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| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner(s) |
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| Editor | Ruadhán Mac Cormaic |
| Founded | 29 March 1859; 166 years ago (1859-03-29) |
| Language |
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| Headquarters | 24–28 Tara Street,Dublin,Ireland |
| Circulation | Circulation no longer audited[1] |
| ISSN | 0791-5144 |
| OCLC number | 137350020 |
| Website | www |
The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic.[2] It is published every day except Sundays.[3]The Irish Times is Ireland's leading newspaper.[4] It is considered anewspaper of record for Ireland.[5]
Though formed as aProtestant Irish nationalist paper, within two decades and under new owners, it became a supporter ofunionism in Ireland.[6]
In the 21st century, it presents itself politically as "liberal andprogressive", as well as being centre-right on economic issues.[7][8] The editorship of the newspaper from 1859 until 1986 was controlled by theAnglo-Irish Protestant minority, only gaining its first nominalIrish Catholic editor 127 years into its existence.
The paper's notable columnists have included writer and arts commentatorFintan O'Toole andsatiristMiriam Lord. The lateTaoiseachGarret FitzGerald was once a columnist.Michael O'Regan was theLeinster House correspondent for more than 30 years. Senior international figures, includingTony Blair andBill Clinton, have written for itsop-ed page.
Its most prominent columns have included the political columnBackbencher, byJohn Healy;Drapier (an anonymous piece produced weekly by a politician, giving the 'insider' view of politics);Rite and Reason (a weekly religious column, edited by Patsy McGarry, the religious affairs editor); and the long-runningAn Irishman's Diary.An Irishman's Diary was written byPatrick Campbell in the forties (under the pseudonym "Quidnunc"); by Seamus Kelly from 1949 to 1979 (also writing as "Quidnunc"); and in the early 2000s byKevin Myers. After Myers' move to the rivalIrish Independent,An Irishman's Diary has usually been the work of Frank McNally. On the sports pages,Philip Reid is the paper's golf correspondent.
One of its most popular columns was the biting and humorousCruiskeen Lawn satire column written, originally inIrish, later in English, byMyles na gCopaleen, the pen name of Brian O'Nolan (Brian Ó Nualláin) who also wrote books using the nameFlann O'Brien.Cruiskeen Lawn is ananglicised spelling of the Irish wordscrúiscín lán, meaning "little full jug".Cruiskeen Lawn made its debut in October 1940, and appeared with varying regularity until O'Nolan's death in 1966.
A newspaper entitledThe Irish Times was founded in 1823, but this closed in 1825. The title was revived decades later byLawrence E. Knox, (later known as Major Lawrence Knox), a 22-year-old army officer. Initially he published thrice-weekly publication but soon shifted to a daily newspaper; the first edition was published on 29 March 1859. He founded it as a moderate Protestant newspaper, reflecting his politics. Knox envisaged it as a "new conservative daily".[9] Its headquarters were at 4 Lower Abbey Street inDublin. Its main competitor in its early days was the DublinDaily Express.[citation needed]
After Knox's death in 1873, the paper was sold to the widow of SirJohn Arnott, aMember of Parliament (MP), a formerLord Mayor of Cork, and owner ofArnotts, one ofDublin's majordepartment stores.
