''The Phoenix'' is an Irish political and current affairs magazine, established in 1983 by
John Mulcahy. Inspired by the British magazine ''
Private Eye
''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satire, 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 r ...
'' Since 1984, the magazine has been edited by Paddy Prendeville. The publication is generally fortnightly, with a larger annual issue each December.
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
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
political magazine ''Hibernia'', 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 tab ...
'' newspaper, which first collapsed financially in 1982.
Published by a company named Penfield Enterprises Ltd., and based on Baggot Street, the magazine had an
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
-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
The
Workers' Party of Ireland
The Workers' Party ( ga, Páirtí na nOibrithe) is a Marxist–Leninist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
It arose as the original Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, but took ...
was a frequent target of satire and investigation, in its 1980s heyday, over its funding methods, which resulted in 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 emerged ...
.
[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 ( ga, Shell chun Sáile) is an Irish organisation based in the parish of Kilcommon in Erris, County Mayo.
It opposes the proposed construction of a natural gas pipeline through the parish, as well as the ongoing construction—by ...
and
Pobal Chill Chomáin
Pobal Chill Chomáin (PCC, English: ''People of Kilcommon'') is a pressure group based in the parish of Kilcommon in County Mayo, Ireland. It split from the larger Shell to Sea (in existence since 2001 as a campaign with no name; the name Shell ...
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 Berna ...
on the siege of Gaza and attacked the actions of the
Israeli government
The Cabinet of Israel (officially: he, ממשלת ישראל ''Memshelet Yisrael'') exercises executive authority in the State of Israel. It consists of ministers who are chosen and led by the prime minister. The composition of the governmen ...
over the illegal use of
Irish passport
An Irish passport ( ga, Pas Éireannach) is the passport issued to citizens of Ireland. An Irish passport enables the bearer to travel internationally and serves as evidence of Irish nationality and citizenship of the European Union. It also f ...
s in the assassination of
Mahmoud al-Mabhouh
Mahmoud Abdel Rauf al-Mabhouh ( ar, محمود عبد الرؤوف المبحوح; 14 February 1960 – 19 January 2010) was the chief of logistics and weapons procurement for Hamas's military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. He is reme ...
, and the
Gaza flotilla raid
The Gaza flotilla raid was a military operation by Israel against six civilian ships of the " Gaza Freedom Flotilla" on 31 May 2010 in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Nine activists and no Israelis were killed on one ship dur ...
. 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 ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...
–
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...
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.
[http://www.thephoenix.ie/phoenix/subscriber/library/volume-29/issue-01/contents.pdf]
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 List of satirical news websites, 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, ...
''
* ''
Private Eye
''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satire, 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 r ...
''
*
''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 by ...
''
References and footnotes
External links
*
ABC Data
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phoenix
Biweekly magazines
Satirical magazines published in Ireland
Political magazines published in Ireland
Magazines established in 1983
Magazines published in the Republic of Ireland
Mass media in Dublin (city)