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''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 newspaper. It is considered a
newspaper of record A newspaper of record is a major national newspaper with large newspaper circulation, circulation whose editorial and news-gathering functions are considered authoritative and independent; they are thus "newspapers of record by reputation" and i ...
for Ireland. Though formed as a Protestant Irish nationalist paper, within two decades and under new owners, it became a supporter of
unionism in Ireland Unionism in Ireland is a political tradition that professes loyalty to the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, crown of the United Kingdom and to the union it represents with England, Scotland and Wales. The overwhelming sentiment of Ireland's Pro ...
. In the 21st century, it presents itself politically as "liberal and progressive", as well as being centre-right on economic issues. The editorship of the newspaper from 1859 until 1986 was controlled by the
Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...
Protestant minority, only gaining its first nominal
Irish Catholic Irish Catholics () are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland, defined by their adherence to Catholic Christianity and their shared Irish ethnic, linguistic, and cultural heritage.The term distinguishes Catholics of Irish descent, particul ...
editor 127 years into its existence. The paper's notable columnists have included writer and arts commentator
Fintan O'Toole Fintan O'Toole (born 16 February 1958) is an Irish journalist, literary editor, and drama critic for ''The Irish Times'', for which he has written since 1988. He was drama critic for the ''New York Daily News'' from 1997 to 2001 and is Advisin ...
and
satirist This is an incomplete list of writers, cartoonists and others known for involvement in satire – humorous social criticism. They are grouped by era and listed by year of birth. Included is a list of modern satires. Early satirical authors *Aes ...
Miriam Lord. The late
Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
Garret FitzGerald Garret Desmond FitzGerald (9 February 192619 May 2011) was an Irish Fine Gael politician, economist, and barrister who served twice as Taoiseach, serving from 1981 to 1982 and 1982 to 1987. He served as Leader of Fine Gael from 1977 to 1987 an ...
was once a columnist. Michael O'Regan was the
Leinster House Leinster House () is the seat of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Originally, it was the ducal palace of the Duke of Leinster, Dukes of Leinster. Since 1922, it has been a complex of buildings which houses Oirea ...
correspondent for more than 30 years. Senior international figures, including
Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...
and
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
, have written for its
op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page," is a type of written prose commonly found in newspapers, magazines, and online publications. They usually represent a writer's strong and focused opinion on an issue of relevance to a targeted a ...
page. Its most prominent columns have included the political column ''Backbencher'', by John Healy; ''Drapier'' (an anonymous piece produced weekly by a politician, giving the 'insider' view of politics); ''Rite and Reason'' (a weekly religious column, edited by Patsy McGarry, the religious affairs editor); and the long-running ''An Irishman's Diary''. ''An Irishman's Diary'' was written by Patrick Campbell in the forties (under the pseudonym "Quidnunc"); by Seamus Kelly from 1949 to 1979 (also writing as "Quidnunc"); and in the early 2000s by
Kevin Myers Kevin Myers (born 30 March 1947) is an English-born Irish journalist and writer. He has contributed to the ''Irish Independent'', the Irish edition of ''The Sunday Times'', and ''The Irish Times''s column "An Irishman's Diary". Myers is kno ...
. After Myers' move to the rival ''
Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray backgrou ...
'', ''An Irishman's Diary'' has usually been the work of Frank McNally. On the sports pages, Philip Reid is the paper's golf correspondent. One of its most popular columns was the biting and humorous ''Cruiskeen Lawn'' satire column written, originally in Irish, later in English, by
Myles na gCopaleen Brian O'Nolan (; 5 October 19111 April 1966), his pen name being Flann O'Brien, was an Irish civil service official, novelist, playwright and satirist, who is now considered a major figure in twentieth-century Irish literature. Born in Straba ...
, the pen name of Brian O'Nolan (Brian Ó Nualláin) who also wrote books using the name
Flann O'Brien Brian O'Nolan (; 5 October 19111 April 1966), his pen name being Flann O'Brien, was an Civil Service of the Republic of Ireland, Irish civil service official, novelist, playwright and satirist, who is now considered a major figure in twentieth- ...
. ''Cruiskeen Lawn'' is an
anglicised Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...
spelling of the Irish words ''crúiscín lán'', meaning "little full jug". ''Cruiskeen Lawn'' made its debut in October 1940, and appeared with varying regularity until O'Nolan's death in 1966.