The sale, for £35,000, led to two major changes. Arnott shifted the headquarters to 31 Westmoreland Street; the newspaper operated from this area until 2005. Its politics shifted dramatically, and it became predominantlyUnionist in outlook. It was closely associated with theIrish Unionist Alliance. The paper, along with theIrish Independent and various regional papers, called for the execution of the leaders of the failed1916 Easter Rising.[10]
Though the paper became apublicly-listed company in 1900, the Arnott family continued to hold a majority shareholding until the 1960s (even after the family lost control, the great-grandson of the original purchaser was the paper's London editor). The last member of the Arnott family to sit on the paper's board was Sir Lauriston Arnott, who died in 1958.[11][citation needed]
During the 1930s, the editor wasR. M. Smyllie.[12]The longest-serving editor ofThe Irish Times wasDouglas Gageby.[13]
In 1974, ownership was transferred to a non-charitable[14] trust,The Irish Times Trust. The previous owner, exBritish Army officer andMI5 agent, MajorThomas McDowell, was made "president for life" of the trust that runs the paper; he was paid a large dividend.[15]
The paper established its first bureau in Asia when foreign correspondentConor O'Clery moved toBeijing, China, in 1996.[16]
The Irish Times suffered considerable financial difficulty in 2002 when a drop in advertising revenue coincided with a decision by the company to invest its reserves in the building of a new printing plant. None of the journalists was laid off, but many took a voluntary redundancy package when the paper was greatly restructured.
Some foreign bureaus were closed and it stopped publishing "colour" pages devoted to Irish regions, with regional coverage merged with news. The paper's problems stemmed partly from internal strife, which led to McDowells's daughter, Karen Erwin, not being made chief executive.[17] The reorganisation had the desired effect; after posting losses of almost €3 million in 2002, the paper returned to profit in 2003.[citation needed]
In May 2005, the paper launched a new international edition,[citation needed] which was available in London and southeast England at the same time as other daily newspapers (previously, copies of the Irish edition were flown from Dublin to major cities in Britain on passenger flights, arriving around lunchtime). It was printed at the Newsfax plant inHackney, and uses theFinancial Times distribution network.[citation needed]
In 2008 theCentral Bank of Ireland finedThe Irish Times after its management admitted breaking market abuse rules.[18]
In 2009, the Supreme Court ordered the paper to pay €600,000 in costs, despite it having won its case in support of protecting journalistic sources. The court said the paper's destruction of evidence was "reprehensible conduct".[19]
When the Irish government signed theCompanies Act 2014, the Trust registered the overall Irish Times Group as adesignated activity company,The Irish Times Designated Activity Company (The Irish Times DAC).[20]
In December 2017,The Irish Times reportedly had reached an agreement to purchase the newspaper, radio and website interests ofLandmark Media Investments, which include theIrish Examiner. Initially subject to regulatory approval,[21] the sale was completed in July 2018.[22]
In September 2018,The Irish Times started a voluntary redundancy scheme. This followed theLandmark Media Investments acquisition.[23]
The company has diversified from its originalIrish Times title as a source of revenue. Irish Times Limited has taken a majority share for €5m in the Gazette Group Newspapers, a group publishing three local newspapers inWest Dublin, and has acquired a property website, MyHome.ie, the second-largest[24] property internet website in Ireland, for €50m, seen as insurance against the loss of revenue from traditional classified property advertising.[25]
In June 2009, journalists called on the board and trust to review "the flawed investment and diversification strategy of the company" and passed a motion saying that "ongoing investment in loss-making projects poses a serious threat to employment" at the newspaper.[26] Four months later, the company announced a loss of €37 million and that 90 staff would be made redundant.[27] The director, Maeve Donovan, who instigated the "investment and diversification" strategy, subsequently retired. She dismissed suggestions that she would receive a significant "golden handshake", saying that her package would be "nothing out of the ordinary at all". She was given a €1m "ex-gratia" payment by the newspaper "relating to a commutation of pension rights agreed with her".[28]
The managing director said in 2009 that mobile phone applications would be a key investment for newspapers andThe Irish Times now[when?] has an application for theiPhone andAndroid smartphones.[29]
In June 2010, Gazette Group Newspapers' managing director claimed the company's affairs were being conducted oppressively by its majority shareholder,the Irish Times.[30]
On 2 May 2024, it was announced that the Irish Times Group had acquired obituary businessRIP.ie.[31]
