The nominations for the 2025 IMRO Radio Awards have been announced, with seven for Galway Bay FM, across news, sport, music programming and documentaries. Included among the seven nominations are three for Galway Bay FM Sport in the Best Sports Story, Best Sports Programme and Radio Moment of the Year.
Best Sports Story - The Day We Beat the Dubs
June 29th, 2024, will live long in the memory of Galway people as the day we finally beat Dublin in the All-Ireland football championship. There has always been an inferiority complex about Dublin for people from the West of Ireland, especially in the context of Gaelic Football. The last time Galway had beaten Dublin in the All-Ireland football championship was 1934, so it was safe to assume that there weren't any Galway supporters in Croke Park last June who had ever experienced the feeling of beating the second-most successful county in the history of the competition. The outpouring of emotion when Galway emerged victorious had several factors to it. Apart from the unexpected nature of the Galway footballer's comeback victory and the game's dramatic conclusion, this documentary delves into the backstory of the longstanding relationship between Galway and Dublin. Included in the programme is an archive interview with a man who won All-Ireland titles with both counties, as well as commentary clips and the story behind the fractious 1983 All-Ireland final when Dublin beat Galway despite having three players sent off. The recriminations after that game lasted for decades and fed into the narrative that Galway were psychologically damaged by the sight of a Dublin jersey from then on. The build-up to the latest chapter in the Galway-Dublin rivalry offered little evidence that the outcome would be any different to previous years, so the excitement in Ollie Turner's commentary as the game reached its climax was palpable.
Best Sports Programme - Cortoon All-Ireland Final Preview
There is nothing to beat the excitement that engulfs a county when it has qualified for an All-Ireland Final in GAA. Luckily, Galway people have had a decent share of big days out in recent years because we are competitive in both hurling and football. 2024 was the year of the footballers, as they followed up a famous win over Dublin with a hard-earned victory over Donegal to book their place in the All-Ireland final against the surprise package Armagh. Levels of excitement are directly proportionate to expectation, and Galway were fully convinced that this was their All-Ireland title, given the teams they had already beaten and the opposition they faced. In the build-up to the final, Galway Bay FM went all around the county to gauge the atmosphere, and one of the stop-offs was the tiny half-parish of Cortoon, just outside Tuam. It is places like Cortoon that give you the real insight into the impact the GAA has on a rural community and the sense of identity it gives. The locals were out in huge numbers to welcome Galway Bay FM, and they rolled out a star-studded line-up of former Galway players to give their opinions on the big game. The stories and anecdotes from legends like Mickey Rooney, Tommie Joe Gilmore and Derek Savage drew equal amounts of laughter and applause. These people were proud of their county and equally proud of their heroes.
Radio Moment of the Year - Sweet Mother of Jesus
The summer of 2024 will be remembered for one main reason in Galway: the All-Ireland Football Championship Quarter Final win over Dublin that sparked some of the wildest celebrations seen in years and at the heart of that emotional outpouring was the Galway Bay FM radio commentary of the game. The game was not broadcast on terrestrial TV, much to the annoyance of the GAA-going public, and with the much-hyped Taylor Swift concert taking place on the same Saturday night last June at the Aviva Stadium, a lot of Galway supporters stayed at home and listened to the radio. The Galway Bay FM commentators were Ollie Turner and former Galway midfielder Barry Cullinane, and as the chances of a Galway victory turned from improbable to possible, their excitement levels grew. Slowly but surely, Galway clawed their way back from being well beaten by Dublin at half-time to a position where they sensationally took the lead with minutes to go. As the prospect of a first win over Dublin in 90 years dawned, and with the entire Croke Park stadium at fever pitch, the full-time whistle prompted Ollie Turner to utter the immortal words “Sweet Mother of Jesus, they have pulled off the unthinkable. Forget about Taylor Swift, shake it off at the Aviva and come over here to Croke Park because you are witnessing the West’s Awake.” The commentary clip went viral, gaining national and global recognition for being what it was – a genuine, emotional, unscripted outpouring of joy.
