Irish Independent

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Irish Independent
Irish Independent Logo.svg
IrishIndependent.JPG
Irish Independent front page on 24 November 2005
Type Daily newspaper
Format Compact
Owner(s) Mediahuis Ireland, a subsidiary of Mediahuis
EditorCormac Bourke
FoundedJanuary 1905;119 years ago (1905-01)
(replaced Daily Irish Independent )
Political alignment Conservative
Headquarters Talbot Street, Dublin, Ireland
Circulation 36,000 [1]
ISSN 0021-1222
Website independent.ie

The Irish Independent is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis.

Contents

The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. [2]

Traditionally a broadsheet newspaper, it introduced an additional compact size in 2004. Further, in December 2012 (following billionaire Denis O'Brien's takeover) it was announced that the newspaper would become compact only. [3]

History

First issue of the Irish Independent Irish Independent First Issue 1905 01 02.png
First issue of the Irish Independent

Murphy and family (1905–1973)

Masthead of the Freeman's Journal, founded 1763, which merged with the Irish Independent in 1924 FJmasthead.JPG
Masthead of the Freeman's Journal, founded 1763, which merged with the Irish Independent in 1924
Independent Newspapers in January 1935 Captions Please... (6880132787).jpg
Independent Newspapers in January 1935

The Irish Independent was formed in 1905 as the direct successor to The Irish Daily Independent and Daily Nation, an 1890s' pro-Parnellite newspaper. It was launched by William 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 the Irish Independent, published 2 January 1905, was marked as "Vol. 14. No. 1".

During the 1913 Lockout of workers, in which Murphy was the leading figure among the employers, the Irish 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 the 1916 Easter Rising as "insane and criminal" and famously called for the shooting of its leaders. [5] In December 1919, during the Irish War of Independence, a group of twenty IRA men destroyed the printing works of the paper, angered at its criticism of the Irish Republican Army's attacks on members of the Dublin Metropolitan Police and British government officials. [6] In 1924, the traditional nationalist newspaper, the Freeman's Journal , merged with the Irish 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, the Irish Independent (also called simply the Independent or more colloquially, the Indo) was seen as a nationalist, Catholic, anti-Communist, newspaper, [8] which gave its political allegiance to the Pro-Treaty party Cumann na nGaedheal and later its successor party, Fine Gael. [8] During the Spanish Civil War, the Irish Independent's coverage was strongly pro-Franco: the paper criticised the De Valera government for not intervening on behalf of the Spanish Nationalists. [9]

In 1961, the harp became a symbol of the Irish Independent. It originally appeared in black but was changed to green in 1972.

O'Reilly (1973–2012)

In the 1970s, former Heinz chairman Tony O'Reilly took over the Irish Independent. Under his leadership, it became a more market liberal newspaper and economic right-wing. By the mid-nineties its allegiance to Fine Gael had ended. In the 1997 general election, it endorsed Fianna 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 the Rainbow 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 in Talbot Street, with the printing facilities already relocated to the Citywest business park near Tallaght.

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 the Irish Independent's sister paper, the Evening Herald. The newspaper's previous editor Stephen Rae was also formerly editor of the Evening Herald and was appointed editor in September 2012. Fionnan Sheahan was appointed editor in January 2015. [11]

O'Brien (2012–2019)

Billionaire Denis O'Brien acquired a majority shareholding of the Irish Independent's parent company INM in May 2012. [12]

Mediahuis (2019–present)

In July 2019 the takeover of INM by Belgian media group Mediahuis 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]

Digital archives

The Irish Independent is available on the Irish Newspaper Archives, in black-and-white microfilm up to 2004, in colour since 2005. It is also archived up to 2009 online on the British Newspaper Archive website.

New Irish Writing and Hennessy Award

Since 2011, the Irish Independent has been the home of New Irish Writing (and its associated Hennessy Award), [15] which was originally established by David Marcus in 1969 in the Irish Press and appeared in the Sunday 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]

Exam Brief

The Irish Independent, in co-operation with the Institute of Education, produces Exam 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.

See Independent News & Media article for newspapers and media assets in the wider group.

