Ireland's Own

Last updated

Ireland's Own
TypeWeekly magazine
FormatMagazine
Owner(s) Independent News & Media
EditorSean Nolan and Shea Tomkins
Founded26 November 1902
Headquarters Wexford, Ireland
Website irelandsown.ie

Ireland's Own is a general interest magazine published weekly in Ireland. Launched on 26 November 1902 by John M. Walshe of People Newspapers with an original cover price of 1d, [1] it specialises in light-reading content, traditional stories, and uncontroversial family content, including puzzles and recipes.

Contents

Original aim

The magazine was designed to offer "wholesome Irish Catholic fare" to challenge the appearance of British newspapers in Ireland like the News of the World (which were denounced as "scandal-sheets" that lowered the moral tone of late 19th century/early 20th century Ireland). The magazine's appearance coincided with a broad stressing of Irish identity as a reaction to British imports. Among the other examples were the creation of the Gaelic Athletic Association to promote Gaelic games and to halt the growth of soccer and rugby (1880s), the appearance of the Gaelic League to promote the Irish language (1893), and the growth in the Irish-Ireland movement reflected in the creation of the Abbey Theatre to promote Irish arts (1904) and the creation by Arthur Griffith in 1904 of Cumann na nGaedheal to protest at the visit of King George V and his queen, Mary of Teck. [2]

Ireland's Own saw its role as projecting an image of Ireland free from "alien" influence, hence a content free from anything perceived as "scandalous" or "anti-Catholic". A critic described such magazines as offering "a formula for 'healthy fireside reading' combining patriotism, pietism and national news with a minimum of foreign coverage or intellectual speculation." [3] The concept of such a magazine is traced back to the series of pietistic family magazines launched by James Duffy in the mid-19th century.

It was affected by the 1916 Easter Rising. The issue dated 24 May 1916 contained the following note for its readers: "Owing to the upheaval in Dublin we have been unable to distribute Ireland's Own as usual. Now that things are becoming more normal again, we are able to publish a limited number of copies this week. We expect to have everything running as before in a fortnight or so". [1]

As of 2022, it was still printed on newsprint, rather than glossy material. [1]

Editor's description

A former editor, Phil Murphy, on the occasion of its centenary, described it with the words:

"Ireland's Own and contention are complete strangers to each other – and that would be a deliberate policy. It's not 'Dublin 4' [lower-alpha 1] and trendy 'liberalism' and that aspect of Ireland, which is pretty shallow and skin deep anyway. We're slightly old-fashioned in our ways, for which we make no apologies. We attract a lot of our readership from people who probably have a yearning for what they consider to be the 'good old days, when things were better' as they see them. We do not take a hard-faced attitude towards our journalism or our magazine. We accept the fact that people do have a yearning for the old days, and nostalgia is a significant part of the magazine." [4]

Examples of content

Its Christmas 2003 edition contained a series of articles, both fact and fiction, on such topics as "Gathering the Holly", [5] "Who is Father Christmas?", [6] "The Christmas Fairy" [7] and "Christmas Long Ago". [8]

Kitty the Hare (A fictional old Irish travelling woman and storyteller who tells stories of the supernatural and bizarre) first appeared in 1924. [1]

Contributions

Ireland's Own accepts unsolicited contributions, both fiction and non-fiction. Copy may be submitted electronically. Payment is made for items accepted for publication, and contributors are sent a complimentary copy of the issue containing their item. In the past, certainly as recently as a couple of years ago,[ when? ] this payment was sent in the form of a cheque. Now, contributors whose material is accepted for publication are sent a form requesting their full bank details: account number, sort code, whether VAT registered and a number of other details. An inquiry as to whether payment by cheque were still an option for those who, for security reasons, preferred not to pass on this information received the reply that Ireland's Own no longer sends out cheques.

