''Kiss'' (stylised as ''KISS'') was an Irish magazine aimed at a teenage market containing knowledge about adolescent matters such as fashion advice, confessions, features on teenage cultural icons, relationship advice and problem pages with solutions especially designed for teenage readers. Now known as KISS.ie, it is part of the '' VIP'' publishing franchise of Michael O'Doherty. ''Kiss'' was launched on 31 October 2002 as the first of O'Doherty's solo business ventures. He had previously engaged in a number of co-ordinated business ventures in Ireland with his former business partner John Ryan; ''Kiss'' succeeded the co-owned establishments of ''

Magill ''Magill'' was an Irish politics and current affairs magazine founded by Vincent Browne and others in 1977. ''Magill'' specialised in investigative articles and colourful reportage by journalists such as Eamonn McCann (who wrote its anonymous ...

'' in 1997 and '' VIP'' in 1999 and preceded later titles such as the glossy monthly targeted at women in the age group of eighteen to thirty-four '' Stellar'' and the failed '' New York Dog'' venture in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. ''Kiss'' is published at 2-4 Ely Place in

Dublin 2 Dublin 2, also rendered as D2 and D02, is a historic List of Dublin postal districts, postal district on the Southside, Dublin, southside of Dublin, Ireland. In the 1960s, this central district became a focus for office development. More recentl ...

. ''Kisss rivals are the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

's ''

Bliss BLISS is a system programming language developed at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) by W. A. Wulf, D. B. Russell, and A. N. Habermann around 1970. It was perhaps the best known system language until C debuted a few years later. Since then, C ...

'' and ''

Sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

''. Upon its launch ''Kiss'' was lauded in the Irish media for its attempts to contribute to a more liberal and sexualised Ireland, one where the influence of the

Roman Catholic Church 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 ...

had declined dramatically in the preceding decade. Only three decades previously, such teenage-oriented magazines were much more reserved in their content and approach and even the titles, i.e. '' Jackie'' and '' Blue Jeans'', were not as outspoken as the word "kiss" in capitalised letters. ''Kiss'' was launched by O'Doherty's publishing company as a response to the increasing popularity of similar, albeit British-based, publications such as ''Bliss'' and ''Sugar''. It launched on 31 October 2002, at the original (much-deflated by current standards) price of €2.50 and aimed at female readers between the ages of fourteen and seventeen. The first issue featured heavily its mantra of dealing with teenage problems, including articles on school bullying and the difficulties of blushing, written in a "chatty and informative" manner so as not to "patronise" the target audience. However O'Doherty is adamant that his magazine will not encourage young children to "sleep with their boyfriends by providing How-To-Pleasure-Your-Fella features". To supplement its tone ''Kiss'' employs experts on what teenagers consider fashionable, with its so-called "agony aunt" being Sarah Scully, a child psychologist in Saint James's Hospital,

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 ...

. Upon its launch the magazine was edited by Susan Vasquez, who went on to be the editor of O'Doherty's ''Stellar''. The magazine was also edited by Nathalie Màrquez Courtney and Sarah Breen. KISS published its last print issue in September 2014. KISS relaunched in 2019 as an online-first platform. The website, (www.KISS.ie) follows the same ethos as the magazine, including advice, information, celebrity coverage, fashion, beauty and features.

References

{{Reflist Defunct magazines published in Ireland Monthly magazines published in Ireland Magazines established in 2002 Magazines disestablished in 2014 Magazines published in Dublin (city) Defunct teen magazines