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 Magill, November 2005 edition | |
| Editor | Sam Magill |
|---|---|
| Frequency | Monthly |
| Founded | 1977 (1977) |
| Final issue | 2010 (2010) |
| Country | Ireland |
| Website | https://magill.ie |
Magill was anIrishpolitics and current affairs magazine founded byVincent Browne and others in 1977.Magill specialised in investigative articles and colourful reportage by journalists such asEamonn McCann (who wrote its anonymousWigmore column) andGene Kerrigan. It was relaunched in 2004 after an earlier closure before closing again in 2009.
It first achieved a nationwide profile when it published the diaries of Peter Berry, the former Secretary (administrative head) to theDepartment of Justice in which he alleged that formerTaoiseachJack Lynch had been less than forthright publicly about the truth surrounding the 1970Arms Crisis which brought down two ministers, includingCharles Haughey.[1][2]
In the 1980s as Ireland underwent rapid political change it became the major Irish magazine covering politics.
Browne later appointed a series of editors with him becoming managing editor. Its early editors includedFintan O'Toole,John Waters andColm Tóibín. (Tóibín went on to achieve renown as a novelist.) However clashes of personalities with Browne led each editor in turn to quit the post as did one of its major writers Gene Kerrigan.
Magill ceased publication for a period in the 1990s before returning in 1997 as a joint effort between Browne andMichael O' Doherty, publisher ofVIP Magazine. Its editors in its second incarnation includedJohn Ryan,Emily O'Reilly,Kevin Rafter,Eamon Delaney[3] andNiall Stanage.
The magazine was sold by Browne in the early 2000s.[4] It was acquired by Ian Hyland who had previously acquiredBusiness & Finance.[5]
The title was re-opened under a new editor (author and formerdiplomat)Eamon Delaney and deputy editor Andrew Lynch in November 2004. Whereas the earlierMagill was famously populist and leaned to the left, often carrying photographs of politicians with accusatory banner headlines, the newMagill published reviews, commentaries, analysis, book reviews and business reports as well as a broader range of articles than were found in Browne's fortnightly version. The new magazine was more right-of-centre than earlier versions.[6]
The re-launch was viewed with particular relish in the world of political journalism because Magill was seen as the centrist answer toThe Village, edited byVincent Browne, the one-time editor of Magill.[7] Upon becoming editor, Delaney toldThe Sunday Times that, "I respect the hard Irish left but it's the woolly liberal consensus ofThe Irish Times andRTÉ I have a problem with... They have this raft of outdated orthodoxies: the Americans are bad, the Israelis are evil,travellers are our greatest problem. One in three Irish people is supposed to be living in poverty and Vincent will, no doubt, interview them all."[7]
Having dropped to an officially bi-monthly (and increasingly erratic) publication schedule in 2008, the magazine once again ceased publication in mid-2009 due to a lack of advertising as a result of the recession.
In April 2017 it was announced that Vincent Browne had regained control of the Magill title,[8] after purchasing it from Business and Finance publisher Ian Hyland. The plan is to have a relaunched print edition initially of one-off specials, as well as online content.[9]
Many staff and freelance writers from newspapers contribute to the magazine including theSunday Independent's political commentatorJohn Drennan,The Irish Times contributorJim Duffy (who ceased his column when he became an advisor to theleader of the opposition in 2007) and an Irish government special adviser writing under the pseudonymSean Sexton. Other people who have contributed to the newMagill includeFine Gael deputy leaderRichard Bruton, formerLabour deputy leaderLiz McManus, formerBritish Conservative Party ministerJonathan Aitken,right-wing retiredUnited States diplomatGeorge Dempsey andBBC Foreign Affairs EditorJohn Simpson. Michael O'Sullivan,Michael O'Sullivan (biographer)biographer of Mary Robinson and Seán Lemass was Literary Editor when the magazine was edited by John Ryan and Emily O'Reilly.
The last incarnation ofMagill was designed by Cobalt Design to make use of commissioned artwork as an important tool of communication. Issues feature several of Ireland's most established editorial illustrators, with work byJon Berkeley; David Rooney; Kevin McSherry; Fintan Taite and Joven Kerekes.
Its December 2005 edition carried an interview with TaoiseachBertie Ahern.