But for now his focus will be on raising baby Fódhla and settling into their new life in Canada – and where ever else life brings them.
“I’m glad I’m able to do it. This is the next step. Why wouldn’t I do it? It’s my own flesh and blood. It gives me a great chance to give the time that up to now I haven’t been able to give. I’m looking forward to a new chapter.”
‘Molly’ is being replaced by Alan Clarke who joins Ollie Turner on the breakfast slot.
To follow Molly on his journey you can add him as a friend on Facebook, follow him on Twitter or follow him on Instagram.
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Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
