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''The Phoenix'' is an Irish left-wing political and current affairs magazine, established in 1983 by John Mulcahy. Inspired by the British magazine ''
Private Eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely recognised ...
'', the magazine has been edited by Paddy Prendeville since 1984. The publication is generally fortnightly, with a larger annual issue each December. ''The Phoenix'' "produces a fortnightly diet, humour, financial analysis, and news with an insider slant from the worlds of security, politics, media, arts, and law."


History and operations

The magazine was launched in January 1983. It was established by journalist and publisher John Mulcahy,Dublin, Ireland: The Irish Times, 7 Jan 2006, p. 14, "Publisher who became monarch of the magazine sector." who oversaw its operations until 2007. The name ''Phoenix'' is a reference to its "emergence from the ashes" of two of Mulcahy's previous publications. These were the republican political magazine ''
Hibernia () is the Classical Latin name for Ireland. The name ''Hibernia'' was taken from Greek geographical accounts. During his exploration of northwest Europe (), Pytheas of Massalia called the island ''Iérnē'' (written ). In his book ''Geogr ...
'', which ceased publishing in 1980 after a libel action, and the ''
Sunday Tribune The ''Sunday Tribune'' was an Irish Sunday broadsheet newspaper published by Tribune Newspapers plc. It was edited in its final years by Nóirín Hegarty, who changed both the tone and the physical format of the newspaper from broadsheet to ta ...
'' newspaper, which first collapsed financially in 1982. Published by a company named Penfield Enterprises Ltd., and based on
Baggot Street Baggot Street () is a street in Dublin, Ireland. Location The street runs from Merrion Row (near St. Stephen's Green) to the northwestern end of Pembroke Road. It crosses the Grand Canal near Haddington Road. It is divided into two sections: ...
, the magazine had an
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
-audited circulation of 19,014 for 2004 and 18,268 in 2007. The primary editor of the magazine is Paddy Prendiville, who took the role about a year after the magazine was started. The magazine secures much of its material from "insider" sources, and promotes contact with its ''Goldhawk'' phone line.


Layout and style

Features in the magazine include a news column; detailed profiles ("Pillars of Society" and "The Young Bloods"); "Affairs of the Nation", which looks at political scandals; "Bog Cuttings" which consists of humorous and unusual events outside Dublin (often bizarre court cases), "Hush Hush" and "On the beat", which deals with security and intelligence matters; and a satirical section, "Craic and Codology". It also has an extensive financial column, "Moneybags". Like ''Private Eye'', the cover features a photo montage with a
speech bubble Speech balloons (also speech bubbles, dialogue balloons, or word balloons) are a graphic convention used most commonly in comic books, comics, and cartoons to allow words (and much less often, pictures) to be understood as representing a charac ...
, putting ironic or humorous comments into the mouths of the famous in response to topical events. Other features include an "Apology" section (where the magazine offers an ersatz apology for the failings or success of some person or event), "That Menu in Full", the use of ("That's enough of this. -Ed" type interjections) and their derivatives, and the Christmas Gift lists, where implausible gifts with ridiculous features are offered for sale. In contrast to ''Private Eye'', the ''Phoenix'' is printed on magazine stock rather than newsprint, and uses colour, including photography, quite extensively.


Positions

In the 1980s, the
Workers' Party Workers' Party is a name used by several political parties throughout the world. The name has been used by both organisations on the left and right of the political spectrum. It is currently used by followers of Marxism, Marxism–Leninism, Maoism ...
was a frequent target of satire and investigation over its funding methods, which resulted in ''Phoenix'' founder John Mulcahy receiving threats from the
Official IRA The Official Irish Republican Army or Official IRA (OIRA; ) was an Irish republican paramilitary group whose goal was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and create a " workers' republic" encompassing all of Ireland. It emerg ...
.The Lost Revolution: The Story of the Official IRA and the Workers’ Party In the late 2000s, it was highly critical of the Corrib gas pipeline and supported the
Shell to Sea Shell to Sea () is an Irish organisation based in the parish of Kilcommon in Erris, County Mayo. It opposes the proposed construction of a natural gas Gas pipeline, pipeline through the parish, as well as the ongoing construction—by Royal Du ...
and Pobal Chill Chomáin campaigns against the laying of the pipeline. It published a supplementary summary and commentary on the
Goldstone Report Goldstone may refer to: Places * Goldstone, Shropshire, a small village in Shropshire, England *Goldstone, California, a ghost town near the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex * Goldstone Lake, a dry lake in the Mojave Desert of San Bern ...
on the siege of Gaza and attacked the actions of the
Israeli government The Israeli system of government is based on parliamentary democracy. The Prime Minister of Israel is the head of government and leader of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government (also known as the cabinet). Legislat ...
over the illegal use of
Irish passport An Irish passport () is the passport issued to Irish nationality law, citizens of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. An Irish passport enables the bearer to travel internationally and serves as evidence of Irish nationality and citizenship of the Eu ...
s in the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, and the
Gaza flotilla raid Ships of Gaza flotilla raid, Six civilian ships of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla were raided by Israel on 31 May 2010 in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Nine of the flotilla passengers were killed during the raid, with thirty woun ...
. The magazine was highly critical of the 2007–2011
Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil ( ; ; meaning "Soldiers of Destiny" or "Warriors of Fál"), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party (), is a centre to centre-right political party in Ireland. Founded as a republican party in 1926 by Éamon de ...
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...
coalition. It called for the 2011 Irish budget to be defeated and pointed out that the money loaned as part of the EU stability fund would come at the cost of a crippling rate of interest. During the 2022
Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
, ''The Phoenix'' was highly critical of Ukraine, and accused the Irish media of seeking to undermine Irish neutrality by exploiting " Ukrainian misery".


See also

* ''
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 ...
'' * ''
Waterford Whispers News Waterford Whispers News (WWN) is an Irish satirical news website run by Colm Williamson and based in Tramore, County Waterford, Ireland. The site has been called Ireland's answer to U.S. satirical media company, ''The Onion'', and has been the ...
'' * ''
Private Eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely recognised ...
'' * ''Village'' (magazine) * ''
The Hibernia Magazine ''The Hibernia Magazine'' was a magazine published in Ireland, initially as a monthly magazine then fortnightly. The Magazine was started in 1937 had a Catholic ethos, being supported by the Knights of Saint Columbanus It was edited and owned ...
''


References and footnotes


External links

*
ABC Data
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phoenix Biweekly magazines Irish republican magazines Magazines established in 1983 Magazines published in the Republic of Ireland Magazines published in Dublin (city) Political magazines published in Ireland Satirical magazines published in Ireland