TheIrish Independent andSunday Independent are synonymous with Ireland’s story. We have been at the heart of the country’s history since 1905.

TheIrish Independent is Ireland’s most popular news website and launched a subscription model for premium articles in February 2020.

TheIrish Independent andSunday Independent are the best-selling newspapers in Ireland in the daily and Sunday markets respectively.

Quality journalism is our core mission and we are renowned for our analysis, perspective and opinion. Every day, the journalism we create sets the news agenda, sparks debate and provokes comment.

Established 2014, Mediahuis is one of the biggest publishers in the Benelux countries and is behind a wide range of cross-media brands. It is a dynamic and forward-looking media company which has expanded rapidly in recent years.

Brands owned by Mediahuis includeNRC andDe Telegraaf in The Netherlands;De Standaard andHet Nieuwsblad in Belgium;Luxemburger Wort andTélécranin Luxembourg.

Mediahuis brands publish and broadcast in multiple European languages, including English, Dutch, French, Luxembourgish, Portuguese, German, Frisian and Irish (Seachtainis published weekly in theIrish Independent).

Our mission

“The Irish Independent exists to inform and explain. It is therefore not just a question of reporting what has happened, but also what does it really mean - and how does it impact on all our lives. It is our duty to be thought provoking, to challenge and to hold power to account. It is also our job to entertain and inspire – and, where possible, bring a smile to Ireland’s face as well as a tear to her eye. As a trusted source of news, for well over 100 years, we have been an integral part of Irish DNA, both reflecting and reflecting on our nation’s hope and fears. In good times and in bad, for better or for worse, we tell Ireland’s story.”

Cormac Bourke, Editor-in-Chief, Mediahuis Ireland

Our people

Cormac Bourke, Editor-in-Chief, Mediahuis Ireland

A former news editor in various publications including the Irish Independent, Cormac Bourke has been a national newspaper and news website editor since 2015. Appointed Mediahuis Ireland editor-in-chief in August 2022, he has led, driven and curated coverage of some of the biggest news stories over the past two decades.

From Kildare and educated in Offaly, Cormac has worked in Melbourne, Australia and Dublin, Ireland, where he now lives. He holds a BA in journalism.

E: cormac.bourke@independent.ie (For press releases and PR queries please contact inews@independent.ie)

X: @cormacbourke

Edward McCann, Director of Publishing Operations

Edward has worked at INM, now Mediahuis, since 2003 when he joined the Irish Independent as associate editor in features. He was appointed deputy publisher in 2020 after having worked as group managing editor in Dublin for five years.

He took up the role of director of publishing operations in 2022 and is part of the executive leadership team at Mediahuis Ireland. Edward lives in Belfast.

E: edward.mccann@mediahuis.co.uk

X: @edwardlmccann

Kevin Doyle, Executive Editor of the Irish Independent / Group Head of News at Mediahuis Ireland

Kevin worked as group political editor of the Irish Independentfor five years and is a former political journalist of the year. He covered Brexit and the Covid 19 crisis extensively. As well as writing news and analysis, he is a keen broadcaster and hostsThe Indo Daily podcast.

A native of Ferbane, Co Offaly, Kevin takes particular interest in reporting on rural affairs.

His career in journalism began at theTullamore Tribune where he reported on news and sport. Kevin graduated from Dublin City University in 2008 and started his career at theEvening Herald. He moved to the Irish Independent in 2014, working as news editor for five years before becoming group political editor. In addition to presentingThe Indo Daily, he also hosted the award-winning seriesI'm Not Here To Hurt You.

He regularly provides news and political analysis on television and radio.

E: kevin.doyle@independent.ie

T: KevDoyle_Indo

Liz Kearney, Sunday Independent Editor

Liz has worked for Mediahius since 2002. She started out as a news reporter with theBray People before joining theIrish Independentas a sub-editor and news production executive for a decade, after which she joined the features department.

She was theIrish Independent’s features editor, editor of theSunday Independent’sPeople and Culture supplement and then group head of features for Mediahuis Ireland, before taking up her current role as editor of theSunday Independent in April 2025.

She was born and raised in Co Wicklow, where she still lives.

E: liz.kearney@independent.ie

X: @Lizzy_kearney

Samantha McCaughren, Group Head of Features, Mediahuis Ireland

Samantha McCaughren leads a team of features, magazine and opinion editors. She is responsible for driving the features strategy across all of Mediahuis Ireland’s platforms, engaging audiences in digital and print.

Samantha was business editor of theSunday Independent for seven years before being appointed to the position of head of change (editorial) for Mediahuis Ireland in 2023, where she worked with editors and department leads on digital transformation projects.

She started her career in journalism working in news, before taking an interest in business journalism, specialising in the media sector. Her previous roles include business correspondent forThe Sunday Times and chief business correspondent at theSunday Business Post.

An award-winning journalist, Samantha has been a member of the Press Council of Ireland since 2020.

Aoife Kelly, Chief Audience Editor

Aoife has worked in editorial at the Irish Independent since 2013 when she joined the team as Entertainment Channel Editor.  In 2019 she took on the new role of Audience Editor before being promoted to Chief Audience Editor in 2020, and to her current role as Head of Audience in 2025.    Aoife leads the audience strategy for the Irish Independent and manages the Audience and Insights teams, driving readership and growth across platforms by bringing our journalism to our readers and data insights to the newsroom. 

Aoife has a BA in Journalism from DCU and began her career writing features for the Irish Daily Star before joining DMG Media. Aoife lives in Co Meath.

E: aoife.kelly@independent.ie

Jim Hayes, Regionals Group Editor

Jim has been Mediahuis Ireland regionals group editor since 2019, overseeing the newsrooms at 12 local newspaper titles, plusIreland's Own magazine. Before that he was a writer, sub-editor and later group editor at People Newspapers in Wexford. He lives in Wexford town.

