The mass media in the Republic of Ireland includes all the media and communications outlets of the Republic.

Print media

Ireland has a traditionally a competitive print media, which is divided into daily national newspapers and weekly regional newspapers, as well as national Sunday editions. Competition from international markets is also strong in Ireland many publications from the US, the UK and Central Europe are widely available in Ireland. The strength of the UK press is a unique feature of the Irish print media scene, with the availability of a wide selection of British published newspapers and magazines, many of these UK editions produce specialist versions for the Irish market e.g. ''Irish Daily Mail'' and the ''Irish Sun''. Some of the most popular national newspapers include ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'', the ''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray backgrou ...

'' and the ''

Irish Examiner The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Republic of Ireland, Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork (city), Cork, though it is ...

''. Local and regional papers include ''

The Kerryman ''The Kerryman'' is a weekly local newspaper published in County Kerry in Ireland by Independent News & Media who are a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper was founded in 1904 by Maurice Griffin and cousins Thomas and Daniel Nolan. Independe ...

'', the ''

Evening Herald ''The Herald'' is a nationwide mid-market tabloid newspaper headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and published by Independent News & Media who are a subsidiary of Mediahuis. It is published Monday–Saturday. The newspaper was known as the ''Ev ...

'' and the '' Evening Echo''. The use of digitised versions of newspapers and websites is increasingly becoming popular, however readership amongst physical newspapers is still high in Ireland when compared to other European countries. Newspapers are popular in Ireland. According to the National Newspapers of Ireland and Joint National Readership Survey 91% of Irish adults regularly read newspapers. The

market penetration Market penetration refers to the successful selling of a good or service in a specific market. It involves using tactics that increase the growth of an existing product in an existing market. It is measured by the amount of sales volume of an ...

for daily newspapers runs at 190% and 350% for Sunday titles. For comparison, US newspaper market penetration is only 51%. There are several daily newspapers in Ireland, including the ''

'', ''

The Irish Examiner The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork, though it is available throughout the country ...

'', ''

Irish Daily Star The ''Irish Daily Star'' (formerly known simply as ''The Star'') is a tabloid newspaper published in Ireland by Reach plc, which owns the British '' Daily Star''. The ''Irish Daily Star'' became known for its comprehensive in-depth coverage o ...

'', and the ''

''. The best selling of these is the ''Irish Independent'', which is published in both tabloid and

broadsheet A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long Vertical and horizontal, vertical pages, typically of in height. Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner (format), Berliner and Tabloid (newspaper ...

formats. The leading Sunday newspaper in terms of circulation is the ''Sunday Independent'' which has over a million readers each week, a very large number considering that Ireland has only 1.25 million households. Other popular papers include ''

The Sunday Business Post The ''Business Post'' (formerly ''The Sunday Business Post'') is a Sunday newspaper distributed nationally in Ireland and an online publication. It is focused mainly on business and financial issues in Ireland. Founding to Irish financial crisi ...

'', '' Irish Mail on Sunday'' and the '' Sunday World'' (the latter published in separate editions for the Republic and Northern Ireland). One noted trend in Irish newspapers is the presence of Irish editions of UK newspapers, these include '' The Irish Sun'', '' Irish Mirror'', and the Irish edition of ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

''.

Linear and digital broadcasting

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

is the public service broadcaster of Ireland and is funded by a licence fee and advertising. RTÉ operates four national television channels;

RTÉ One RTÉ One is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by RTÉ. It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís Éireann'' on 31 December 1961, it was renamed ''R ...

RTÉ2 RTÉ2 (formerly branded as RTÉ 2 from 1978–88, Network 2 from 1988–97, N2 from 1997–2004 and RTÉ Two from 2004–14) is an Irish free-to-air television channel operated by public service broadcaster RTÉ. It was launched on 2 Novemb ...

RTÉ News RTÉ News and Current Affairs (), also known simply as RTÉ News (''Nuacht RTÉ''), is the national news service provided by Irish public broadcaster (RTÉ). Its services include local, national, European and international news, investigative ...

and RTÉjr. Virgin Media Television operates four channels ( Virgin Media One, Virgin Media Two,

Virgin Media Three Virgin Media Three, also called Virgin Three, is an Irish free-to-air television channel owned by Virgin Media Television. The channel was first launched by Northern Irish broadcaster UTV Media on 1 January 2015 as UTV Ireland; it primari ...

and Virgin Media Four) and remains Ireland's biggest independent broadcasters.

TG4 TG4 (; , ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television channel. It launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on-demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond. TG4 was initially known as (TnaG), before bein ...

is a public service broadcaster for

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...

speakers. All of these channels are available on

Saorview Saorview ( ) is the national digital terrestrial television (DTT) service in Ireland. It is owned by RTÉ and operated by 2RN. The service began operation on 29 October 2010 on a trial basis with a full launch on 26 May 2011. By legislation i ...

, the national

free-to-air Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscri ...

digital terrestrial television Digital terrestrial television (DTTV, DTT, or DTTB) is a technology for terrestrial television, in which television stations broadcast television content in a digital signal, digital format. Digital terrestrial television is a major technologica ...

service. HD variants of RTÉ One and RTÉ2 are available on Saorview, as are timeshift variants (+1 channels). Subscription services include Virgin Media Ireland (formerly UPC Ireland),

Eir (telecommunications) Eircom Limited, trading as Eir ( ; stylised eir), is a large fixed, mobile and broadband telecommunications company in Ireland. The company, which is currently incorporated in Jersey, traces its origins to Ireland's former state-owned monopol ...

and

Sky Ireland Sky Ireland Limited is a subsidiary of Comcast-owned Sky UK and supplies television, internet and telephony services in Ireland. Its corporate headquarters are in Dublin which were opened by Taoiseach Enda Kenny on 18 January 2013. Sky Irelan ...