The editor during the 1930s,R. M. Smyllie, had stronganti-fascist views, and angered the Irish Catholic hierarchy by opposingGeneral Franco during theSpanish Civil War. During World War II,The Irish Times, like other national newspapers, had problems with Irish Government censorship. The Times was largely pro-Allies and was opposed to theÉamon de Valera government policy ofneutrality.[12]
In 1969, the longest-serving editor ofThe Irish Times,Douglas Gageby, was allegedly called a "white nigger" by company chairmanThomas Bleakley McDowell, because of the newspaper's coverage ofNorthern Ireland at the outset ofthe Troubles, which was supportive of Irish nationalism.[13][32]
John Waters, a columnist who spoke out about the perceived vast salaries of the editor, managing director and deputy editor, was sacked and re-hired a week later, in November 2003.[33] Former editorGeraldine Kennedy was paid more than the editor of the UK's top non-tabloid newspaperThe Daily Telegraph, which has a circulation of about nine times that ofThe Irish Times. Later, columnistFintan O'Toole told theSunday Independent: "We as a paper are not shy of preaching about corporate pay and fat cats but with this there is a sense of excess. Some of the sums mentioned are disturbing. This is not an attack on Ms Kennedy, it is an attack on the executive level of pay. There is double-standard of seeking more job cuts while paying these vast salaries.[34][35]
On 23 December 2004,The Irish Times ran a front-page story on theProvisional IRA's denial of involvement in theNorthern Bank robbery, one of Europe's largest ever, and on the same day refused to print a column byKevin Myers which said that the Provisional IRA was responsible.[36] Myers was reported to be shocked by the spiking of his column.[37] Some two weeks later, the paper printed a report that there might, after all, be a "nationalist" connection.[36] Myers later left the paper in May 2006.[38]
The Irish Times tended to support the 2007Lisbon Treaty, which adjusted the operation of theEuropean Union. However, opposing views were also printed, including articles byDeclan Ganley ofLibertas Ireland, and other anti-Lisbon campaigners.[citation needed]
On 31 July 2010,The Irish Times published an article titled "The fighting Irish" about Irish nationals who enlisted in theBritish Armed Forces. The article featured interviews with members of theRoyal Irish Regiment and theIrish Guards.[39] It was subsequently criticised by current affairs magazineThe Phoenix, which argued that the article romanticised theWar in Afghanistan and served as little more than an indirect advertisement for the British military.The Phoenix accused the editor ofThe Irish Times,Geraldine Kennedy, of violating the IrishDefence Act which prohibits all forms of military recruitment advertising on the behalf of foreign militaries.[40]
On 9 September 2011, the paper published a pseudonymous article by Kate Fitzgerald.[41] Unknown to the paper, she had taken her life on 22 August 2011. The revelation sparked a nationwide debate on suicide with her parents appearing on television to discuss suicide and depression.[42] The article criticised the reaction to her illness by her employer,The Communications Clinic, although it was only after she was identified as the author that her employer became known. The article was later removed from the paper's website,[43] causing controversy online. The editor later told her parents that sections of her article were factually incorrect, but could not say which ones.[44] Kate's parents complained to the Office of the Press Ombudsman about an apology made toThe Communications Clinic, their complaint was upheld.[45]
In September 2019, the paper reprinted an article from theNew York Times byWilliam Broad. The article claimed that "the blossoming anxiety over professed health risks of5G [fifth generation wireless technology] 'can be traced to a single scientist and a single chart'". A complaint to the Office of the Press Ombudsman of thePress Council of Ireland was filed by Professor Tom Butler of theUniversity College Cork. The Press Council Ombudsman upheld Butler's complaint, ruling that "The Irish Times breached Principle 1 (Truth and Accuracy) of the Code of Practice of the Press Council of Ireland".[46][47]
In 1974, ownership was transferred to a non-charitable[14] trust,The Irish Times Trust. The former owner, MajorThomas McDowell, was made "president for life" of the trust which runs the paper and was paid a large dividend.[15] However several years later the articles of the Trust were adjusted, giving Major McDowell 10 preference shares and one more vote than the combined votes of all the other directors should any move be made to remove him.[17] McDowell died in 2009.[citation needed]The Trust is regulated by a legal document, the Memorandum and Articles of Association, and controlled by a body of people (the Governors) under company law. It is not a charity and does not have charitable status. It has no beneficial shareholders and it cannot pay dividends. Any profits made byThe Irish Times cannot be distributed to the Trust but must be used to strengthen the newspaper, directly or indirectly. The Trust is composed of a maximum of 11 Governors. The Trust appoints Governors who are required to be "representative broadly of the community throughout the whole of Ireland".
