''Fortnight'' was a monthly political and cultural magazine published in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

."Fortnight: A Chapter Closes"
The magazine was founded in 1970 with the aim of providing analysis and criticism of politics, culture, and the arts from those from both inside and outside the local mainstream. ''Fortnight'' was read by and contributed to by people from all over the spectrum.

Gerry Adams Gerard Adams (; born 6 October 1948) is a retired Irish Republican politician who was the president of Sinn Féin between 13 November 1983 and 10 February 2018, and served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Louth from 2011 to 2020. From 1983 to 19 ...

is credited as saying "A month without ''Fortnight'' would be twice as long." Previous contributors include politicians and journalists. Most notably,

David Trimble William David Trimble, Baron Trimble, (15 October 1944 – 25 July 2022) was a Northern Irish politician who was the inaugural First Minister of Northern Ireland from 1998 to 2002 and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 1995 to 20 ...

- ex-leader of the

Ulster Unionists The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded as the Ulster Unionist Council in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposit ...

and

Mary Robinson Mary Therese Winifred Robinson (; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who served as the president of Ireland from December 1990 to September 1997. She was the country's first female president. Robinson had previously served as a senato ...

, later

President of Ireland The president of Ireland () is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The presidency is a predominantly figurehead, ceremonial institution, serving as ...

- contributed material to ''Fortnight''. Other politicians who wrote for the magazine included Peter Robinson. Other notable contributors include: Newton Emerson (who spawned the popular satirical website ''

Portadown News ''The Portadown News'' was a weekly newspaper based in Portadown, Northern Ireland. It was established in 1859 as the ''Portadown Weekly News, and County Armagh Advertiser''. It served the communities of Portadown, Lurgan, Craigavon and the wider ...

''),

Ed Moloney Edmund "Ed" Moloney (born 1948/49) is an Irish journalist and author best known for his coverage of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, and the activities of the Provisional IRA, in particular. He worked for the ''Hibernia'' magazine and ''Magill ...

Eamonn McCann Eamonn McCann (born 10 March 1943) is an Irish political activist, former politician and journalist from Derry, Northern Ireland. McCann was a People Before Profit (PBP) Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Foyle from 2016 to 2017. In ...

, Fionnula O'Connor, Brian Trench, Gene Kerrigan,

Mary Holland Mary Holland is an American actress, comedian, and writer. Early life Holland was born and raised in Galax, Virginia. Career After graduating from college, she began performing at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. She is a cast member of ...

, Douglas Gageby (the former editor of ''

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 ...

''),"Editor's Thanks", ''Fortnight'', December 2, 1985 p. 27.

Barry White Barry Eugene White (né Carter; September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003) was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came in the 1970s as a solo singer and ...

of ''

The Belfast Telegraph The ''Belfast Telegraph'' is a daily newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland, by Independent News & Media, which also publishes the Irish Independent, the Sunday Independent and various other newspapers and magazines in Ireland. Its ed ...

'', Conor O'Clery, John Cooney,

Dick Walsh Richard (Dick) "Drug" Walsh (30 December 1877 – 28 July 1958) was an Irish hurler who played as a centre-forward at senior level for the Kilkenny county team. Born in Mooncoin, County Kilkenny, Walsh first arrived on the inter-county sce ...

and Nell McCafferty. Editors have included Tom Hadden, Andy Pollak (1981-1985), Leslie Van Slyke, Robin Wilson (later to found the Democratic Dialogue thinktank), John O'Farrell and Malachi O'Doherty. Literary editors have included the poets James Simmons and

Medbh McGuckian Medbh McGuckian (born as Maeve McCaughan on 12 August 1950) is a poet from Northern Ireland. Biography She was born the third of six children as Maeve McCaughan to Hugh and Margaret McCaughan in North Belfast. Her father was a school headmaste ...

. Cartoonist Martyn Turner has been a regular contributor since the magazine was founded, and also edited the magazine for a number of years. ''Fortnight'' was supported by grants from the

Arts Council of Northern Ireland The Arts Council of Northern Ireland (Irish language, Irish: ''Comhairle Ealaíon Thuaisceart Éireann'', Ulster Scots language, Ulster-Scots: ''Airts Cooncil o Norlin Airlan'') is the lead development agency for the arts in Northern Ireland. It ...

. It won the

Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize The Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize was created in 1977, in memory of Christopher Ewart-Biggs, British Ambassador to Ireland, who was assassinated by the Provisional Irish Republican Army The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provi ...

for 1982. In late 2011, it was announced ''Fortnight'' would cease publication. The final issue was published in 2012. In September 2020 a 50th Anniversary edition of the magazine entitled Fortnight at 50' was published. The fortnight website was also reinstated and several new editions have been published throughout 2021."Fortnight is back"
/ref>

References

External links

''Fortnight'' website
Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize recipients Defunct magazines published in Ireland

Fortnight A fortnight is a unit of time equal to 14 days (two weeks). The word derives from the Old English term , meaning "" (or "fourteen days", since the Anglo-Saxons counted by nights). Astronomy and tides In astronomy, a ''lunar fortnight'' is hal ...

Magazines published in Northern Ireland

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