''The Irish Rover'' is an independent,

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

biweekly student newspaper serving the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

community. The paper was launched in 2003 by Joe Lindlsey, when he and students believed that ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'', another student publication, was showing a liberal bias in their coverage of events. The paper provides news coverage of campus life and features regular opinion columns from alumni and faculty.

History

''The'' ''Irish Rover'' was launched as a free print newspaper in December 2003. In 2005, editors of ''The Irish Rover'' revealed that they received significant funding from the conservative

Intercollegiate Studies Institute The Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) is a nonprofit educational organization that promotes conservative thought on college campuses. It was founded in 1953 by Frank Chodorov with William F. Buckley Jr. as its first president. It sponsor ...

. In 2009, ''The Irish Rover'' joined with a coalition of other student organizations to oppose the invitation of then-

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

to deliver Notre Dame's 2009 Commencement address, writing that they pledged "to acts of witness that will be characterized by respect, prayerfulness, outspoken fidelity to the Church and true concern for the good of our University". In 2013, ''The Irish Rover'' was recognized, for the first of two times, as the publication of the year by the

Collegiate Network The Collegiate Network (CN) is a program that provides financial and technical assistance to student editors and writers of roughly 100 independent, conservative and libertarian publications at colleges and universities around the United States. M ...

. On December 4, 2017, the editorial staff of ''The Irish Rover'' published an open letter criticizing the decision of University of Notre Dame President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C. to provide for coverage of contraception, sterilization, and

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

in the university's employee health insurance plans. The university had previously sued the

Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...

to obtain an exemption from the mandate that would require them to do so, leading editorial staff to write, that Jenkins's "reversal has left many dumbfounded — shocked that after a long and costly lawsuit in which Notre Dame asserted that it was against its Catholic values to play any part in providing contraceptives and abortifacients to employees and students, it would abruptly reverse course and willingly participate in such action " In 2019, ''The Irish Rover'' became the subject of controversy following an on-campus protest involving a sign placed on campus that contained clippings from articles published by ''The Irish Rover'' and fellow student newspaper ''

'' with the names of the student journalists and others circled in "blood-red" paint, implicating them for the deaths of people who identify as queer. The sign's creator later published a video during which she beat the sign with a crowbar, drawing allegations of violating Indiana's intimidation law. The incident drew criticism as an attack on free speech and an attempt to incite violence. In 2021, the ''Irish Rover'' was awarded "Publication of the Year" by the Collegiate Network.

References

{{reflist Student newspapers published in Indiana University of Notre Dame