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 Irish Independent front page on 24 November 2005 | |
| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Compact |
| Owner(s) | Mediahuis Ireland, a subsidiary ofMediahuis |
| Editor | Cormac Bourke |
| Founded | January 1905; 120 years ago (1905-01) (replacedDaily Irish Independent) |
| Headquarters | Talbot Street,Dublin, Ireland |
| Circulation | 36,000[1] |
| ISSN | 0021-1222 |
| Website | independent |
TheIrish Independent is anIrish dailynewspaper and online publication which is owned byIndependent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary ofMediahuis.
The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines.[2]
Traditionally abroadsheet newspaper, it introduced an additionalcompact size in 2004. Further, in December 2012 (following billionaireDenis O'Brien's takeover) it was announced that the newspaper would become compact only.[3]
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TheIrish Independent was formed in 1905 as the direct successor toThe Irish Daily Independent and Daily Nation, an 1890s' pro-Parnellite newspaper. It was launched byWilliam Martin Murphy, a controversial Irish nationalist businessman, staunch anti-Parnellite and fellow townsman of Parnell's most venomous opponent,Timothy Michael Healy from Bantry.[4] The first issue of theIrish Independent, published 2 January 1905, was marked as "Vol. 14. No. 1".
During the1913 Lockout of workers, in which Murphy was the leading figure among the employers, theIrish Independent vigorously sided with its owner's interests, publishing news reports and opinion pieces hostile to the strikers, expressing confidence in the unions' defeat and launching personal attacks on the leader of the strikers,James Larkin.The Irish Independent described the1916 Easter Rising as "insane and criminal" and famously called for the shooting of its leaders.[5] In December 1919, during theIrish War of Independence, a group of twentyIRA men destroyed the printing works of the paper, angered at its criticism of theIrish Republican Army's attacks on members of theDublin Metropolitan Police and British government officials.[6] In 1924, the traditional nationalist newspaper, theFreeman's Journal, merged with theIrish Independent. Until October 1986 the paper's masthead over the editorial contained the words "incorporating the Freeman's Journal".[7]
For most of its history, theIrish Independent (also called simply theIndependent or more colloquially, theIndo) was seen as a nationalist, Catholic,anti-Communist, newspaper,[8] which gave its political allegiance to thePro-Treaty partyCumann na nGaedheal and later its successor party,Fine Gael.[8] During the Spanish Civil War, theIrish Independent's coverage was strongly pro-Franco: the paper criticised the De Valera government for not intervening on behalf of theSpanish Nationalists.[9]
In 1961, theharp became a symbol of theIrish Independent. It originally appeared in black but was changed to green in 1972.
In the 1970s, formerHeinz chairmanTony O'Reilly took over theIrish Independent. Under his leadership, it became a moremarket liberal newspaper and economic right-wing. By the mid-nineties its allegiance to Fine Gael had ended. In the1997 general election, it endorsedFianna Fáil under a front-page editorial, entitled "It's Payback Time". While it suggested its headline referred to the fact that the election offered a chance to "pay back" politicians for their failings, its opponents suggested that the "payback" actually referred to its chance to get revenge for the refusal of theRainbow Coalition to award the company a mobile phone licence.[10]
In late 2004, Independent Newspapers moved from their traditional home in Middle Abbey Street to a new office, Independent House inTalbot Street, with the printing facilities already relocated to theCitywest business park nearTallaght.
On 27 September 2005, a fortnight after the paper published its centenary edition, it was announced that editor Vinnie Doyle would step down after 24 years in the position. He was replaced by Gerry O'Regan, who had until then been editor of theIrish Independent's sister paper, theEvening Herald. The newspaper's previous editorStephen Rae was also formerly editor of theEvening Herald and was appointed editor in September 2012. Fionnan Sheahan was appointed editor in January 2015.[11]
BillionaireDenis O'Brien acquired a majority shareholding of theIrish Independent's parent company INM in May 2012.[12]
In July 2019 the takeover of INM by Belgian media groupMediahuis was approved by the Irish High Court.[13]
From 11 February 2020, it was announced that Independent.ie content would go behind a paywall.[14]
The Irish Independent is available on theIrish Newspaper Archives, in black-and-white microfilm up to 2004, in colour since 2005. It is also archived up to 2009 online on theBritish Newspaper Archive website.
Since 2011, theIrish Independent has been the home of New Irish Writing (and its associated Hennessy Award),[15] which was originally established byDavid Marcus in 1969 in theIrish Press and appeared in theSunday Tribune from 1988 to 2011. The New Irish Writing Page is "the longest-running creative writing feature of its kind in any Irish or British newspaper".[16][17]
TheIrish Independent, in co-operation with theInstitute of Education, producesExam Brief, a yearly six-part supplement dedicated to preparation for Leaving and Junior Certificate exams.[18] This supplement is published in February, March and April each year.
SeeIndependent News & Media article for newspapers and media assets in the wider group.
Averageprint circulation was approximately 165,000 copies per issue in 1999,[19] and had dropped to approximately 100,000 by 2016.[20]
| Year (period) | Average circulation per issue |
|---|---|
| 1999 (January to July)[19] | 165,650 |
| 2006 (January to December)[21] | 162,582 |
| 2009 (July to December)[22] | 149,906 |
| 2012 (January to June)[23] | 125,986 |
| 2012 (July to December)[24] | 123,981 |
| 2014 (January to June)[25] | 112,383 |
| 2016 (January to June)[20] | 102,537 |
| 2016 (July to December)[26] | 97,104 |
| 2017 (January to June)[27] | 94,502 |
| 2017 (July to December)[28] | 90,107 |
| 2018 (January to June)[29] | 87,673 |
| 2018 (July to December)[30] | 83,900 |
| 2023 (March)[1] | 36,000 |
In 2019,Independent News & Media exited the ABC auditing process.[31]
The Legends is the third glossy magazine and iMag produced by the Irish Independent in just over a week after 'The Gathering' publication and our 'Mistletoe' Christmas special.
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