As of March 2023, John Hegarty is the chair of the Trust, and the governors are Edmond Harty, Maeve Carton, Catherine Day, Bernard Harbor, David Sterling, Fiach Mac Conghail and Marguerite Sayers. They are predominantly from an Irish public sector background.[48]
In 2015, The Irish Times Trust Limited joined as a member organisation of theEuropean Press Prize.[49]
In 1895, the paper moved from its original offices onMiddle Abbey Street toD'Olier Street in the centre of Dublin. "D'Olier Street" became ametonym ofThe Irish Times which in turn was personified as "The Old Lady of D'Olier Street". In October 2006, the paper relocated to a new building on nearbyTara Street.[50]
The Irish Times Literature Prizes were established in 1988, with the inaugural Irish Times International Fiction Prize (worth £7,500 in 1998)[51] awarded in 1989.[52][53] The Irish Literature Prizes (four categories, each worth £5,000 in 1998) were awarded for fiction, poetry, and non-fiction written in English. In 1998, a separate prize was for the first time awarded for a work in the Irish language, for the most outstanding title of all of the categories, which was awarded by a separate panel of judges.[51]
The Irish Times International Fiction Prize, also known as the Irish Times/Aer Lingus International Fiction Prize until 1992 (whenAer Lingus ceased its sponsorship of the awards), was awarded annually until 2001. The winners of this prize were:[53][52]
Regular columns include:
 | This article needs to beupdated. The reason given is:virtually unchanged since 2009, no idea if these details, including the named personnel, is presently active/retired/alive - or perhaps even relevant for this wiki article (item-by-item list of what the newspaper publishes, on which days, and how it finds its information). Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. Last update: 2009(September 2024) |
The paper has the same standard layout every day. The front page contains one main picture and three main news stories, with the left-hand column, News Digest, providing a "teaser" of some of the stories inside the Home News, World News, Sport and Business Today sections as well as other information such as winning lottery numbers and weather forecasts. Inside, it usually contains eight to twelve pages of Irish news, called "Home News", covering theRepublic of Ireland andNorthern Ireland. It devotes several pages to important stories such as the publication of government reports, government budgets, important courts cases, and so on.
World News contains news from its correspondents abroad and from news wires and services such as Reuters, the Guardian Service, and the Los Angeles Times-Washington Post service. The paper has correspondents in London, Paris, Brussels, and Washington.
The Irish Times publishes its residential property supplement every Thursday, one of the printed residential property listings for the Dublin area. This is also online. Motoring and employment supplements are published on Wednesday and Friday respectively, and are also online.
A business supplement is published every Friday, as is an entertainment supplement calledThe Ticket, with film, music, theatre reviews, interviews, articles, and media listings. It features cinema writer Donald Clarke and music writers Jim Carroll, Brian Boyd, Tony Clayton-Lea and others.Michael Dwyer, the film critic and recipient of the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, wrote for the supplement until his death in 2010.[54][55][56]
On Saturdays, a Weekend section is published, with news features, arts profiles, television and radio columns, and book reviews of mainly literary and biographical works, with occasional reviews in the technology sector. The Saturday edition also includes the Magazine with consumer and lifestyle features on food, wine, gardening, and there are travel and sports supplements.