E: jim.hayes@independent.ie

David Courtney, Head of Sport, Mediahuis Ireland

Dublin-born David studied English, economics and mathematics in UCD before joining the Irish Independent in 1986. He began his career as a sports sub-editor, before moving to theEvening Herald, where he became deputy sports editor in 1991 and then sports editor in 1996. He returned to theIrish Independent as executive editor, sport in 2005, before becoming head of sports content in 2015, after which he took on the newly created role of group head of sport in 2020.

E: david.courtney@independent.ie

Mary Carroll, Group Head of Audio, Mediahuis Ireland

Mary joined Mediahuis Ireland in 2021 to launchThe Indo Daily podcast, having previously worked as a current affairs radio producer. She is group head of audio at Mediahuis Ireland and has helped to grow a large audience for shows includingThe Indo Daily, Indo Sport, The BelTel, The Big Tech Show andThe Left Wing. She is based in Dublin.

Mary has an MA in journalism from DCU and started her career as a researcher onThe Last Word at Today FM. She has always worked in news broadcasting but has a particular interest in audio story-telling and has made a number of award-winning radio documentaries and narrative podcast series.

E: mary.carroll@independent.ie

Paul Sheridan, Group Head of Video, Mediahuis Ireland

Paul has a long track record in journalism and was appointed group head of video in late 2024.

He has worked in national newspapers for 25 years, running three news departments in the past decade including theIrish Daily Star, The Herald and theSunday Independent. He held a number of key senior editorial roles at all three titles, including head of news (Sunday Independent), deputy editor (The Herald) and head of content (Irish Daily Star).

Paul previously completed a two-year course in advanced print journalism and radio broadcasting, for which he earned a NCVA Diploma (now classed as a BTEC Higher National Diploma).

E: paul.sheridan@independent.ie

Margaret Donnelly, Farming Editor, Irish Independent

Margaret joined INM, now Mediahuis, in 2000 as a journalist on theFarming Independent. She moved in 2004 to become editorial manager at a publishing company, later working as editor of an agri media digital start-up. She returned to theIrish Independent in 2016 as agri digital editor, setting up an online farming portal, and took over as farming editor in 2019. Originally from Co Offaly, she now lives in Dublin.

E: margaret.donnelly@independent.ie

Rachel Dugan Editor, Weekend Magazine, Irish Independent

Rachel joined INM, now Mediahuis, in 2014. Before being appointed editor ofWeekendmagazine, she held the positions of culture editor and deputy editor ofReview. Rachel is a graduate of Trinity College and, prior to joining Mediahuis, has worked at a number of national newspapers. She lives in Dublin.

E: rachel.dugan@independent.ie

Jon Smith, Deputy editor (comment and news analysis), Sunday Independent

Jon Smith has been deputy editor (comment and news analysis) at theSunday Independent since June 2025. He was previously editor ofReviewand deputy opinion editor at theIrish Independent and has worked at Mediahuis Ireland since April 2020. Over the past 20 years, he has held senior roles such as comment editor, digital editor and chief sub-editor at titles includingThe Times, The Sunday Times, The Irish Times and theBusiness Post. His cover concepts have won two European Newspaper Awards. His areas of expertise include long reads, opinion, news, books and music. Jon is originally from Leeds in Yorkshire, but has lived in Dublin since 2010. His mother’s family is from the Irish midlands and he became an Irish citizen in 2016.

E: jsmith@independent.ie

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-smith-5016a552/

Fionnán Sheahan, Ireland Editor

Fionnán joined INM, now Mediahuis, in 2005 and has worked in a series of roles, including political editor and editor of theIrish Independent. He has won several awards for his print and digital journalism, is a presenter of theThe Indo Daily podcast and is also a regular contributor on TV and radio. A native of Co Tipperary, Fionnán now lives in Dublin.

E: fsheahan@independent.ie

T: fionnansheahan

Donal O’Donovan, Group Business Editor

Donal joined theIrish Independent in 2010 and was business editor from 2016. He was appointed group business editor in 2023. Before joining INM, now Mediahuis, he was a journalist with Thomson Reuters in London and is a former presenter of Newstalk's Business Breakfast. Donal has a BA and MA from University College Cork and advanced diploma from Kings Inns. He grew up in Limerick and now lives in Dublin.

E: dodonovan@independent.ie

Mark Keenan, Property Editor, Irish Independent

Mark has been residential property editor and a housing analyst for theIrish Independent since 2013. He previously launched and edited property magazines for both the Sunday Times (where he was also Irish editor ofNews Reviewfor a year) and theSunday Tribune, where he was also editor over motoring, education and technology.

E: mark.keenan@independent.ie

Regina Lavelle, People & Culture Editor, Sunday Independent

Regina was appointed editor ofPeople and Culture in 2023. Prior to this, she was acting editor ofLifemagazine. She has been a journalist for over 20 years, first as a news reporter and then a feature writer. She has held a number of feature editor positions in Ireland before moving to London for a decade to work in newspaper and in media start-ups. She lives in Co Mayo.

E: regina.lavelle@independent.ie

Leslie Ann Horgan, Life magazine Editor, Sunday Independent

Leslie Ann joined theSunday Independent as editor ofLifemagazine in June 2020. She previously worked as head of content at Her.ie, and as editor ofWeekendat theIrish Independent. She was also assistant editor at the IrishDaily Mail. Leslie Ann studied journalism at Dublin Institute of Technology. She has written columns on pop culture and current affairs, as well as regular theatre reviews. Leslie Ann is based in Dublin.

E: leslieann.horgan@independent.ie

To view a full list of our journalists and contributors please clickhere.

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