''Metro Éireann'' was an Irish multicultural tabloid newspaper. It was established in April 2000 by editor Chinedu Onyejelem and his colleague Abel Ugba,

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

n-born journalists who had emigrated to Ireland. Based in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, ''Metro Éireann'' focussed on issues affecting Ireland's immigrants."New Irish Voice for Immigrants"
BBC News, 25 December 2007. Retrieved 24 April 2013.

Founders

Editor Chinedu Onyejelem had previously worked on ''

The Irish Times ''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. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'' and ''

The Irish Catholic ''The Irish Catholic'' is a 40-page Irish weekly newspaper providing news and commentary about the Catholic Church. The newspaper is privately owned by editor-in-chief Garry O’Sullivan, managed by a private limited company and independent of ...

'' before co-founding the paper. He is one of Ireland's most visible immigrants (now an Irish citizen) and was a recipient of a People of the Year Award in 2006 in recognition for his work on multiculturalism. Onyejelem is a member of the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs-NGO Standing Committee on Human Rights and is a fellow of the Transatlantic Forum on Migration and Integration. Co-founder Abel Ugba is now an academic at the

University of East London University of East London (UEL) is a public university located in the London Borough of Newham, London, England, based at three campuses in Stratford, London, Stratford and London Docklands, Docklands, following the opening of University Squar ...

Publications

''Metro Éireann'' frequently broke news stories of national significance. In 2007, it published an article which revealed the

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace") is the national police and security service of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards". The service is headed by the Garda Commissio ...

's decision to disallow its officers from wearing religious headwear. This particular story led to a national debate in the mainstream media on issues pertaining to cultural integration, religious rights, assimilation, and Irishness. Other news stories have also led to intensified public debate through the years. The newspaper was published fortnightly and featured columns from Ireland-based contributors from around the world, including Nigeria, Somalia, Pakistan, Israel, South Africa, Poland and the United States. It carried a dedicated Irish language section and strongly promoted minority sports such as women's rugby and martial arts. The

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...

–winning writer

Roddy Doyle Roderick Doyle (born 8 May 1958) is an Irish novelist, dramatist and screenwriter. He is the author of eleven novels for adults, eight books for children, seven plays and screenplays, and dozens of short stories. Several of his books have been ...

and American political commentator Charles Laffiteau were among its regular contributors. But because newspapers are dependent on printers being able to print, distributors being able to deliver copies around the country and shops being open for people to buy or pick up copies of its newspapers, the Irish government's March 2020 national lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out every part of this chain and forced ''Metro Éireann'' to cease publishing in April 2020.

Events

''Metro Éireann'' ran the annual MAMA (Media and Multicultural Awards) event and also devised complementing awards which involved various sections of Irish society: the business community through the Ethnic Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, launched by President Mary McAleese in 2007; the creative arts through the ''Metro Éireann'' Writing Awards (judged by

); the musical community through the Dublin International Gospel Music Festival; and the Nigerian Diaspora via the Global Achievers Awards for Nigeria, which also honoured Irish people who have made positive contributions to Nigeria or the Nigerian communities (e.g. missionaries).

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Metro Eireann 2000 establishments in Ireland Defunct biweekly newspapers Newspapers published in the Republic of Ireland Newspapers established in 2000 Newspapers disestablished in the 2020s