It has no journalists and it has no staff writers. [1]

Shane MacGowan read a piece on the actor Patrick Bergin and then got to star in a Christmas edition himself, and stated afterwards: "Forget Hollywood, the best publicity I ever got was on the cover of Ireland's Own". [1]

Maeve Binchy said it was like a "fairy godmother". [1] John B. Keane's first publication was in Ireland's Own at the age of 13. [1] Cathy Kelly and Mary Kenny have high regard for Ireland's Own. [1] Colm Tóibín even deigned to write a little foreword for the 2022 annual, which features stories and bits and pieces of memory, though his opinion on the quality of Ireland's Own is unclear. [1]

While at times derided as not terribly hip, and apart from Tóibín's foreword, there was a time when David Norris did a spread for it in 2022. [1]

Published in Wexford

In contrast to most Irish magazines, Ireland's Own is not Dublin-based but is edited in Wexford, where it has offices on the town's Main Street. [1]

Ireland's Own celebrated its centenary in 2002.

It celebrated 120 years in the biz in 2022. [1] Sean Nolan and Shea Tomkins edited the magazine as it reached the big 120. [1]

Circulation

For the first half of 2007, the magazine had an average circulation of 40,905, according to the Audited Bureau of Circulations.

Ownership

The People Newspaper Group (which also included the Wicklow People, the Wexford People and the Waterford People) is now owned by Irish media giant Independent News and Media, now (Mediahuis Ireland).

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John A. Costello</span> Taoiseach (1948–1951; 1954–1957)

John Aloysius Costello was an Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 1948 to 1951 and from 1954 to 1957, Leader of the Opposition from 1951 to 1954 and from 1957 to 1959, and Attorney General of Ireland from 1926 to 1932. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1933 to 1943 and from 1944 to 1969.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camogie</span> Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women

Camogie is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and worldwide, largely among Irish communities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blueshirts</span> Irish Free State paramilitary organisation

The Army Comrades Association (ACA), later the National Guard, then Young Ireland and finally League of Youth, but best known by the nickname the Blueshirts, was a paramilitary organisation in the Irish Free State, founded as the Army Comrades Association in Dublin on 9 February 1932. The group provided physical protection for political groups such as Cumann na nGaedheal from intimidation and attacks by the IRA. Some former members went on to fight for the Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War after the group had been dissolved.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernest Blythe</span> Irish politician (1889–1975)

Ernest William Blythe was an Irish journalist, managing director of the Abbey Theatre, and politician who served as Minister for Finance from 1923 to 1932, Minister for Posts and Telegraphs and Vice-President of the Executive Council from 1927 to 1932 and Minister for Local Government from 1922 to 1923. He was a Senator for the Labour Panel from 1934 to 1936. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Monaghan constituency from 1921 to 1933 and Member of Parliament (MP) for Monaghan North from 1918 to 1922.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sir Osmond Esmonde, 12th Baronet</span> Irish diplomat and politician (1896–1936)

Sir Osmond Thomas Grattan Esmonde, 12th Baronet was an Irish diplomat and Cumann na nGaedheal politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Batt O'Connor</span> Irish Cumann na nGaedheal politician (1870–1935)

Bartholomew O'Connor was an Irish Cumann na nGaedheal politician. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) for Dublin County from 1924 to 1935.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Redmond (Irish politician, born 1886)</span> Irish politician (1886–1932)

William Archer Redmond DSO was an Irish nationalist politician. He served as an MP in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as well as a Teachta Dála (TD) of Dáil Éireann. He was one of the few people to have served in both the House of Commons and in the Oireachtas.

Therese Maher is a camogie player, and winner of Five All Star awards 2005, 2008, 2009 and 2011 and 2013.

