The Irish Times facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
The Irish Times

Type	Daily newspaper
Format	Broadsheet
Owner(s)	Irish Times Trust
Founded	29 March 1859; 166 years ago (1859-03-29)
Language	English Irish
Headquarters	24–28 Tara Street, Dublin, Ireland
Circulation	Circulation no longer audited
ISSN	0791-5144

The Irish Times is a well-known Irish newspaper. It is published every day except Sundays. It also has a popular website. The newspaper started a long time ago, on March 29, 1859. Its current editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic.

The Irish Times is one of Ireland's most important newspapers. It is seen as a "newspaper of record." This means it keeps a detailed history of important events and public discussions.

When it first started, the paper supported Irish Protestants who wanted Ireland to be independent. But after about 20 years, it changed its views. It began to support keeping Ireland as part of the United Kingdom. Today, the paper describes itself as "liberal and progressive." This means it supports new ideas and social change. It also has more traditional views on money and business. For many years, until 1986, the newspaper was mostly run by the Anglo-Irish Protestant community.

Meet the Writers: Famous Columnists and Their Work

The Irish Times has featured many famous writers. They share their opinions and stories with readers.

• Fintan O'Toole is a well-known writer and arts expert.
• Miriam Lord writes funny and sharp articles.
• Garret FitzGerald, a former leader of Ireland (called the Taoiseach), used to write for the paper.
• Michael O'Regan reported on Irish politics for over 30 years.
• Important world leaders like Tony Blair and Bill Clinton have also written for its opinion pages.

Some popular columns over the years include:

• Backbencher: A political column by John Healy.
• Drapier: An anonymous column by a politician, giving an "inside" look at politics.
• Rite and Reason: A weekly column about religion.
• An Irishman's Diary: A long-running column with different writers over the years. It was written by Patrick Campbell and Seamus Kelly (both using the name "Quidnunc"). More recently, Frank McNally has written it.

On the sports pages, Philip Reid is the golf writer.

One of the most loved columns was Cruiskeen Lawn. It was a funny and sharp column written by Brian O'Nolan. He used the pen name Myles na gCopaleen. The column started in Irish and later switched to English. The name Cruiskeen Lawn comes from Irish words meaning 'little full jug'. This column appeared regularly from 1940 until O'Nolan passed away in 1966.

The Story of The Irish Times: A Look at Its History

How It Started: The Early Years

The name The Irish Times was first used for a newspaper in 1823, but that paper closed quickly. The current Irish Times started on March 29, 1859. It was founded by a 22-year-old army officer named Lawrence E. Knox. At first, it came out three times a week, but soon it became a daily newspaper.

It began as a newspaper for moderate Protestants. It aimed to be a "new conservative daily newspaper." Its first office was in Dublin. In its early days, its main rival was the Dublin Daily Express.

After Lawrence Knox died in 1873, the paper was sold to the wife of Sir John Arnott. He was a politician and owned a big department store in Dublin. This sale brought two big changes:

• The office moved to a new location in Dublin.
• The paper's political views changed a lot. It became strongly supportive of keeping Ireland as part of the United Kingdom. After the Easter Rising in 1916, the paper, along with others, called for strong actions against the leaders of the rebellion.

The 20th Century: Changes and Growth

Even though the paper became a company that people could invest in by 1900, the Arnott family kept most of the ownership until the 1960s. The last Arnott family member on the paper's board died in 1958.

R. M. Smyllie was the editor during the 1930s. The person who was editor for the longest time was Douglas Gageby.

In 1974, the newspaper's ownership changed again. It was given to a special group called The Irish Times Trust. This Trust helps make sure the newspaper stays strong and independent.

In 1996, The Irish Times opened its first office in Asia. This was when foreign reporter Conor O'Clery moved to Beijing, China.

The 21st Century: New Challenges and Digital Growth

In 2002, The Irish Times faced money problems. Less advertising came in, and the company had invested a lot in a new printing factory. No journalists lost their jobs, but many chose to leave with a special payment. The paper changed how it was organized. Some foreign offices closed, and it combined regional news with general news. After these changes, the paper started making a profit again in 2003.

