The
Irish Independent is
IrelandIreland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
's largest-selling daily
newspaperA newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
that is published in both
compactA compact newspaper is a broadsheet-quality newspaper printed in a tabloid format, especially one in the United Kingdom. The term is used also for this size came into use in its current use when The Independent began producing a smaller format edition for London's commuters, designed to be easier...
and
broadsheetBroadsheet is the largest of the various newspaper formats and is characterized by long vertical pages . The term derives from types of popular prints usually just of a single sheet, sold on the streets and containing various types of material, from ballads to political satire. The first broadsheet...
formats. It is the flagship publication of
Independent News & Media Independent News & Media plc , is a media organisation based in Dublin, Ireland, with interests in 22 countries on 4 continents worldwide. The company owns over 200 print titles, more than 130 radio stations, over 100 commercial websites and many billboard locations, and is a leading press player...
.
History
The
Irish Independent was formed in 1905 as the direct successor to the
Daily Irish Independent, an 1890s pro-
ParnelliteCharles Stewart Parnell was an Irish landowner, nationalist political leader, land reform agitator, and the founder and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party...
newspaper, and was launched by
William Martin MurphyWilliam Martin Murphy was an Irish nationalist journalist, businessman and politician. A Member of Parliament representing Dublin from 1885 to 1892, he was dubbed 'William Murder Murphy' among Dublin workers and the press due to the Dublin Lockout of 1913...
, a controversial Irish nationalist businessman, staunch anti-
ParnelliteCharles Stewart Parnell was an Irish landowner, nationalist political leader, land reform agitator, and the founder and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party...
and fellow townsman of Parnell's most venomous opponent, Bantry's
Timothy Michael HealyTimothy Michael Healy, KC , also known as Tim Healy, was an Irish nationalist politician, journalist, author, barrister and one of the most controversial Irish Members of Parliament in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
.
During the
1913 LockoutThe Dublin Lock-out was a major industrial dispute between approximately 20,000 workers and 300 employers which took place in Ireland's capital city of Dublin. The dispute lasted from 26 August 1913 to 18 January 1914, and is often viewed as the most severe and significant industrial dispute in...
of workers, in which Murphy was the leading figure among the employers, the
Irish Independent vigorously sided with its owner's interests, publishing news reports and opinion pieces hostile to the strikers, expressing confidence in the unions' defeat and launching personal attacks on the leader of the strikers,
James LarkinJames Larkin was an Irish trade union leader and socialist activist, born to Irish parents in Liverpool, England. He and his family later moved to a small cottage in Burren, southern County Down. Growing up in poverty, he received little formal education and began working in a variety of jobs...
. The
Irish Independent described the
1916 Easter RisingThe Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War...
as
"insane and criminal" and famously called for the shooting of its leaders. In December 1919, during the
Irish War of IndependenceThe Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...
, a group of twenty
IRAThe Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
men destroyed the printing works of the paper, angered at its criticism of the
Irish Republican ArmyThe Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
and largely pro-
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and
UnionistUnionism in Ireland is an ideology that favours the continuation of some form of political union between the islands of Ireland and Great Britain...
stance. In 1924, the traditional nationalist newspaper, the
Freeman's JournalThe Freeman's Journal was the oldest nationalist newspaper in Ireland. It was founded in 1763 by Charles Lucas and was identified with radical 18th century Protestant patriot politicians Henry Grattan and Henry Flood...
, merged with the
Irish Independent.
For most of its history, the
Irish Independent (also called simply the
Independent or, more colloquially, the
Indo) was seen as a nationalist, Catholic newspaper, which gave its political allegiance to Cumann na nGaedheal and later its successor party,
Fine GaelFine Gael is a centre-right to centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland. It is the single largest party in Ireland in the Oireachtas, in local government, and in terms of Members of the European Parliament. The party has a membership of over 35,000...
.
In the 1970s, it was taken over by former
HeinzThe H. J. Heinz Company , commonly known as Heinz and famous for its "57 Varieties" slogan and its ketchup, is an American food company with world headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.Perhaps best known for its ketchup, the H.J...
chairman
Tony O'ReillySir Anthony Joseph Francis O'Reilly is an Irish businessman and former international rugby union player. He is known for his involvement the Independent News & Media Group, which he led from 1973 to 2009, and as former CEO and Chairman of the H.J. Heinz Company. He was the leading shareholder of...