History


Origins in 19th century

A newspaper entitled ''The Irish Times'' was founded in 1823, but this closed in 1825. The title was revived decades later by Lawrence E. Knox, (later known as Major Lawrence Knox), a 22-year-old army officer. Initially he published thrice-weekly publication but soon shifted to a daily newspaper; the first edition was published on 29 March 1859. He founded it as a moderate Protestant newspaper, reflecting his politics. Knox envisaged it as a "new conservative daily". Its headquarters were at 4 Lower Abbey Street 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 ...
. Its main competitor in its early days was the Dublin ''
Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first ...
''. After Knox's death in 1873, the paper was sold to the widow of Sir
John Arnott Sir John Arnott, 1st Baronet JP (26 July 1814 – 28 March 1898) was a British-Irish entrepreneur and a major figure in the commercial and political spheres of late-19th century Cork. He was also founder of the Arnotts department chain. Ba ...
, a Member of Parliament (MP), a former
Lord Mayor of Cork The Lord Mayor of Cork () is the honorific title of the Chairperson () of Cork City Council which is the local government body for the city of Cork in Ireland. The office holder is elected annually by the members of the Council. The incumbent ...
, and owner of
Arnotts Arnotts can refer to; * Arnott's Group, an Australian biscuit and salted snack food company * Arnotts (Ireland), a department store in Dublin, Ireland * Arnotts (Scotland) Arnotts was a department store in Glasgow, Scotland. It became part of ...
, one of
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 ...
's major
department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...
s. The sale, for £35,000, led to two major changes. Arnott shifted the headquarters to 31 Westmoreland Street; the newspaper operated from this area until 2005. Its politics shifted dramatically, and it became predominantly Unionist in outlook. It was closely associated with the
Irish Unionist Alliance The Irish Unionist Alliance (IUA), also known as the Irish Unionist Party, Irish Unionists or simply the Unionists, was a unionist political party founded in Ireland in 1891 from a merger of the Irish Conservative Party and the Irish Loyal and ...
. The paper, along with the ''
Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray backgrou ...
'' and various regional papers, called for the execution of the leaders of the failed
1916 Easter Rising The Easter Rising (), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the aim of establishing an in ...
.


20th century

Though the paper became a publicly-listed company in 1900, the Arnott family continued to hold a majority shareholding until the 1960s (even after the family lost control, the great-grandson of the original purchaser was the paper's London editor). The last member of the Arnott family to sit on the paper's board was Sir Lauriston Arnott, who died in 1958. During the 1930s, the editor was R. M. Smyllie. The longest-serving editor of ''The Irish Times'' was Douglas Gageby. In 1974, ownership was transferred to a non-charitable trust, The Irish Times Trust. The former owner, Major Thomas McDowell, was made "president for life" of the trust that runs the paper; he was paid a large dividend. The paper established its first bureau in Asia when foreign correspondent Conor O'Clery moved to
Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
, China, in 1996.


21st century

''The Irish Times'' suffered considerable financial difficulty in 2002 when a drop in advertising revenue coincided with a decision by the company to invest its reserves in the building of a new printing plant. None of the journalists was laid off, but many took a voluntary redundancy package when the paper was greatly restructured. Some foreign bureaus were closed and it stopped publishing "colour" pages devoted to Irish regions, with regional coverage merged with news. The paper's problems stemmed partly from internal strife, which led to McDowells's daughter, Karen Erwin, not being made chief executive. The reorganisation had the desired effect; after posting losses of almost €3 million in 2002, the paper returned to profit in 2003. In May 2005, the paper launched a new international edition, which was available in London and southeast England at the same time as other daily newspapers (previously, copies of the Irish edition were flown from Dublin to major cities in Britain on passenger flights, arriving around lunchtime). It was printed at the Newsfax plant in Hackney, and uses the ''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
'' distribution network. In 2008 the
Central Bank of Ireland The Central Bank of Ireland () is the national central bank for Ireland within the Eurosystem. It was the Irish central bank from 1943 to 1998, issuing the Irish pound. It is also the country's main financial regulatory authority, and since 2 ...
fined ''The Irish Times'' after its management admitted breaking market abuse rules. In 2009, the Supreme Court ordered the paper to pay €600,000 in costs, despite it having won its case in support of protecting journalistic sources. The court said the paper's destruction of evidence was "reprehensible conduct". When the Irish government signed the
Companies Act 2014 The Companies Act 2014 (No. 38 of 2014) was signed into law by President Michael D. Higgins on 23 December 2014 to regulate companies under Irish law. It was a consolidating and reforming piece of legislation, incorporating many of the provisi ...
, the Trust registered the overall Irish Times Group as a designated activity company, The Irish Times Designated Activity Company (The Irish Times DAC). In December 2017, ''The Irish Times'' reportedly had reached an agreement to purchase the newspaper, radio and website interests of
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 ...
, which include the ''
Irish Examiner The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Republic of Ireland, Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork (city), Cork, though it is ...
''. Initially subject to regulatory approval, the sale was completed in July 2018. In September 2018, ''The Irish Times'' started a voluntary redundancy scheme. This followed the
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 ...
acquisition.


