The ''Offaly Independent'' is a newspaper that covers

Tullamore Tullamore (; ) is the county town of County Offaly in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is on the Grand Canal (Ireland), Grand Canal, in the middle of the county, and is the fourth most populous town in the Midland Region, Ireland, Midlands Reg ...

County Offaly County Offaly (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is named after the Ancient Ireland, ancient Kingdom of Uí ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and the surrounding area. It is published by

Celtic Media Group Celtic Media Group provides publishing, printing and pre-press (graphic design) services to the Irish newspaper sector. It also has a digital consultancy service. History Previously owned by the Scottish media firm, Dunfermline Press Group, ...

History

The ''Offaly Independent'' was first printed in 1894 as the ''Tullamore & King's Co. Independent'' intended to serve King's County (later renamed County Offaly). The ''Tullamore & King's Co. Independent'' continued to be published until 1920 when it went on hiatus for a year due to

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various Resistance movement, resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dominantly Catholic and dedicated to anti-imperiali ...

activity before being published again as the ''Offaly Independent'' following the name change of King's County to County Offaly. In 1968 it merged with the ''

Westmeath Independent The ''Westmeath Independent'' is a local newspaper, founded in 1846, serving County Westmeath, Ireland. It is based in the town of Athlone Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Republic of Ireland, ...

'' and started to be published as the ''Offaly-Westmeath Independent'' until 1985 when it dropped the use of "Westmeath". The ''Offaly Independent'' came into ownership of

, which in turn was owned by the British Dunfermline Press, after being purchased for €20 million in 2004. In 2012, the Group was sold off for €5.5 million for Dunfermline Press to cover debts owed to

Lloyds TSB Lloyds Bank plc is a major British retail and commercial bank with a significant presence across England and Wales. It has traditionally been regarded one of the " Big Four" clearing banks. Established in Birmingham in 1765, Lloyds Bank e ...

. In 2017, there were plans to sell the newspaper to

Independent News & Media Mediahuis Ireland (formerly Independent News and Media, or INM) is a Belgian/Dutch-owned media organisation that is based in Dublin and publishes national daily newspapers, Sunday newspapers, regional newspapers and operates multiple websites in ...

. The deal was approved by the

Competition and Consumer Protection Commission Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indi ...

and was due to go for review by the

Broadcasting Authority of Ireland The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI; ) is a former broadcasting authority which regulated both public and commercial broadcasting sector in Ireland. It was established in 2009, effectively replacing the Broadcasting Commission of Irel ...

but the deal fell through after Celtic Media Group cancelled the transaction. Until 2019, it was printed in

County Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

. The newspaper temporarily changed its name to the ''Obama Independent'' for its 20 June 2011, edition to commemorate U.S. President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

's visit to the local village of

Moneygall Moneygall () is a village in County Offaly, bordering County Tipperary, in Ireland. It is situated on the R445 road between Dublin and Limerick. There were 374 people living in the village as of the 2022 census. Moneygall has a Catholic church ...

. The issue was intended to be a special souvenir edition of the president's visit to County Offaly. It was the first time the newspaper had changed the name on its masthead in 119 years.

References

{{Ireland newspapers Cultural depictions of Barack Obama Mass media in County Offaly Newspapers published in the Republic of Ireland Tullamore, County Offaly