Average print 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) [31]
36,000

In 2019, Independent News & Media exited the ABC auditing process. [32]

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References

  1. ↑ "Some Newspaper Sales update". 27 June 2023.
  2. ↑ "Who is the greatest Irish footballer of all – see if you agree with our choice". Irish Independent. 30 November 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2012. 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.
  3. ↑ "A message from the editor to you, our reader". Irish Independent. 21 December 2012. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  4. ↑ Andy Bielenberg, Entrepreneurship, Power, and Public Opinion in Ireland: The career of William Martin Murphy.
  5. ↑ Easter Rising newspaper archive Archived 9 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine —from the BBC History website
  6. ↑ "Following a report on the assassination of the Lord Lieutenant ... the IRA attacked the offices of the (Irish Independent) the following day". Ian Kenneally, The Paper Wall: Newspapers and Propaganda in Ireland 1919–1921. Dublin, Collins Press. 2008, ISBN   1905172583 (p. 105).
  7. ↑ "Irish Independent masthead containing 'Incorporating the Freeman's Journal'" . IrishNewsArchive.com . Retrieved 25 November 2015.[ permanent dead link ]
  8. 1 2 "During the Free State Period, the Independent was characterised by a triumphalist strain of Catholicism, virulent anti-Communism and support for the Pro-Treaty Party." Fearghal McGarry, "Irish Newspapers and the Spanish Civil War", Irish Historical Studies, Vol. 33, No. 129 (May 2002), pp. 68–90.
  9. ↑ Fearghal McGarry, "Irish Newspapers and the Spanish Civil War", Irish Historical Studies, Vol. 33, No. 129 (May 2002), pp. 68–90.
  10. ↑ Irish Examiner archives Archived 8 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine —O'Reilly 'took revenge in editorial'. 2 December 2002
  11. ↑ "INM appoints two new editors to Irish Independent and Sunday Independent". The Irish Independent. 9 January 2015.
  12. ↑ "Denis O'Brien buys another 5% stake in Independent News & Media". RTÉ Business . 3 May 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  13. ↑ Donnelly, Ellie (30 July 2019). "Court approves INM takeover by Mediahuis". Irish Independent.
  14. ↑ Burns, John (2 February 2020). "Outside chances of new Sindo boss Alan English". The Times.
  15. ↑ Vanessa O'Loughlin, "New Irish Writing" Archived 21 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine , Writing.ie.
  16. ↑ "Your chance to join the ranks of our best writers". The Irish Independent. 25 March 2012.
  17. ↑ "New home for New Irish Writing and the Hennessy Award", Writing4all.ie.
  18. ↑ "Exam Brief". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 5 October 2009. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
  19. 1 2 "Good times begin to roll for hard-pressed newspaper sector". The Irish Times .
  20. 1 2 "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  21. ↑ "Irish Times, Sunday Business Post circulation down 30% since 2006". www.finfacts.ie.
  22. ↑ Slattery, Laura. "Fall in circulation for all of Republic's daily newspapers". The Irish Times.
  23. ↑ "Irish Morning Newspaper ABC Circulations, Jan–June 2012 – SEO Ireland, Search Engine Optimisation, Media and Marketing Consulting". ilevel.ie. Archived from the original on 22 February 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
  24. ↑ "Morning Newspapers ABC July–Dec 2012 – SEO Ireland, Search Engine Optimisation, Media and Marketing Consulting". ilevel.ie. Archived from the original on 12 February 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  25. ↑ "The Irish Independent Newspaper Circulation". bywire.news. 10 December 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  26. ↑ "Certificate" (PDF). www.abc.org.uk. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  27. ↑ "Certificate" (PDF). www.abc.org.uk. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  28. ↑ Doyle, Conor. "Irish Newspaper Circulation July-Dec 2017 Island of Ireland Report – Media and Marketing Consulting, PPC, SEO Ireland, Search Engine Optimisation". www.ilevel.ie. Archived from the original on 6 November 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  29. ↑ "Certificate" (PDF). www.abc.org.uk. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  30. ↑ "Certificate" (PDF). www.abc.org.uk. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  31. ↑ "Some Newspaper Sales update". 27 June 2023.
  32. ↑ "Irish Newspaper Circulation Jan-June 2019 Island of Ireland Report Print". 22 August 2019.
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