Diversification

The company has diversified from its original ''Irish Times'' title as a source of revenue. Irish Times Limited has taken a majority share for €5m in the Gazette Group Newspapers, a group publishing three local newspapers in
West Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, part of the Wicklow Mountains range. Dublin i ...
, and has acquired a property website, MyHome.ie, the second-largest property internet website in Ireland, for €50m, seen as insurance against the loss of revenue from traditional classified property advertising. In June 2009, journalists called on the board and trust to review "the flawed investment and diversification strategy of the company" and passed a motion saying that "ongoing investment in loss-making projects poses a serious threat to employment" at the newspaper. Four months later, the company announced a loss of €37 million and that 90 staff would be made redundant. The director, Maeve Donovan, who instigated the "investment and diversification" strategy, subsequently retired. She dismissed suggestions that she would receive a significant "golden handshake", saying that her package would be "nothing out of the ordinary at all". She was given a €1m "ex-gratia" payment by the newspaper "relating to a commutation of pension rights agreed with her". The managing director said in 2009 that mobile phone applications would be a key investment for newspapers and ''The Irish Times'' now has an application for the
iPhone The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...
and Android smartphones. In June 2010, Gazette Group Newspapers' managing director claimed the company's affairs were being conducted oppressively by its majority shareholder, ''the Irish Times''. On 2 May 2024, it was announced that the Irish Times Group had acquired obituary business RIP.ie.


Political stances and controversial stories

The editor during the 1930s, R. M. Smyllie, had strong
anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...
views, and angered the Irish Catholic hierarchy by opposing
General Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 â€“ 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republ ...
during the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
. During World War II, ''The Irish Times'', like other national newspapers, had problems with Irish Government censorship. The Times was largely pro-
Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...
and was opposed to the
Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (; ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was an American-born Irish statesman and political leader. He served as the 3rd President of Ire ...
government policy of neutrality. In 1969, the longest-serving editor of ''The Irish Times'', Douglas Gageby, was allegedly called a "white nigger" by company chairman Thomas Bleakley McDowell, because of the newspaper's coverage of
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 ...
at the outset of
the Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...
, which was supportive of Irish nationalism.
John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, actor, writer, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...
, a columnist who spoke out about the perceived vast salaries of the editor, managing director and deputy editor, was sacked and re-hired a week later, in November 2003. Former editor
Geraldine Kennedy Geraldine Kennedy (born 1 September 1951) is an Irish journalist and politician who served as the first female editor of ''The Irish Times'' newspaper. She previously served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dún Laoghaire constituency from 1987 t ...
was paid more than the editor of the UK's top non-tabloid newspaper ''The Daily Telegraph'', which has a circulation of about nine times that of ''The Irish Times''. Later, columnist
Fintan O'Toole Fintan O'Toole (born 16 February 1958) is an Irish journalist, literary editor, and drama critic for ''The Irish Times'', for which he has written since 1988. He was drama critic for the ''New York Daily News'' from 1997 to 2001 and is Advisin ...
told the '' Sunday Independent'': "We as a paper are not shy of preaching about corporate pay and fat cats but with this there is a sense of excess. Some of the sums mentioned are disturbing. This is not an attack on Ms Kennedy, it is an attack on the executive level of pay. There is double-standard of seeking more job cuts while paying these vast salaries. On 23 December 2004, ''The Irish Times'' ran a front-page story on the
Provisional IRA The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...
's denial of involvement in the Northern Bank robbery, one of Europe's largest ever, and on the same day refused to print a column by
Kevin Myers Kevin Myers (born 30 March 1947) is an English-born Irish journalist and writer. He has contributed to the ''Irish Independent'', the Irish edition of ''The Sunday Times'', and ''The Irish Times''s column "An Irishman's Diary". Myers is kno ...
which said that the Provisional IRA was responsible. Myers was reported to be shocked by the spiking of his column. Some two weeks later, the paper printed a report that there might, after all, be a "nationalist" connection. Myers later left the paper in May 2006. ''The Irish Times'' tended to support the 2007
Lisbon Treaty The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is a European agreement that amends the two Treaty, treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by all Member stat ...
, which adjusted the operation of the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
. However, opposing views were also printed, including articles by
Declan Ganley Declan James Ganley (born 23 July 1968) is an English-born Irish entrepreneur, businessman, and political activist. He was the founder and leader of the Irish branch of the eurosceptic Libertas Party. Primarily a telecommunications entrepreneur ...
of Libertas Ireland, and other anti-Lisbon campaigners. On 31 July 2010, ''The Irish Times'' published an article titled "The fighting Irish" about Irish nationals who enlisted in the
British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces are the unified military, military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests ...
. The article featured interviews with members of the Royal Irish Regiment and the
Irish Guards The Irish Guards (IG) is one of the Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army and is part of the Guards Division. Together with the Royal Irish Regiment (1992), Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish infant ...
. It was subsequently criticised by current affairs magazine '' The Phoenix'', which argued that the article romanticised the
War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...
and served as little more than an indirect advertisement for the British military. ''The Phoenix'' accused the editor of ''The Irish Times'',
Geraldine Kennedy Geraldine Kennedy (born 1 September 1951) is an Irish journalist and politician who served as the first female editor of ''The Irish Times'' newspaper. She previously served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dún Laoghaire constituency from 1987 t ...
, of violating the Irish
Defence Act Defence Act is a stock short title used in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and the United Kingdom for legislation relating to territorial defence. List Australia *The Defence Act 1903 *The Defence (Citizen Military Forces) Act 1943 New Zealand ...
which prohibits all forms of military recruitment advertising on the behalf of foreign militaries. On 9 September 2011, the paper published a pseudonymous article by Kate Fitzgerald. Unknown to the paper, she had taken her life on 22 August 2011. The revelation sparked a nationwide debate on suicide with her parents appearing on television to discuss suicide and depression. The article criticised the reaction to her illness by her employer, The Communications Clinic, although it was only after she was identified as the author that her employer became known. The article was later removed from the paper's website, causing controversy online. The editor later told her parents that sections of her article were factually incorrect, but could not say which ones. Kate's parents complained to the Office of the Press Ombudsman about an apology made to The Communications Clinic, their complaint was upheld. In September 2019, the paper reprinted an article from the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' by
William Broad William J. Broad (born March 7, 1951) is an American science journalist, author and a Senior Writer at ''The New York Times''. Early life and education Broad was born on March 7, 1951. He earned a master's degree from the University of Wisc ...
. The article claimed that "the blossoming anxiety over professed health risks of 5G ifth generation wireless technology'can be traced to a single scientist and a single chart. A complaint to the Office of the Press Ombudsman of the
Press Council of Ireland The Press Council of Ireland is a self-regulatory body that is tasked with maintaining ethical standards and accountability in Irish journalism. Established in 2008, it provides the public with an independent forum for resolving complaints again ...
was filed by Professor Tom Butler of the
University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...
. The Press Council Ombudsman upheld Butler's complaint, ruling that "''The Irish Times'' breached Principle 1 (Truth and Accuracy) of the Code of Practice of the Press Council of Ireland".


