The ''Protestant Telegraph'' was a

Northern Irish The people of Northern Ireland are all people born in Northern Ireland and having, at the time of their birth, at least one parent who is a British Nationality Law, British citizen, an Irish nationality law, Irish citizen or is otherwis ...

newspaper founded by Noel Doherty and

Ian Paisley Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, (6 April 1926 – 12 September 2014) was a loyalist politician and Protestant religious leader from Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 1971 to 2008 and ...

on 13 February 1966. It was noted for its

Protestant fundamentalism Christian fundamentalism, also known as fundamental Christianity or fundamentalist Christianity, is a religious movement emphasizing biblical literalism. In its modern form, it began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among British and ...

and its attacks on 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 ...

, the

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 ...

and the moderates within the

Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, 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 l ...

, as typified by

Terence O'Neill Terence Marne O'Neill, Baron O'Neill of the Maine, Privy Council of Northern Ireland, PC (NI) (10 September 1914 – 12 June 1990), was the fourth Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and leader (1963–1969) of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP). ...

. It was criticised by Prime Minister

James Chichester-Clark James Dawson Chichester-Clark, Baron Moyola (12 February 1923 – 17 May 2002) was the penultimate Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and eighth leader of the Ulster Unionist Party between 1969 and March 1971. He was Member of the Northern I ...

: The paper was printed by the Puritan Printing Company, which was based at the Ravenhill Road,

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 ...

, headquarters of the

Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster :''Distinct from Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland and Free Church of Scotland (post 1900)'' The Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster is a Calvinist denomination founded by Ian Paisley in 1951. Doctrinally, the church describes itself as Fundam ...

. The paper continued as a vehicle for Paisley and the

Democratic Unionist Party The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist, Ulster loyalism, loyalist, British nationalist and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who ...

(which was formed in 1971) until 1982 when Peter Robinson, who felt that the party would benefit from a less religiously denominational paper, persuaded Ian Paisley to wind up the ''Protestant Telegraph'' and replace it with '' The Voice of Ulster''.Moloney & Pollak, ''Paisley'', pp. 294–5

References

1966 establishments in Northern Ireland Anti-Catholic publications Defunct Christian newspapers Newspapers published in Northern Ireland Protestantism in the United Kingdom Newspapers established in 1966 Publications disestablished in 1982 {{NorthernIreland-newspaper-stub