The All-Ireland Intermediate Camogie Championship is a competition in the women's field sport of camogie for second-tier county teams and for second-string teams of first-tier counties. If the winning team comes from a second-tier county, that county is promoted to the following year's senior championship. Similarly, the winner of the All-Ireland junior championship is promoted to the following year's Intermediate Championship. The grade mirrors Division 2 of the National Camogie League. The final is played in Croke Park Dublin alongside the Senior and Junior finals. The 2021 competition was contested by Antrim, Carlow, Derry, Laois, Kerry, Kildare, Meath and the second teams of Cork, Dublin, Galway, Kilkenny and Tipperary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camogie Association</span> Governing body for the sport of camogie

The Camogie Association organises and promotes the sport of camogie in Ireland and around the world. The association has close ties with the Gaelic Athletic Association, but is still a separate organisation.

Stellah Sinnott is a camogie manager, winner of a Manager of the Year award after she guided Wexford to their first All Ireland title in 32 years in 2007. She was the first woman to manage a first rank inter-county camogie team.

Aislinn Connolly is a camogie player who was an All Star winner in 2010 and 2011 and a member of the Team of the Championship for 2011. She played in the All Ireland finals of 2010 and 2011.

The 2011 All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship—known as the All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship in association with RTÉ Sport for sponsorship reasons— is the premier competition of the 2011 camogie season. It commenced on 11 June 2011 and ended with the final on 11 September. Eight county teams compete in the Senior Championship out of twenty-seven who compete overall in the Senior, Intermediate and Junior Championships. Wexford defeated Galway in the final, avenging a surprise 11-point defeat in the round-robin stage of the championship.

John Joseph (JJ) Doyle is a former hurler who managed the Wexford camogie to All-Ireland championship success in 2010 2011 and 2012.

Sarah Dervan is a camogie player, All-Ireland winning medalist 2013, 2019 and 2021. She was also a member of the Galway senior panel that unsuccessfully contested the All Ireland finals of 2010 and 2011 against Wexford.

Emma Kilkelly is a camogie player, a member of the Galway senior panel that unsuccessfully contested the All Ireland finals of 2010 and 2011 against Wexford,

Orla Kilkenny is a camogie player, a member of the Galway senior panel that unsuccessfully contested the All Ireland finals of 2010 and 2011 against Wexford and winner of an All Star award in 2010.

The 2006 All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship—known as the Gala All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship for sponsorship reasons—was the high point of the 2006 season in the sport of Camogie. The championship was won for the 22nd time by Cork who defeated Tipperary by an eight-point margin in the final despite having lost to them in the group stages. Rena Buckley was player of the match. The attendance was 20,685, at the time the second highest in camogie history.

The 2011 All-Ireland Senior Club Camogie Championship for the leading clubs in the women's team field sport of camogie was won by Oulart–The Ballagh (Wx), who defeated Drom & Inch (Tip) in the final, played at Croke Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">P. T. Daly</span> Irish trade unionist and politician (1870-1943)

Patrick Thomas Daly, known as P. T. Daly was an Irish trade unionist and politician.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "'Ireland's Own' — good old yarns still weaving their magic after 120 years: The magazine's editors on why the gentle weekly magazine still appeals to so many readers". Sunday Independent. 20 November 2022. Published in print as "Real Ireland's bible still weaves magic: The editors of Ireland's Own tell Liam Collins why the gentle weekly magazine appeals to readers across the globe after 120 years in print" on p. 22.
  2. ↑ Griffith's Cumann na nGaedheal was a different party to the later Cumann na nGaedheal formed by pro-Treaty Sinn Féin TDs under W. T. Cosgrave.
  3. ↑ Historical Irish Journals.
  4. ↑ Ireland's Own. Archived 18 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ "Gathering the Holly" Archived 20 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ "Who is Father Christmas?" Archived 11 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ "The Christmas Fairy" Archived 20 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ "Christmas Long Ago" Archived 4 April 2005 at the Wayback Machine

Notes

  1. ↑ "Dublin 4" is a trendy, upper-middle class liberal part of south Dublin. Dublin 4 is often used as a code word to describe "trendy liberals".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.