Governance

In 1974, ownership was transferred to a non-charitable trust, The Irish Times Trust. The former owner, Major Thomas McDowell, was made "president for life" of the trust which runs the paper and was paid a large dividend. However several years later the articles of the Trust were adjusted, giving Major McDowell 10 preference shares and one more vote than the combined votes of all the other directors should any move be made to remove him. McDowell died in 2009. The Trust is regulated by a legal document, the Memorandum and Articles of Association, and controlled by a body of people (the Governors) under company law. It is not a charity and does not have charitable status. It has no beneficial shareholders and it cannot pay dividends. Any profits made by ''The Irish Times'' cannot be distributed to the Trust but must be used to strengthen the newspaper, directly or indirectly. The Trust is composed of a maximum of 11 Governors. The Trust appoints Governors who are required to be "representative broadly of the community throughout the whole of Ireland". As of March 2023, John Hegarty is the chair of the Trust, and the governors are Edmond Harty, Maeve Carton, Catherine Day, Bernard Harbor, David Sterling, Fiach Mac Conghail and Marguerite Sayers. They are predominantly from an Irish public sector background. In 2015, The Irish Times Trust Limited joined as a member organisation of the
European Press Prize The European Press Prize is a non-profit foundation based in the Netherlands. It runs a programme of journalism awards of the same name for journalists from 46 countries, the Council of Europe, Belarus and Russia. As part of the programme, a jur ...
.


Offices

In 1895, the paper moved from its original offices on Middle Abbey Street to
D'Olier Street D'Olier Street ( ; ) is a street in the southern city-centre of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. It and Westmoreland Street are two broad streets whose northern ends meet at the southern end of O'Connell Bridge over the River Liffey. Its sout ...
in the centre of Dublin. "D'Olier Street" became a
metonym Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something associated with that thing or concept. For example, the word "wikt:suit, suit" may refer to a person from groups commonly wearing business attire, such ...
of ''The Irish Times'' which in turn was personified as "The Old Lady of D'Olier Street". In October 2006, the paper relocated to a new building on nearby Tara Street.


