The ''Scottish Catholic Observer'' was Scotland's only national

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

newspaper, founded in 1885. It ceased publication in 2020. It featured news of the

Roman Catholic Church in Scotland The Catholic Church in Scotland, overseen by the Scottish Bishops' Conference, is part of the worldwide Catholic Church headed by the Pope. Christianity first arrived in Roman Britain and was strengthened by the conversion of the Picts th ...

as well as regular international church news and reports from the

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. For most of the twenty-first century, it was owned by ''

The Catholic Herald The ''Catholic Herald'' is a London-based Roman Catholic monthly magazine, founded in 1888 and a sister organisation to the non-profit Catholic Herald Institute, based in New York. After 126 years as a weekly newspaper, it became a magazine ...

'' newspaper group. Weekly editions contained local, national, and international news, opinion pages, letters, education news and reviews, in addition to regular reader competitions. The paper also listed births, deaths, and marriages across Scotland. Much of its exclusive news was later picked up by the mainstream media. The paper carried regular features on Scottish Catholic life and history, weekly columnists alongside an

Ecumenical Ecumenism ( ; alternatively spelled oecumenism)also called interdenominationalism, or ecumenicalismis the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships ...

coverage which keeps readers up to date with Scottish Inter-Church dialogue and projects. The ''Scottish Catholic Observer'' was redesigned and relaunched in 2008 with editor Liz Leydon, a former

Scotsman Scottish people or Scots (; ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded the Kingdom of Scotland (o ...

journalist, and manager Rebecca Rigg. In June 2016, deputy editor Ian Dunn took over as editor, who was succeeded by his deputy Daniel Harkins in 2018. Notable former reporters include SNP MP

Brendan O'Hara Brendan O'Hara (born 27 April 1963) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. He serves as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber since the 2024 United Kingdo ...

, war correspondent Francis McCullagh, and Kevin McKenna, columnist for ''

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'' and former deputy editor of '' The Herald'' and executive editor of the ''

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'' in Scotland.

History

The ''Scottish Catholic Observer'' was created in 1885 as the ''Glasgow Observer''. Its first edition was published on 18 April 1885 by the Glasgow Publishing Company at 58 Renfield Street, Glasgow. It was shortly afterwards bought by Irishman Charles Diamond, who would use it and the Preston-based ''Catholic News'' as the basis of ''

''. The newspaper's early years were overseen by the Glasgow-born managing editor David John Mitchell Quin, who was recruited by Charles Diamond from the English-based ''Catholic Times''. In the twenty first century it was owned by ''

'' newspaper group, but in March 2016 the newspaper was put up for sale by its owners for a reported fee of £350,000. In March 2020, the paper ceased publication at the time of the first national

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

lockdown, which also saw churches closed. The company was wound up in December of that year.

Editors

:Peter Diamond (2019-2020) :Daniel Harkins (2018–2019) :Ian Dunn (2016–2018) :Liz Leydon (2008–2016) :

Harry Conroy Harry Conroy (6 April 1943 – 24 April 2010) was a trade union leader and journalist. He was the General Secretary of the National Union of Journalists from 1985 to 1990. Born in Glasgow, he attended Lourdes Secondary School in Cardona ...

(2000–2007) :Eddie Barnes (1999–2000) :Hugh Farmer (1993–1999) :John MacLean (1990–1993) :Jim Coffey (1977–1990) :Rennie McOwan (1962–1964)

References

External links

''Scottish Catholic Observer'' homepage

Scobserver.wordpress.com
Newspapers published in Scotland Defunct Catholic newspapers 1885 establishments in Scotland Newspapers established in 1885 Catholic Church in Scotland Organisations based in Glasgow Mass media in Glasgow Defunct newspapers published in the United Kingdom Newspapers disestablished in 2020 {{Scotland-reli-stub