The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Irish national daily

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, spor ...

which primarily circulates in the

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following t ...

region surrounding its base in

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

, though it is available throughout the country.

History

19th and early 20th centuries

The paper was founded by

John Francis Maguire John Francis Maguire (1815 – 1 November 1872) was an Irish writer and politician. He was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Dungarvan in 1852. He was subsequently an MP for Cork City, serving between 1865 and his death in 1872. He wrote ...

under the title ''The Cork Examiner'' in 1841 in support of the

Catholic Emancipation Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland, and later the combined United Kingdom in the late 18th century and early 19th century, that involved reducing and removing many of the restricti ...

and tenant rights work of

Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (I) ( ga, Dónall Ó Conaill; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilizat ...

. Historical copies of ''The Cork Examiner'', dating back to 1841, are available to search and view in digitised form at the Irish Newspaper Archives website and British Newspaper Archive. During the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...

and Irish Civil War, the ''Cork Examiner'' (along with other nationalist newspapers) was subject to censorship and suppression. At the time of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...

, the ''Cork Examiner'' reportedly took a strongly pro- Franco tone in its coverage of the conflict. As of the early to mid-20th century, the newspaper reportedly catered to a "socially-conservative reader base" and reflected a "conservative nationalist agenda".

Renaming and ownership

Published as ''The Cork Examiner'' from 1841 until 1996, the newspaper was renamed ''The Examiner'' in 1996. Since 2000 it has been published as ''The Irish Examiner'', to appeal to a wider national readership. The newspaper, along with 'sister paper' the '' Evening Echo'', was part of the Thomas Crosbie Holdings group. Thomas Crosbie Holdings went into receivership in March 2013. The newspaper was acquired by

Landmark Media Investments Landmark Media Investments was a media holding company owned by Tom Crosbie and his father Ted Crosbie with Irish newspaper, radio and digital investments. Their ownership was via Rinvery Ltd. Landmark Media Investments was established in Februa ...

, its Chief Executive was Thomas J. Murphy, and its editor was Tim Vaughan. Vaughan left the group in August 2016. The newspaper was based at Academy Street, Cork for over a century, before moving to new offices at Lapp's Quay, Cork in early November 2006, and subsequently to editorial offices at Blackpool, Cork, with a sales office in Oliver Plunkett Street.

Sale to ''The Irish Times''

In February 2017, it was reported that Landmark Media Investments had appointed KPMG to advise on a range of options, including an Independent News and Media link with the ''Irish Examiner''. In March 2017, it was reported that ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' might bid for the ''Irish Examiner'', and by April 2017 both ''The Irish Times'' and INM had entered a sales process and signed non-disclosure agreements. In May 2017, it was reported that

Sunrise Media Sunrise Media Limited owned ''The Sunday Business Post The ''Business Post'' (formerly ''The Sunday Business Post'') is a Sunday newspaper distributed nationally in Ireland and an online publication. It is focused mainly on business and fin ...

and ''The Irish Times'' were exploring an acquisition, and a sale was agreed to ''The Irish Times'' in December 2017, pending regulatory approval. The sale to ''The Irish Times'' was completed in July 2018. As of 2021, its editorial policy has been described as

centrist Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to the ...

or conservative; the

Eurotopics Eurotopics, self-styled euro, topics, is a European news aggregator published by the German federal government agency Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung. The online platform's self-described aim is to reflect diversity of opinions, ideas and m ...

website described the political orientation of the ''Irish Examiner'' as liberal.

Circulation

Average print circulation was approximately 57,000 copies per issue in 1990, had risen to 62,000 by 1999, had decreased to 50,000 by 2009, and was approximately 28,000 by 2017. Reflecting a changing trend in newspaper sales, the ''Examiner'' markets to advertisers on the basis of its print and online audience, stating in 2017 that "236,000 people read the Irish Examiner in print or online every day". The Irish Examiner exited ABC circulation audits in 2020.

References

External links

* {{Ireland newspapers 1841 establishments in Ireland Examiner Mass media in County Cork Newspapers established in 1841 Newspapers published in the Republic of Ireland Organisations based in Cork (city) The Irish Times Thomas Crosbie Holdings