Irish Times Literature Prizes

The Irish Times Literature Prizes were established in 1988, with the inaugural Irish Times International Fiction Prize (worth £7,500 in 1998) awarded in 1989. The Irish Literature Prizes (four categories, each worth £5,000 in 1998) were awarded for fiction, poetry, and non-fiction written in English. In 1998, a separate prize was for the first time awarded for a work in the Irish language, for the most outstanding title of all of the categories, which was awarded by a separate panel of judges. The Irish Times International Fiction Prize, also known as the Irish Times/Aer Lingus International Fiction Prize until 1992 (when
Aer Lingus Aer Lingus ( ; an anglicisation of the Irish language, Irish , meaning "air fleet") is an Irish airline company which is the flag carrier of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 201 ...
ceased its sponsorship of the awards), was awarded annually until 2001. The winners of this prize were: *1989: ''
Libra Libra generally refers to: * Libra (constellation), a constellation * Libra (astrology), an astrological sign based on the star constellation Libra may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Libra'' (novel), a 1988 novel by Don DeLillo Musi ...
'', by
Don DeLillo Donald Richard DeLillo (born November 20, 1936) is an American novelist, short story writer, playwright, screenwriter, and essayist. His works have covered subjects as diverse as consumerism, nuclear war, the complexities of language, art, televi ...
*1990: '' Possession'', by
A. S. Byatt Dame Antonia Susan Duffy (; 24 August 1936 – 16 November 2023), known professionally by her former married name, A.S. Byatt ( ), was an English critic, novelist, poet and short-story writer. Her books have been translated into more than thirt ...
*1991: '' Wartime Lies'', by Louis Begley * 1992: ''
Mating In biology, mating is the pairing of either opposite-sex or hermaphroditic organisms for the purposes of sexual reproduction. ''Fertilization'' is the fusion of two gametes. '' Copulation'' is the union of the sex organs of two sexually repr ...
'', by
Norman Rush Norman Rush (born October 24, 1933) is an American writer most of whose introspective novels and short stories are set in Botswana in the 1980s. He won the U.S. National Book Award and the 1992 ''Irish Times''/Aer Lingus International Fiction Pr ...
* 1993: '' The Shipping News'', by E. Annie Proulx * 1995: '' The Master of Petersburg'', by
J. M. Coetzee John Maxwell Coetzee Order of Australia, AC Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, FRSL Order of Mapungubwe, OMG (born 9 February 1940) is a South African and Australian novelist, essayist, linguist, and translator. The recipient of the 2003 ...
* 1997: '' Reading in the Dark'', by
Seamus Deane Seamus Francis Deane (9 February 194012 May 2021) was a Northern Irish poet, novelist, critic, and intellectual historian. He was noted for his debut novel, '' Reading in the Dark'', which won several literary awards and was nominated for the ...
* 1999: '' Birds of America: Stories'', by
Lorrie Moore Lorrie Moore (born Marie Lorena Moore; January 13, 1957) is an American writer, critic, and essayist. She is best known for her short stories, some of which have won major awards. Since 1984, she has also taught creative writing. Biography Mar ...
* 2001: '' Anil's Ghost'', by
Michael Ondaatje Philip Michael Ondaatje (; born 12 September 1943) is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, fiction writer and essayist. Ondaatje's literary career began with his poetry in 1967, publishing ''The Dainty Monsters'', and then in 1970 the critically a ...


Formats and content


Columns

Regular columns include: * ''An Irish Diary'', a daily column with one frequent author at a time and many occasional contributors. Originally ''An Irishman's Diary'' and credited to "Quidnunc"; once the real authors was credited, the title was sometimes changed to ''An Irishwoman's Diary'', ''An Englishman's Diary'', etc. as appropriate. Frequent authors included
Patrick Campbell, 3rd Baron Glenavy Patrick Gordon Campbell, 3rd Baron Glenavy (6 June 1913 – 9 November 1980) was an Anglo-Irish journalist, humorist, television personality, and peer, with a seat in the House of Lords from 1963 until his death. Life and career Campbell w ...
(1950s–60s),
Kevin Myers Kevin Myers (born 30 March 1947) is an English-born Irish journalist and writer. He has contributed to the ''Irish Independent'', the Irish edition of ''The Sunday Times'', and ''The Irish Times''s column "An Irishman's Diary". Myers is kno ...
(1980s–90s), and Frank McNally (since 2000s) * ''Another Life'', a weekly natural history column written and illustrated since 1977 by Michael Viney * ''Rite and Reason'', a weekly religious column, edited by the religious editor, Patsy McGarry. Many prominent
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
and
Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...
bishops, Irish Jewish leaders, theologians from all faiths, and journalists, among others, have written the column which is published on the op-ed page on Mondays. * '' Social and Personal''