In 2005, the paper started a new international edition. This allowed people in London and southeast England to get the paper at the same time as other daily newspapers. Before this, copies were flown from Dublin, arriving later in the day.

In 2017, The Irish Times agreed to buy other newspapers, radio stations, and websites from a company called Landmark Media Investments. This deal was completed in 2018. After this, The Irish Times offered a voluntary program for staff to leave, which helped the company adjust to the new purchases.

Growing Beyond the Newspaper

The Irish Times company has grown beyond just publishing its main newspaper. It has invested in other businesses to make money.

• It bought a majority share in Gazette Group Newspapers, which publishes local papers in West Dublin.
• It also bought MyHome.ie, a large property website in Ireland. This was a way to make up for less money from traditional newspaper ads for property.

In 2009, the company announced a loss and that 90 staff would leave. The director who led the investment strategy later retired.

The managing director said in 2009 that phone apps would be important for newspapers. Today, The Irish Times has apps for iPhone and Android phones.

In 2024, the Irish Times Group bought RIP.ie, a website that publishes obituaries (notices about people who have died).

Political Views and Important Stories

The editor in the 1930s, R. M. Smyllie, was strongly against fascism. He disagreed with the Irish Catholic Church by opposing General Franco during the Spanish Civil War. During World War II, The Irish Times had issues with the Irish Government's censorship. The paper generally supported the Allies and did not agree with Ireland's policy of neutrality.

In 2003, a columnist named John Waters was fired and then rehired a week later. He had spoken out about the high salaries of the editor and other leaders at the paper. Another columnist, Fintan O'Toole, said that the salaries seemed too high, especially when the paper was also cutting jobs.

In 2004, The Irish Times reported on the Provisional IRA denying involvement in a large bank robbery. On the same day, the paper chose not to print a column by Kevin Myers that said the IRA was responsible. Myers later left the paper.

The Irish Times generally supported the Treaty of Lisbon in 2007. This treaty changed how the European Union works. However, the paper also printed opposing views from people who did not support the treaty.

In 2010, The Irish Times published an article about Irish people who joined the British Armed Forces. Some people criticized the article, saying it made the War in Afghanistan sound too good. They also said it might be like advertising for a foreign military, which is against Irish law.

In 2019, the paper reprinted an article from New York Times about the health risks of 5G technology. A complaint was made to the Press Council of Ireland. The council ruled that The Irish Times had not been fully accurate in its reporting.

How The Irish Times is Run

In 1974, the newspaper's ownership was given to The Irish Times Trust. This Trust is a special group that runs the paper. It is not a charity. It does not have shareholders who get money from profits. Instead, any money the paper makes must be used to make the newspaper stronger.

The Trust is made up of up to 11 Governors. These Governors are chosen to represent people from all over Ireland. As of 2012, Ruth Barrington was the chair of the trust. The Trust helps ensure the newspaper stays independent and serves the community.

In 2015, The Irish Times Trust Limited became a member of the European Press Prize.

Where The Irish Times Has Been: Its Offices

The Irish Times building, on Tara Street

The Irish Times Clock, originally mounted on the D'Olier Street building moved with the newspaper to the Tara Street offices in 2006.

In 1895, the paper moved its offices to D'Olier Street in Dublin. Because of this, "D'Olier Street" became a nickname for The Irish Times. People sometimes called the paper "The Old Lady of D'Olier Street." In October 2006, the paper moved to a new building on nearby Tara Street.

Irish Times Literature Prizes: Celebrating Books

The Irish Times started its Literature Prizes in 1988. These awards celebrated great books. The Irish Times International Fiction Prize was a big award for novels. It was given out every year until 2001.