. Under his leadership, it became a more populist, market liberal newspaper—populist on social issues, but economically right-wing. By the mid-nineties its allegiance to Fine Gael had ended. In the
1997 general electionThe Irish general election of 1997 was held on Friday, 6 June 1997. The 166 newly elected members of the 28th Dáil assembled on 26 June 1997 when a new Taoiseach and government were appointed....
, it endorsed
Fianna FáilFianna Fáil – The Republican Party , more commonly known as Fianna Fáil is a centrist political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded on 23 March 1926. Fianna Fáil's name is traditionally translated into English as Soldiers of Destiny, although a more accurate rendition would be Warriors of Fál...
under a front page editorial, entitled "It's Payback Time". While it suggested its headline referred to the fact that the election offered a chance to "pay back" politicians for their failings, its opponents suggested that the "payback" actually referred to its chance to get revenge for the refusal of the Rainbow Coalition to award the company a mobile phone licence. Tony O'Reilly disputes this claim.
In late 2004, Independent Newspapers moved from their traditional home in Middle Abbey Street to a new office, "Independent House" in Talbot Street, with the printing facilities already relocated to the
CitywestCitywest is a business park and golf resort in the Saggart area, just north and northwest of Saggart village in South Dublin. The nearest major town is Tallaght. The business park has developed a modest residential population in recent years...
business park near
TallaghtTallaght is the largest town, and county town, of South Dublin County, Ireland. The village area, dating from at least the 17th century, held one of the earliest settlements known in the southern part of the island, and one of medieval Ireland's more important monastic centres.Up to the 1960s...
.
On 27 September 2005, a fortnight after the paper published its centenary edition, it was announced that editor Vinnie Doyle would step down after 24 years in the position. He was replaced by Gerry O'Regan, who had until then been editor of the
Irish Independents sister paper, the
Evening Herald.
Exambrief
Irish Independent in cooperation with
the Institute of EducationThe Institute of Education was founded in 1969 by Irish applied mathematics school teacher, Raymond Kearns, and is currently one of the largest private secondary schools in Ireland. Unlike most other Irish secondary schools, the Institute only provides tuition for the final two years of the...
produce
Exam BriefExam Brief is a yearly educational supplement to Irish Independent newspaper consisting of several volumes. It is produced in cooperation with The Institute of Education and aimed at students preparing for their Irish Leaving or Junior Certificate examinations.-2008:6 February 2008 - "The Winning...
, a yearly six part supplement dedicated to preparation for Leaving and Junior Certificate exams. This supplement is published in February, March and April each year.
Related papers, market share and concerns
Excluding
The SunThe Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
and the
Daily Mirror, most of the content of which are produced in the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the Independent Group owns just over 67% of Irish daily newspapers. INM-owned or partly owned titles have 58% of the newspaper market on Sunday. With the closure of the
Evening Press, the
Independents
Evening Herald is now the only Irish national evening newspaper. Another sister paper is the
Sunday IndependentThe Sunday Independent is a broadsheet Sunday newspaper published in Ireland by Independent News and Media plc. The newspaper is edited by Aengus Fanning, and is the biggest selling Irish Sunday newspaper by a large margin ; average circulation of 291,323 between June 2004 and January 2005,...
.
Other newspapers in the
Independent News & Media Independent News & Media plc , is a media organisation based in Dublin, Ireland, with interests in 22 countries on 4 continents worldwide. The company owns over 200 print titles, more than 130 radio stations, over 100 commercial websites and many billboard locations, and is a leading press player...
group include the
Daily Star (Irish edition), the
Sunday WorldThe Sunday World is an Irish newspaper published by Sunday Newspapers Limited, a division of Independent News and Media. It is the largest selling "popular" newspaper in the Republic of Ireland and is also sold in Northern Ireland .-Origins:The Sunday World was Ireland's first tabloid newspaper...
, many local Irish newspapers, as well as newspapers in Australia and South Africa.
The Independent News and Media Group had a major share in the
Sunday TribuneThe 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 tabloid. Former editors include Conor Brady, Vincent Browne,...
, a Sunday
broadsheetBroadsheet is the largest of the various newspaper formats and is characterized by long vertical pages . The term derives from types of popular prints usually just of a single sheet, sold on the streets and containing various types of material, from ballads to political satire. The first broadsheet...
before its closure in 2011.
The Independent News & Media Group has been accused of holding an "unhealthy dominance" of the Irish newspaper market, all the more so since the demise of the Irish Press, Evening Press and Sunday Press newspapers published by the Irish Press Group in 1995.
The Independent News and Media Group also owns online business directory site Your Local that provides local business information on approximately 100,000 Irish businesses.