Print

The paper has the same standard layout every day. The front page contains one main picture and three main news stories, with the left-hand column, News Digest, providing a "teaser" of some of the stories inside the Home News, World News, Sport and Business Today sections as well as other information such as winning lottery numbers and weather forecasts. Inside, it usually contains eight to twelve pages of Irish news, called "Home News", covering the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...
and
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 ...
. It devotes several pages to important stories such as the publication of government reports, government budgets, important courts cases, and so on. World News contains news from its correspondents abroad and from news wires and services such as Reuters, the Guardian Service, and the Los Angeles Times-Washington Post service. The paper has correspondents in London, Paris, Brussels, and Washington. ''The Irish Times'' publishes its residential property supplement every Thursday, one of the printed residential property listings for the Dublin area. This is also online. Motoring and employment supplements are published on Wednesday and Friday respectively, and are also online. A business supplement is published every Friday, as is an entertainment supplement called ''The Ticket'', with film, music, theatre reviews, interviews, articles, and media listings. It features cinema writer Donald Clarke and music writers Jim Carroll, Brian Boyd, Tony Clayton-Lea and others.
Michael Dwyer Michael Dwyer (1 January 1772– 23 August 1825) was an insurgent captain in the Irish Rebellion of 1798, leading the United Irish forces in battles in Wexford and Wicklow. Following the defeat and dispersal of the rebel hosts, in July 1798 ...
, the film critic and recipient of the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres, wrote for the supplement until his death in 2010. On Saturdays, a Weekend section is published, with news features, arts profiles, television and radio columns, and book reviews of mainly literary and biographical works, with occasional reviews in the technology sector. The Saturday edition also includes the Magazine with consumer and lifestyle features on food, wine, gardening, and there are travel and sports supplements. Three
Sudoku Sudoku (; ; originally called Number Place) is a logic puzzle, logic-based, combinatorics, combinatorial number-placement puzzle. In classic Sudoku, the objective is to fill a 9 Ã— 9 grid with digits so that each column, each row, and ...
puzzles and two crosswords are published daily including a
cryptic crossword A cryptic crossword is a crossword, crossword puzzle in which each clue is a word puzzle. Cryptic crosswords are particularly popular in the United Kingdom, where they originated, as well as Ireland, the Netherlands, and in several Commonwealth ...
, formerly compiled by " Crosaire", and a "Simplex" crossword. There is also a letters page. J.J. Walsh has contributed a chess puzzle to the paper since April 1955, originally weekly the puzzle became a daily fixture in September 1972. The paper carries
political cartoon A political cartoon, also known as an editorial cartoon, is a cartoon graphic with caricatures of public figures, expressing the artist's opinion. An artist who writes and draws such images is known as an editorial cartoonist. They typically co ...
s by Martyn Turner and the American cartoon strip,
Doonesbury ''Doonesbury'' is a comic strip by American cartoonist Garry Trudeau that chronicles the adventures and lives of an array of characters of various ages, professions, and backgrounds, from the President of the United States to the title character, ...
. The business section has a satirical illustration by David Rooney every Friday. Tom Mathews contributes an arts-inspired cartoon (called "Artoon") to the arts section on Saturday. A weekly Irish-language page is carried on Wednesdays.


