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''Daily Ireland'' was an Irish daily newspaper which existed from January 2005 to September 2006 to cover news stories from an
Irish republican Irish republicanism ( ga, poblachtánachas Éireannach) is the political movement for the unity and independence of Ireland under a republic. Irish republicans view British rule in any part of Ireland as inherently illegitimate. The develop ...
viewpoint. It was linked to the
Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
local newspaper, the ''
Andersonstown News The Belfast Media Group's ''Andersonstown News'' is a weekly published (Wednesdays) Belfast, Northern Ireland newspaper, which focuses on news and issues in west Belfast. The paper was founded in 1972. Its stablemates, the '' North Belfast News' ...
''. In September 2006, the newspaper announced it was ceasing publication, with the 475th and last issue published on 7 September.


Positioning

Its supporters regarded the paper as the first mass market
Irish republican Irish republicanism ( ga, poblachtánachas Éireannach) is the political movement for the unity and independence of Ireland under a republic. Irish republicans view British rule in any part of Ireland as inherently illegitimate. The develop ...
newspaper. Critics accused it of being overly supportive of the politics of
Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...
, the biggest
nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
party in
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
. Some supporters and opponents compared it to the defunct '' Irish Press'' newspaper, which was strongly associated with, and supportive of,
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- ...
. A statement placed on the department website by the Republic's
Minister for Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...
, Michael McDowell claimed the newspaper was backed by the
Provisional IRA The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, fa ...
and compared it to the
Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...
newspaper the ''
Völkischer Beobachter The ''Völkischer Beobachter'' (; "'' Völkisch'' Observer") was the newspaper of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) from 25 December 1920. It first appeared weekly, then daily from 8 February 1923. For twenty-four years it formed part of the official pub ...
'', led to a threat of legal action for defamation by the publishers of the papers. The publishers denied his allegation and demanded its withdrawal. As some Sinn Féin supporters have been killed or threatened by loyalists, staff at ''Daily Ireland'' contended that McDowell's comments put them in danger. A member of the paper's management was later told by the Police Service of Northern Ireland that he was at risk of attack by loyalist paramilitaries. McDowell refused to withdraw his comments, and told ''Daily Ireland'' he would see them in court. When they brought a suit against him in
Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
, his defence team declared that as Minister of Justice, McDowell had sovereign immunity. Judgement in the case was reserved.


Circulation

In May 2005 the management of the paper denied media reports that ''Daily Ireland'' was experiencing poor circulation and was about to lay off many of its staff. This was confirmed by the paper on 14 May 2005 when it claimed that poor advertising revenue was being caused by the decision of the
British government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...
not to place advertisements in it (as it is obliged to do with papers that have reached a certain circulation), and that 30 jobs were in danger as a result. Government policy at the time was not to advertise in publications for which audited circulation figures were not available and as a new publication, these figures were yet to be published for ''Daily Ireland''. It has been said that the government advertises in many newspapers in Northern Ireland without an audited circulation figure, including the Tyrone Courier published by unionist peer
John Taylor John Taylor, Johnny Taylor or similar may refer to: Academics *John Taylor (Oxford), Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, 1486–1487 *John Taylor (classical scholar) (1704–1766), English classical scholar *John Taylor (English publisher) (178 ...
. However, circulation figures for the ''Dungannon News and Tyrone Courier'' are available for inspection at www.abc.org.uk, and state that for the period January to July 2007, that newspaper's circulation stood at 15,441. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, the paper had an average circulation of 10,080 for the first six months of 2006. In contrast the ''
Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet new ...
'' had a circulation of approximately 160,000 and ''
the Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
'' a circulation of 117,000. They are not universally available in Northern Ireland and so have their principal market in the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...
, unlike ''Daily Ireland'' which was intended to be an all-Ireland newspaper. ''
The Irish News ''The Irish News'' is a Compact (newspaper), compact daily newspaper based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is Northern Ireland's largest selling morning newspaper and is available throughout Ireland. It is broadly Irish nationalist in its view ...
'', which is largely restricted to Northern Ireland, has a circulation of over 50,000. Though new newspapers regularly start at a low base and lose money for their first couple of years, no Irish national newspaper in recent years which started at such a low base has survived, with newspapers such as the '' Stars on Sunday'', '' Daily News'' and ''
Dublin Daily Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 cen ...
'', attracting higher initial base circulations in smaller markets (the former two in the Republic, the latter in
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
) before folding. Columnists included writer Danny Morrison, Green politician
Patricia McKenna Patricia McKenna (born 13 March 1957) is an Irish Independent and former Green Party politician. She served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Dublin constituency from 1994 to 2004. She is a practising barrister having been ca ...
and journalist
Frank Connolly Frank Connolly is an Irish journalist, author, and communications manager with the trade union SIPTU. Connolly grew up in Dublin and attended Trinity College Dublin. He previously worked for the Sunday Business Post, Ireland on Sunday, Village M ...
. ''Daily Ireland'' had its head office in Belfast, and one journalist David Lynch worked for the newspaper from Dublin. Lynch also reported from the Middle East for the newspaper in early 2006, and some of his reports are included in his book ''A Divided Paradise: An Irishman in the Holy Land'' (New Island, Jan 2009). The newspaper was also awarded the 2006 European Union organised For Diversity. Against Discrimination Journalism Awards for a series of articles written by David Lynch about the Traveller community in Ireland.


Ceasing publication

On 7 September 2006, ''Daily Ireland'' managing director Mairtin Ó Muilleoir announced that the paper would cease publishing, with the last issue published on 7 September 2006.


External links


Paper to sue over minister's IRA claim
– ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' article on the libel controversy
''Daily Ireland'' to cease printing
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
article, 7 September 2006
Bye-Bye Daily Lies
The Blanket " Critical Review"


Footnotes

{{Newspapers in the Republic of Ireland Defunct newspapers published in Ireland Mass media in Belfast Newspapers published in Northern Ireland Publications established in 2005 Publications disestablished in 2006