''The Piranha'' is the official satirical newspaper of

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

.http://www.trinitypublications.info/Our%20Publications.html Trinity Publications Formerly known as ''Piranha!'' magazine, it was rebranded in 2009. It is a member of Trinity Publications and is written entirely by students of the university. The first edition claimed that it was established in 1843, and the newspaper's official webpage claims it was first published in 1682, but official college records state that the publication was founded in 1978.

Production

Since 2010, ''The Piranha'' has been printed in Berliner format. It was previously a magazine. The newspaper is produced solely by students of the university under the direction of a student editor. The publication typically releases five issues each year including an "Election Special" where they parody candidates in Student Union Elections. Free copies of each edition are distributed around campus. Similar to other student publications in Trinity College, ''The Piranha'' is funded by a grant from the Trinity Publications Committee and supplements this with advertising revenue.

Controversy

In February 2006, Trinity College seized almost all copies of Piranha. The controversy was caused by a satirical piece, deemed to be racist. Neither the college nor the DU Publications Committee agreed with the content and offensive language contained in the article. The editor at the time,

Paddy Cosgrave Patrick Cosgrave is an Irish entrepreneur. He is a co-founder of Web Summit, an annual technology conference. In 2015 he was listed 18th in the ''Wired UK'' list of the most influential people in Europe in the field of technology. Early life an ...

, was referred to by as "off books", although was registered as a student and was expected to return and complete their studies. Around 1,500 copies were distributed on Thursday 23 February containing an article titled "Stinking sand n*****s outraged by Danish slight on their towel-headed religion", but the following day all remaining copies had been withdrawn from circulation by security staff on the orders of the college authorities. The remaining copies of the magazine were destroyed.

Notable Editors

Notable editors include Antony Sellers (Founding Editor 1978–79),

Alan Gilsenan Alan Gilsenan is an Irish writer, filmmaker and theatre director. His most recent work include the cinema documentary ''Meetings with Ivor'', the feature film ''Unless'', based on a novel by Carol Shields and ''The Meeting,'' which he wrote and ...

(1981–82),

Quentin Letts Quentin Richard Stephen Letts (born 6 February 1963) is an English journalist and theatre critic. He has written for ''The Daily Telegraph'', ''Daily Mail'', ''Mail on Sunday'', and '' The Oldie''. On 26 February 2019, it was announced that Let ...

(1984–85), Michael O'Doherty (1985–86), Nick Webb (1990-91), and

(2005–06). Other former writers include comedians

Pauline McLynn Pauline McLynn (born 11 July 1962) is an Irish character actress and author. She is best known for her roles as Mrs Doyle in the Channel 4 sitcom ''Father Ted'', Libby Croker in the Channel 4 comedy drama '' Shameless'', Tip Haddem in the BBC ...

, Mario Rosenstock, and

David O'Doherty David Nicholas O'Doherty (; born 18 December 1975) is an Irish comedian, author, musician, actor and playwright and son of renowned jazz pianist Jim Doherty. His stand-up has won many international awards including the if.comedy award in 2008 ...

, and airline executive

Peter Bellew Peter Brendan Bellew is an Irish businessman who joined low-cost carrier Ryanair as chief operating officer (COO) since 2017. He has been in the tourism and aviation industry over 30 years. In July 2019, Bellew announced that he would be lea ...

Awards

In 2010, ''The Piranha'' was nominated for the People's Choice Award in the National Student Media Awards.http://www.oxygen.ie/page/3197 Oxygen.ie - Smedias 2010 Nominations

References

External links

Trinity Publications
- official website
Trinity College Dublin
- official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Piranha, The Newspapers published in the Republic of Ireland Student newspapers published in the Republic of Ireland Trinity College Dublin Newspapers established in 1978