Digital

In 1994, ''The Irish Times'' established a web presence on IEunet.ie, which moved to the address Irish-times.ie in 1995; it was the first newspaper in Ireland and one of the first 30 newspapers in the world to establish an online presence. The company acquired the
domain name In the Internet, a domain name is a string that identifies a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control. Domain names are often used to identify services provided through the Internet, such as websites, email services, and more. ...
''ireland.com'' in 1997, and from 1999 to 2008, used it to publish its online edition. This was freely available at first but charges and a registration fee were introduced in 2002 for access to most of the content. A number of blogs were added in April 2007, written by
Jim Carroll James Dennis Carroll (August 1, 1949 – September 11, 2009) was an American author, poet, and punk musician. Carroll was best known for his 1978 autobiographical work '' The Basketball Diaries'', which inspired a 1995 film of the same title ...
, Shane Hegarty, and
Conor Pope Conor Pope (born 3 August 1968) is an Irish journalist, author and broadcaster who works for ''The Irish Times'' as well as appearing on radio and television as a consumer advocate. Pope is the consumer affairs correspondent with the Times a ...
. On 30 June 2008, the company relaunched ''ireland.com'' as a separate lifestyle portal and the online edition of the newspaper was now published at ''irishtimes.com''. Access to news on the new domain name was supplied free of charge, but a subscription was charged to view its archives. On 15 October 2012 John O'Shea, Head of Online, ''The Irish Times'', announced that the ''ireland.com'' domain name had been sold to
Tourism Ireland Tourism Ireland ( Irish: ''Turasóireacht Éireann''; Ulster-Scots: ''Tourism Airlan'' or ''Reengin Airlann'') is the marketing body responsible for marketing the island of Ireland overseas. Tourism Ireland was established as one of "six areas ...
, and that the associated ''ireland.com'' email service would end on 7 November 2012. The domain name was sold for €495,000. The ending of the email service affected about 15,000 subscribers. The newspaper announced on 17 February 2015 the reintroduction of a
paywall A paywall is a method of restricting access to content (media), content, with a purchase or a subscription business model, paid subscription, especially news. Beginning in the mid-2010s, newspapers started implementing paywalls on their website ...
for its website, ''irishtimes.com'', beginning on 23 February.


Editors

# George Ferdinand Shaw (1859) # Rev. George Bomford Wheeler (1859–1877) # James Scott (1877–1899) # William Algernon Locker (1901–1907) # John Edward Healy (1907–1934) # R. M. "Bertie" Smyllie (1934–1954) # Alec Newman (1954–61) # Alan Montgomery (1961–1963) # Douglas Gageby (1963–1974 and 1977–1986) # Fergus Pyle (1974–1977) #
Conor Brady Conor Brady is an Irish journalist, novelist and academic. He was the editor of ''The Irish Times'' between 1986 and 2002. Early life Brady was born in Dublin and spent his early childhood in Tullamore in County Offaly, Ireland. He received ...
(1986–2002) #
Geraldine Kennedy Geraldine Kennedy (born 1 September 1951) is an Irish journalist and politician who served as the first female editor of ''The Irish Times'' newspaper. She previously served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dún Laoghaire constituency from 1987 t ...
(2002–2011) # Kevin O'Sullivan (2011–2017) # Paul O'Neill (2017–2022) # Ruadhán Mac Cormaic (2022–present)


Past and present contributors

* Charles Acton *
John Banville William John Banville (born 8 December 1945) is an Irish novelist, short story writer, Literary adaptation, adapter of dramas and screenwriter. Though he has been described as "the heir to Marcel Proust, Proust, via Vladimir Nabokov, Nabokov", ...
*
Brendan Behan Brendan Francis Aidan Behan (christened Francis Behan) ( ; ; 9 February 1923 – 20 March 1964) was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and Irish Republican, an activist who wrote in both English and Irish. His widely ackno ...
*
Maeve Binchy Anne Maeve Binchy Snell (28 May 1939Born 1939 as per biography, ''Maeve Binchy'' by Piers Dudgeon, Thomas Dunne Books 2013; (hardcover), pp. 4, 280, 302; (ebook) – 30 July 2012) was an Irish novelist, playwright, short story writer, column ...
*
Vincent Browne Vincent Browne (born 17 July 1944) is an Irish people, Irish print and broadcast journalist. He is a columnist with ''The Irish Times'' and ''The Sunday Business Post'' and a non-practising barrister. From 1996 until 2007, he presented a night ...
* Tom Clonan *
Myles na gCopaleen Brian O'Nolan (; 5 October 19111 April 1966), his pen name being Flann O'Brien, was an Irish civil service official, novelist, playwright and satirist, who is now considered a major figure in twentieth-century Irish literature. Born in Straba ...
* Cónal Creedon *
Garret FitzGerald Garret Desmond FitzGerald (9 February 192619 May 2011) was an Irish Fine Gael politician, economist, and barrister who served twice as Taoiseach, serving from 1981 to 1982 and 1982 to 1987. He served as Leader of Fine Gael from 1977 to 1987 an ...
* Theodora FitzGibbon * Donal Foley * Elgy Gillespie * John Healy *
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 ...
* Róisín Ingle * Dennis Kennedy *
Karlin Lillington Karlin J. Lillington is an Irish technology and business journalist, notable for her work with ''The Irish Times'', ''The Guardian'', ''Wired'', Salon.com and other newspapers, magazines and online publishers. Born in Canada and growing up in ...
* Liam MacGabhann *
Emer McLysaght Emer McLysaght (born 1980) is an Irish journalist and co-author of the ''Aisling'' series of novels. Background McLysaght is from Kill, County Kildare. After secondary school, she attended Trinity College Dublin, where she studied biology for a ...
* Lara Marlowe * Seamus Martin *
Kevin Myers Kevin Myers (born 30 March 1947) is an English-born Irish journalist and writer. He has contributed to the ''Irish Independent'', the Irish edition of ''The Sunday Times'', and ''The Irish Times''s column "An Irishman's Diary". Myers is kno ...
* Breda O'Brien * Conor O'Clery * Aidan O'Sullivan *
Fintan O'Toole Fintan O'Toole (born 16 February 1958) is an Irish journalist, literary editor, and drama critic for ''The Irish Times'', for which he has written since 1988. He was drama critic for the ''New York Daily News'' from 1997 to 2001 and is Advisin ...
* Fergus Pyle * Arthur Quinlan * Martyn Turner *
John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, actor, writer, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...
* Noel Whelan *
Terence de Vere White Terence de Vere White (29 April 1912 – 17 June 1994) was an Irish lawyer, writer and editor. Life Career Born in Dublin, de Vere White studied at Trinity College, Dublin. He later qualified as a solicitor and became a partner at a leading ...
*
Thomas Woods Thomas Ernest Woods Jr. (born August 1, 1972) is an American author, podcast host, and libertarian commentator who is currently a senior fellow at the Mises Institute.Naji FilaliInterview with Thomas E. Woods, Jr., Harvard Political Review, A ...
* Maev-Ann Wren * Newton Emerson


