The Irish Press
Cover of last ever edition from 25 May 1995
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| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format |
Broadsheet (1931-1988) Tabloid (1988-1995) |
| Owner(s) | Irish Press Ltd. |
| Editor |
Frank Gallagher (1931-1935) William Sweetman (1935-50) Jim McGuinness (1953-57) Tim Pat Coogan (1968-1987) Hugh Lambert (1988-95) |
| Founded | 1931 |
| Political alignment | Nationalist / Republican |
| Ceased publication | 1995 |
| Headquarters | Burgh Quay, Dublin |
The Irish Press (Irish: Scéala Éireann ) was an Irish national daily newspaper published by Irish Press plc between 5 September 1931 and 25 May 1995.
The paper's first issue was published on the eve of the 1931 Kilkenny v Cork All Ireland Hurling Final; other newspapers did not cover GAA sports in any detail at the time. Margaret Pearse, the mother of Padraig and Willie Pearse, pressed the button to start the printing presses. The initial aim of its publisher was to achieve a circulation of 100,000 which it quickly accomplished. It went on to list a subscribership of 200,000 at its peak. Irish Press Ltd. was officially registered on 4 September 1928, three years before the paper was first published, to create a newspaper independent of the existing media where the Independent Newspapers group was seen as supporting Cumann na nGaedheal/Fine Gael, and The Irish Times being pro-union, and with a mainly middle-class or Protestant readership. The Irish Press founder Éamon de Valera said the paper's objective was: "To give the truth in the news, that will be the chief aim of The Irish Press. The Irish Press will be a truthful journal and a good newspaper". The founders planned to produce an evening and Sunday edition of the paper if the daily was successful, and they did.
The money to launch The Irish Press was raised in the United States during the Irish War of Independence by a bond drive to finance the First Dail. The amount raised was $5 million ($55 million adjusted for inflation as of 2011). However, 60 percent of this money was left in various banks in New York. Nobody has been able to explain why Éamon de Valera ordered the bulk of the money to be left in New York when he returned to Ireland in late 1920. In 1927, as a result of legal action between the Irish Free State government and de Valera, a court in New York ordered that the bond holders be paid back outstanding money due to them. However de Valera's legal team had anticipated the ruling and had prepared for the outcome. A number of circulars were sent to the bond holders asking them to sign over their holdings to de Valera. The bond holders were paid 58 cents to the dollar. This money was then used as start up capital to launch The Irish Press. Following the 1933 Irish General Election de Valera used his Dáil majority to pass a measure allowing the bond holders to be paid the remaining 42 percent of the money still owed.
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