Daily Ireland
 |
|
| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Tabloid |
| Owner(s) | Andersonstown News |
| Editor | Colin O'Carroll |
| Founded | January 2005 |
| Political alignment | Irish Republican |
| Headquarters | Teach Basil, Belfast |
| Circulation | 10,080 (as of January–June 2006) |
Daily Ireland was an Irish daily newspaper which existed from January 2005 to September 2006 to cover news stories from an Irish republican viewpoint. It was linked to the Belfast local newspaper, the Andersonstown News. In September 2006, the newspaper announced it was ceasing publication, with the 475th and last issue published on 7 September.
Its supporters regarded the paper as the first mass market Irish republican newspaper. Critics accused it of being overly supportive of the politics of Sinn Féin, the biggest nationalist party in Northern Ireland. Some supporters and opponents compared it to the defunct Irish Press newspaper, which was strongly associated with, and supportive of, Fianna Fáil.
A statement placed on the Department website by the Republic's Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell claimed the newspaper was backed by the Provisional IRA and compared it to the Nazi party newspaper the Völkischer Beobachter, 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 to date has refused to withdraw his comments, and told Daily Ireland he would see them in court. When they brought a suit against him in Belfast, his defence team declared that as Minister of Justice, McDowell had sovereign immunity. Judgement in the case was reserved.
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