Gript.ie
Gript.ie was established as an online news outlet by John McGuirk, previously best known for his association with businessman and political activist Declan Ganley and for his work with the campaign to retain the constitutional ban on abortion which was removed following a referendum on the subject in 2018.
Gript describes its editorial line as seeking to create a space to challenge what it characterizes as the “consensus views” expressed by “our schools, our universities, our media and our politicians”. It cites immigration policy, gender identity, the environment and religion as examples of where this consensus prevails. Broadly speaking then Gript.ie’s editorial line might be described as a socially conservative populism, advocating for the preservation of “traditional” values.
There is little public Information regarding the finances of Gript.ie. A 2019 Sunday Business Post article suggested that Gript had spent €50,000 on establishment costs and planned to spend a further €80,000 per annum on recurring costs. However, the annual accounts of the company do not report revenues, expenditures or profit and loss (as is permitted for small companies under the 2014 Companies Act). This makes it difficult to assess the impact (of any) of external financial influences on the company. The company earns some revenues from a soft paywall (the most recent articles are freely available but older material requires a €10, €25 or €50 subscription depending on level of access) but there is no information publicly available regarding the numbers of subscribers.
An Irish Times article from 2020 described the initial establishment of Gript.ie as having been funded by “The Life Institute and donations from supporters.” However, this adds little clarity to any understanding of Gript.ie’s finances since The Life Institute’s own finances are less than clear. The Life Institute was co-founded in 2008 by Niamh Ui Bhriain (one of two shareholders in Gript Media Limited) as a pro-life campaign organisation to promote the sanctity of human life and the protection of the family. According to an Irish Times report in 2014, the Life Institute was founded with a €410,000 interest free loan from an “independent voluntary organisation sympathetic to the company’s aims and objectives”. The identity of that organisation is not clear.
Audience Share
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Ownership Type
Private
Geographic Coverage
National
Content Type
Free content
Media Companies / Groups
Gript Media Ltd.
Individual Owner
General Information
Founding Year
2019
Affiliated Interests Founder
studied Political Science at Trinity College Dublin from 2002 to 2006. He briefly worked in public relations before becoming Director of Communications for Libertas, a socially conservative, Eurosceptic political party which contested three Irish constituencies in the 2009 European elections. Libertas was led by the Irish businessman Declan Ganley and when the party was wound down after failing to secure a seat at the 2009 elections, McGuirk became Director of Communications at the Ganley group of companies. In 2016 he moved to another Ganley-led company, Rivada Networks, a telecoms company where he has worked as Vice President for Corporate Communications.
McGuirk has been a frequent contributor to Irish public life as a media pundit where he has consistently expressed a combination of libertarian AND socially conservative views. He was a leading figure in the campaign to retain Ireland’s constitutional ban on abortion, which was removed following a referendum in 2018.
Affiliated Interests Ceo
CEO of Gript.ie, for more see above
Affiliated Interests Editor-In-Chief
Editor-in-Chief, for more see above
Affiliated Interests other important people
Though neither a director of the company nor a shareholder, Declan Ganley has been John McGuirk’s employer since 2007 and McGuirk has described Mr Ganley as “a close friend for over a decade”. Born in England in 1968 to Irish parents, Declan Ganley is a telecommunications entrepreneur. He co-founded Broadnet in 1996 which operated internet/telecoms services across the EU and in which Comcast took a majority shareholding in 1998. Ganley later completely divested himself of his Broadnet holdings but, as of 2023, remains active in the sector as the chairman and CEO of Rivada Networks which he established in 2004 and which specializes in wireless spectrum arbitrage.
Ganley has also been a political activist on two main issues: the development of the European Union and abortion rights. His Libertas Institute lobby group (established in 2008) successfully campaigned against ratification of the LIsbon Treaty by the Irish electorate in June 2008. Later that year, he established Libertas as a political party to contest the 2009 European elections. The party fielded more than 600 candidates across the EU but only one was elected (in France). Ganley himself ran and secured a respectable 13% (70,000) of the total votes cast in his constituency but this was insufficient to secure a seat.
Ganley is also avowedly against abortion and campaigned against the removal of the constitutional ban on abortion in a 2018 referendum.
Contact
Financial Information
Revenue (in Mill. $)
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Operating Profit (in Mill. $)
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Advertising (in % of total funding)
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Market Share
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Further Information
Meta Data
The Companies Act 2014 provides a reporting exemption for small companies (sub €12m annual turnover) with regard to their turnover. Many (most) companies of this size avail of this exemption. Hence the financial accounts filed by Gript Media Limited with the Companies Registration Office in Ireland contain little to no information about the company’s revenues and expenditures.
