He is the voice that wakes up people all across Galway with a mix of lighthearted banter and informative news on Galway Bay FM breakfast show Molly in the Morning. In reality ‘Molly’ is Attymon native Neil Molloy and although only at the helm of the local station’s early morning programme for the past eight months, he has been making a significant impact on what is widely acknowledged as a crucial radio time slot.
Mr Molloy has vast experience in the industry and indeed presented his first show on GBFM 17 years ago. He has also worked with Clare FM and on popular RTE show Republic of Telly. In addition to his media work, he is an established actor and is attached to professional group the Truman Town Theatre company.
Make no mistake, a lot of work goes into making good radio, it does not just happen by accident. However, the talented presenter makes it all seem very easy. “The show is a good mix of news and entertainment. I always think if I was driving in my car, what would I like to hear? There are always certain things that are needed like information, i.e news, and weather - will they need to bring an umbrella that day? What is the traffic like on their route? Another thing everybody likes to know is the time, so time checks are important, and in between all that I get to bring my personality into the show to try and make it as lighthearted as possible.”
Molly in the Morning was recently nominated for two PPI awards - these are the Oscars of radio - and the presenter is understandably delighted to have been given the nod. In what may be a good omen, this year’s PPI award ceremony will take place in Galway next Friday October 9. Considering that the programme is competing against all the big national shows - with ample staff and financial resources - it is undoubtably a brilliant achievement. “We submitted two entries and to be nominated for the two is unreal, we are absoutely delighted. I think in any job you need something to aim for and in our industry this is it. It is a great way of building up the profile of the show and there has been a bit of a buzz around the whole thing since the nominations were released. This year there was the highest number of entries since the awards began so that makes being nominated that bit better again.”
Dynamic duo
Molly works very closely with station sports anchor Ollie Turner, who takes an active role in the show. The pair have got great chemistry and bounce extremely well off each other. The presenter is full of praise for his sidekick, who also has a great love for the comedic segments. “Ollie is possibly one of the most talented people I have ever worked with. We get on really, really well and are on the same wavelength when it comes to comedy. Ollie comes from an acting background as well so we are very similar in that respect. The majority of the stuff we do is not scripted, we have done some of our funniest stuff off the cuff. He is just a star, it is great to work with somebody like that as he is so good at what he does, he keeps you on your toes!”
The duo’s comedy sketches are classic, and the presenter says this is an area he has always had an interest in. “Laughter is the best medicine in the world. If you can make people laugh even for a few seconds it is a big thing, it can change a person’s mood completely. We try and make the sketches as relevant as possible. They could be about something we had come across, or something we would be chatting about off air. An idea could just come to us randomly and we will both get this glint in our eye. We make it is ridiculous as possible, it can be completely off-the-wall but as long as it makes people laugh, and we get good feedback, that is all that matters.”
He is anxious to pay tribute to another Galway Bay FM colleague, long time presenter and programme controller Jon Richards for being a ‘great inspiration and proving plenty of encouragement’. Mr Richards is in the radio game long enough to be able to appreciate real talent, and Molly’s on-air performance over the past eight months has proved the sky is the limit for the breakfast show.
“What I want to achieve is that when people get up in the morning that Molly is a part of their routine - a good friend shall we say. I am really happy with the way it is panning out and we are definitely going in the right direction, but I am a big believer that it takes between two and three years to build a breakfast show.’’
