Bobbie Hanvey

Bobbie Hanvey (born October 31, 1945) is a popular Northern Ireland personality and a highly respected photographer. In 1985, 1986, and 1987 he won the Northern Ireland Provincial Press Photographer of the Year Award for himself and the Down Recorder newspaper of Downpatrick. In 1985 and 1987 he also won the Northern Ireland overall award for ‘Best People Picture’. These were the only three years that he entered the competitions. His work has also been publicly exhibited at Down County Museum. His photographs have appeared in The Sunday Times and he currently supplies the "Belfast Newsletter" with a weekly column which feature his photographs.

Born in Brookeborough, Co Fermanagh, his autobiography, The Mental, offers a rare view of everyday life in Fermanagh during the 1950s and charts his time as a psychiatric nurse in the Downshire hospital, Downpatrick during the 1960s.

Bobbie has been hosting his popular programme, ‘The Ramblin’ Man’ on Downtown Radio, for 28 years.

Guests on his programme have included Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) leader Gusty Spence, Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) veteran Joe Cahill, the last three Chief Constables of the RUC, Sir John Hermon, Sir Hugh Annesley, and Sir Ronnie Flanagan, and the current Chief, Mr Hugh Orde. They have also included writers such as Eugene McCabe, Maurice Leitch and J. P. Donleavy, who have been interspersed with soldiers, sailors and travelling people. In fact, people from all walks of life in Northern Ireland have featured on his lively half-hour programme.

Bobbie is also one of Ireland’s leading photographers. His first photographic book, Merely Players, presents a stunning array of portraits taken over the past 30 years, of poets, playwrights, paramilitaries, priests and politicians. They include Seamus Heaney, Brian Friel, David Hammond, Gerry Adams, Danny Morrison, Sammy Duddy and many, many more. His most recent photographic book, "The Last Days of the RUC", presents the only historic account of the transition to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

He lives in Downpatrick, County Down. He has three children: Steafán, Ciaran and Sarah Ann.