, which offer a wide variety of television channels from outside of Ireland, increasing competition for Irish broadcasters. The presence of on-demand streaming services such as

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

have also increased pressure on private and public broadcasters in Ireland. Most of the major broadcasters in Ireland operate streaming services, such as RTÉ Player, Virgin Media Player and

TG4 Player TG4 (; , ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television channel. It launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on-demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond. TG4 was initially known as (TnaG), before bein ...

. Some Irish owned channels are subscription only; these include Eir Sport channels.

Radio broadcasting

Radio listenership is still very high, in Ireland with 83% of Irish adults tuning into radio each day. There are many national radio services operated by public broadcasters (

RTÉ Radio 1 RTÉ Radio 1 () is an Irish national radio station owned and operated by RTÉ and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926. The total budget for the station in 2010 w ...

RTÉ 2fm RTÉ 2fm, or 2FM as it is more commonly referred to, is an Irish radio station operated by RTÉ. The station specialises in current popular music and chart hits and is the second national radio station in Ireland. History The station commenc ...

RTÉ lyric fm RTÉ Lyric FM (stylised as RTÉ lyric fm) is an Irish classical music, jazz and arts radio station, owned and operated by RTÉ. The station, which is based in Limerick, was launched in 1999 and is available on 96-99 FM throughout Ireland (in ...

and

RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta (; "Radio of the Gaeltacht"), abbreviated RnaG, is an Irish language radio station owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). The station is available on FM in Ireland and via satellite and on the inter ...

) and private broadcasters (

Today FM Today FM is an Irish commercial FM radio station, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio Ireland Limited. Broadcasting since 17 March 1997, it broadcasts mostly music, with a daily news and current affairs programme. Today FM holds a licen ...

Newstalk Newstalk (formerly NewsTalk 106) is a national independent radio station in Ireland. It is operated by News 106 Limited, a subsidiary of Bauer Media Audio Ireland, and broadcasts under a sound broadcasting contract with the Broadcasting Aut ...

and Ireland's Classic Hits Radio. Until 31 March 2021, a national DAB service was also available, which was largely made up of RTÉ's stations but included digital-only stations

RTÉ 2XM RTÉ 2XM (stylised as "RTE 2>digital radio service of the RTÉ Gold, RTÉ Pulse, RTÉ Radio 1 Extra and RTÉ Jr Radio. Since the closure of the DAB multiplex, these stations are available via other means, such as Saorview and the internet. A large number of regional and local radio stations are available countrywide. A survey showed that a consistent 85% of adults listen to a mixture of national, regional and local stations on a daily basis. Radio and television broadcasters are regulated by the

Coimisiún na Meán () is the regulator of broadcasting and online media in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The commission was established in 2023 as a successor body to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland. The commission came into being on 15 March 2023 under ...

Film and television industry

Supported by the Screen Ireland (formerly

Irish Film Board Not to be confused with Northern Ireland Screen. Fís Éireann / Screen Ireland, formerly known as Bord Scannán na hÉireann or the Irish Film Board, is Republic of Ireland, Ireland's state development agency for the Irish film, television an ...

), the Irish film ad television industry has grown significantly since the 1990s, with the promotion of indigenous films such as ''

Intermission An intermission, also known as an interval in British and Indian English, is a break between parts of a performance or production, such as for a play (theatre), theatrical play, opera, concert, or film screening. It should not be confused with ...

'' and '' Breakfast on Pluto'', as well as the attraction of international productions such as ''

Braveheart ''Braveheart'' is a 1995 American epic film, epic historical drama, historical war drama film directed and produced by Mel Gibson, who portrays Scottish warrior William Wallace in the First War of Scottish Independence against Edward I of Engl ...

'' and ''

Saving Private Ryan ''Saving Private Ryan'' is a 1998 American epic war film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. Set in 1944 in Normandy, France, during World War II, it follows a group of soldiers, led by Captain John Miller ( Tom Hanks) ...

''. Many television shows such as the

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy Drama (film and television), drama television series created by David Benioff and for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of high fantasy novels by ...

, The Vikings and other international shows have been produced/filmed in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Online

Along with the online websites from the traditional media (newspapers, magazines, TV and radio), some of which complement their traditional offerings, there are a number of online media outlets and portals, such as TheJournal.ie, Joe.ie, The Ditch (one of whose founders is

Paddy Cosgrave Patrick Cosgrave (born 19 March 1983) is an Irish entrepreneur. He is a co-founder of Web Summit, an annual technology conference. He was CEO of Web Summit until October 2023 when he resigned and was replaced by Katherine Maher. Maher left afte ...

), Dublin Live and Irish Central (aimed at the Irish emigrant community founded by

Niall O'Dowd Niall O'Dowd (born 18 May 1953) is an Irish-born American journalist and author. He was involved in the negotiations leading to the Northern Irish Good Friday Peace Agreement. He is the founder of ''Irish Voice'' newspaper and ''Irish Ameri ...

of the ''

Irish Voice The ''Irish Voice'' is a newspaper published in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest nat ...

'' in the US).

References

{{Ireland topics

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...