ThreeSudoku puzzles and two crosswords are published daily including acryptic crossword, formerly compiled by "Crosaire", and a "Simplex" crossword. There is also a letters page.J.J. Walsh has contributed a chess puzzle to the paper since April 1955, originally weekly the puzzle became a daily fixture in September 1972.[57][58]
The paper carriespolitical cartoons byMartyn Turner[59] and the American cartoon strip,Doonesbury. The business section has a satirical illustration by David Rooney every Friday. Tom Mathews contributes an arts-inspired cartoon (called "Artoon") to the arts section on Saturday.
A weekly Irish-language page is carried on Wednesdays.
In 1994,The Irish Times established a web presence on IEunet.ie, which moved to the address Irish-times.ie in 1995; it was the first newspaper in Ireland and one of the first 30 newspapers in the world to establish an online presence. The company acquired thedomain nameireland.com in 1997, and from 1999 to 2008, used it to publish its online edition. This was freely available at first but charges and a registration fee were introduced in 2002 for access to most of the content. A number of blogs were added in April 2007, written byJim Carroll, Shane Hegarty, andConor Pope. On 30 June 2008, the company relaunchedireland.com as a separate lifestyle portal and the online edition of the newspaper was now published atirishtimes.com. Access to news on the new domain name was supplied free of charge,[60] but a subscription was charged to view its archives.
On 15 October 2012 John O'Shea, Head of Online,The Irish Times, announced that theireland.com domain name had been sold toTourism Ireland, and that the associatedireland.com email service would end on 7 November 2012.[61] The domain name was sold for €495,000.[61] The ending of the email service affected about 15,000 subscribers.[62]
The newspaper announced on 17 February 2015 the reintroduction of apaywall for its website,irishtimes.com, beginning on 23 February.[63][64][65]
Averageprint circulation was approximately 100,000 copies per issue in 2011,[67] dropping to approximately 62,000 by 2017.[68] The circulation of the newspaper is no longer audited.
| Year (period) | Average circulation per issue |
|---|---|
| 2005 (July to December)[69] | 117,370 |
| 2011 (January to June)[67] | 100,951 |
| 2012 (January to June)[70] | 92,565 |
| 2012 (July to December)[71] | 88,356 |
| 2014 (January to June)[72] | 80,332 |
| 2014 (July to December)[73] | 76,882 |
| 2015 (January to June)[74] | 76,194 |
| 2016 (January to June)[75] | 72,011 |
| 2016 (July to December)[76] | 66,251 |
| 2017 (January to June)[68] | 62,423 |
| 2017 (July to December)[77] | 61,049 |
| 2018 (January to June)[78] | 60,352 |
| 2018 (July to December)[79] | 58,131 |
| 2019 (January to June)[80] | 56,518 |
| 2019 (July to December)[81][82] | 54,147 |
ABC measure digital circulation based on paid for digital subscriptions that include an ePaper in the package. This means that the free student edition and the basic package, which does not include an ePaper, are excluded from the below statistics.
| Year (period) | Average circulation per issue |
|---|---|
| 2017 (July to December)[83] | 16,939 |
| 2018 (January to June)[78] | 18,903 |
| 2018 (July to December)[79] | 21,275 |
| 2019 (July to December)[81] | 24,389 |
The Irish Times of Dublin, Ireland's leading newspaper
Today, the Irish Times is one of Ireland's most authoritative journals – the newspaper of record for political and intellectual elites from Mayo to Monkstown. Mark O'Brien provides a detailed and colourful account of this transformation. His history of the Irish Times is also the story of modern Ireland: it tracks the newspaper's sceptical response to the emergence of the Free State in 1922 and the declaration of the Republic in 1949; it also examines its fractious relationship with the nation's governments and political figureheads from Eamon de Valera (whom the paper repeatedly compared to Hitler) to Bertie Ahern.
The principal activities of The Irish Times Group are digital and print publishing, the marketing and sale of digital subscriptions and newspapers, printing, radio broadcasting and other digital activities.
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| National | |