Some of the winners of this prize include:

• 1989: Libra, by Don DeLillo
• 1990: Possession, by A. S. Byatt
• 1991: Wartime Lies, by Louis Begley
• 1992: Mating, by Norman Rush
• 1993: The Shipping News, by E. Annie Proulx
• 1995: The Master of Petersburg, by J. M. Coetzee
• 1997: Reading in the Dark, by Seamus Deane
• 1999: Birds of America: Stories, by Lorrie Moore
• 2001: Anil's Ghost, by Michael Ondaatje

What's Inside: Formats and Content

Regular Columns You Can Read

Some of the regular columns in The Irish Times include:

• An Irishman's Diary: A daily column with different topics.
• Another Life: A weekly column about nature, written and drawn by Michael Viney since 1977.
• Rite and Reason: A weekly column about religion. Many different religious leaders and thinkers have written for it.
• Social and Personal: A column about social events and people.

The Printed Newspaper: What You'll Find Each Day

The newspaper has a standard layout every day. The front page usually has one main picture and three main news stories. A "News Digest" column on the left gives a quick look at stories inside. It also includes lottery numbers and weather.

Inside, you'll find:

• Eight to twelve pages of "Home News" about Ireland, covering both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
• Pages for important stories like government reports or court cases.
• "World News" with stories from its reporters abroad and other news services. The Irish Times has reporters in London, Paris, Brussels, and Washington.

Special sections are published on different days:

• Thursdays: A supplement about residential property.
• Wednesdays: A motoring section.
• Fridays: An employment section and a business supplement. Also, The Ticket, an entertainment guide with reviews of films, music, and theatre.
• Saturdays: A "Weekend" section with news features, arts profiles, TV and radio columns, and book reviews. The Saturday edition also includes a "Magazine" with lifestyle features on food, wine, and gardening, plus travel and sports supplements.

The paper also has puzzles like Sudoku and crosswords. There is a page for letters from readers. A chess puzzle has been included since 1955.

You can also find political cartoons by Martyn Turner and the American cartoon strip, Doonesbury. The business section has a funny drawing by David Rooney every Friday.

On Wednesdays, there is a special page written in the Irish language.

The Digital Newspaper: Online Access

In 1994, The Irish Times became one of the first newspapers in the world to have a website. It was first at IEunet.ie, then Irish-times.ie in 1995.

In 1997, the company bought the website address Ireland.com. From 1999 to 2008, the online newspaper was published there. At first, it was free to read, but later you had to pay or register for most content.

In 2008, Ireland.com became a separate website about lifestyle. The newspaper's online edition moved to irishtimes.com. It was free to read, but you had to pay to look at old articles.

In 2012, the Ireland.com website address was sold to Tourism Ireland.

In 2015, The Irish Times started charging for access to its website, irishtimes.com, again. This is called a paywall.

Editors of The Irish Times

Writers and Contributors: Past and Present

Circulation: How Many Copies Are Sold?

Print Copies

The number of printed copies of The Irish Times sold has changed over the years. In 2011, about 100,000 copies were sold per day. By 2017, this number dropped to about 62,000. The newspaper's circulation is no longer officially checked.

Digital Subscribers

Digital circulation counts how many people pay for online subscriptions that include an ePaper (an electronic version of the newspaper). This does not include free student editions or basic online packages.

Newspapers Owned by The Irish Times DAC

The Irish Times company owns several other newspapers:

• The Irish Times
• Irish Examiner
• The Echo
• Roscommon Herald
• Western People
• Waterford News & Star
• The Nationalist (Carlow)
• Kildare Nationalist
• Laois Nationalist

Other Investments by The Irish Times DAC

The Irish Times company also has investments in other types of media:

Magazines

• Gloss Magazine (they own half of this magazine)

Radio Stations

• Beat 102-103
• WLR FM
• Red FM (they own a small part of this station)

Digital Businesses

• RecruitIreland.com (a recruitment website)
• BreakingNews.ie (a news website)
• Myhome.ie (a property website)

Other Businesses

• Itronics (a training company)
• DigitalworX (a company that publishes websites)

See Also

In Spanish: The Irish Times para niños

• List of newspapers in Ireland
• Irish Times National Debating Championship
• List of Irish companies
• The Times (United Kingdom)
• The New York Times (United States)