Circulation


Print

Average
print circulation Print circulation is the average number of copies of a publication. The number of copies of a non-periodical publication (such as a book) are usually called print run. Circulation is not always the same as copies sold, often called paid circula ...
was approximately 100,000 copies per issue in 2011, dropping to approximately 62,000 by 2017. The circulation of the newspaper is no longer audited.


Digital

ABC measure digital circulation based on paid for digital subscriptions that include an ePaper in the package. This means that the free student edition and the basic package, which does not include an ePaper, are excluded from the below statistics.


Newspapers owned by The Irish Times DAC

* ''The Irish Times'' * ''
Irish Examiner The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Republic of Ireland, Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork (city), Cork, though it is ...
'' (acquired from
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 ...
) * '' The Echo'' (acquired from Landmark Media Investments) * '' Roscommon Herald'' (acquired from Landmark Media Investments) * ''
Western People The ''Western People'' is a weekly local newspaper published in Ballina, County Mayo in Ireland. It was first published in 1883. The newspaper was part of the Thomas Crosbie Holdings group. Thomas Crosbie Holdings went into receivership in Ma ...
'' (acquired from Landmark Media Investments) * ''
Waterford News & Star The ''Waterford News & Star'' is a local newspaper based in the Irish city of Waterford, first published as the ''Waterford Star'' in 1848. In December 2007, it changed from a broadsheet to a tabloid. ''The Waterford News & Star'' in 2010/11 m ...
'' (acquired from Landmark Media Investments) * ''The Nationalist'' (Carlow) (acquired from Landmark Media Investments) * ''Kildare Nationalist'' (acquired from Landmark Media Investments) * ''Laois Nationalist'' (acquired from Landmark Media Investments)


The Irish Times DAC investments ownership


Magazine

* ''Gloss Magazine'' (100% stake via Gloss Publications)


Radio

*
WLR FM WLR FM, or more commonly WLR (Waterford Local Radio) is the local radio station covering Waterford City and County, Ireland. It was named the IMRO (Irish Music Rights Organisation) "Local Station of the Year" in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2024 ...
(acquired from
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 ...
)


Digital

* RecruitIreland.com (acquired from
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 ...
) * BreakingNews.ie (acquired from Landmark Media Investments) * Myhome.ie (acquired from Sherry FitzGerald, the Gunne Group and Douglas Newman Good) * RIP.ie (acquired from Gradam Communications in 2024)


Other assets

* Itronics (training company) * DigitalworX (web publisher)


See also

* List of newspapers in Ireland * ''Irish Times'' National Debating Championship *
List of Irish companies This is a list of notable companies based in Ireland, or subsidiaries according to their sector. It includes companies from the entire island. The state of the Republic of Ireland covers five-sixths of the island, with Northern Ireland, part of th ...
* ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' (United Kingdom) * ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' (United States)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Irish Times, The 1859 establishments in Ireland Times English-language newspapers published in Europe Irish news websites Newspaper companies of Ireland Newspapers published in the Republic of Ireland Newspapers established in 1859 Podcasting companies