The ''Protestant Telegraph'' was a

Northern Irish Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...

newspaper founded by Noel Doherty and Ian Paisley on 13 February 1966. It was noted for its Protestant fundamentalism and its attacks on the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the secon ...

and the moderates within the

Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule m ...

, as typified by

Terence O'Neill Terence Marne O'Neill, Baron O'Neill of the Maine, PC (NI) (10 September 1914 – 12 June 1990), was the fourth prime minister of Northern Ireland and leader (1963–1969) of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP). A moderate unionist, who sought ...

. It was criticised by Prime Minister

James Chichester-Clark James Dawson Chichester-Clark, Baron Moyola, PC, DL (12 February 1923 – 17 May 2002) was the penultimate Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and eighth leader of the Ulster Unionist Party between 1969 and March 1971. He was Member of the N ...

: The paper was printed by the Puritan Printing Company, which was based at the Ravenhill Road,

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

, headquarters of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster. The paper continued as a vehicle for Paisley and the Democratic Unionist Party (which was formed in 1971) until 1982 when Peter Robinson, who felt that the party would benefit from a less religiously denominational paper, persuaded Ian Paisley to wind up the ''Protestant Telegraph'' and replace it with '' The Voice of Ulster''.Moloney & Pollak, ''Paisley'', pp. 294–5

References

1966 establishments in Northern Ireland Anti-Catholic publications Christian newspapers Newspapers published in Northern Ireland Protestantism in the United Kingdom Publications established in 1966 Publications disestablished in 1982 {{NorthernIreland-newspaper-stub