IrishTimes.com
Irishtimes.com is the online platform for The Irish Times news organisation. The website was originally launched in 1994 (www.irish-times.com) and was the first online newspaper in Ireland and the UK. In 1999 Seamus Conaty launched a new version of the site (ireland.com) which was based primarily on the daily newspaper but included additional services like breaking news and an archive.
Readership of the website increased from 396,000 monthly users in October 1997 to 1,185,000 monthly users in March 2007. The launch of the online platform enabled The Irish Times to reach an international readership, particularly in the UK and North America. In 2010, they added The Irish Times News App and an ePaper app to the suite of platforms.
In 2015, The Irish Times launched a subscription model for its online content with the introduction of a metered paywall for readers, who can access a number of articles free of charge and then pay a subscription for full access. The Irish Times was the first Irish news publication to launch a subscription service.
In 2022 The Irish Times launched a major redesign of its website and app platforms foregrounding the variety of digital content available from the organisation.
Audience Share
MissingData
Ownership Type
Private
Geographic Coverage
National
Content Type
Paid content
Media Companies / Groups
The Irish Times DAC
Ownership Structure
irishtimes.com is operated by The Irish Times Group DAC which is ultimately owned by The Irish Times Trust CLG. The company has no shareholders but is managed by two boards, Board of The Irish Times Trust CLG and The Board of Directors The Irish Times DAC, members of which are appointed by the Board of The Irish Times Trust CLG. Three members of the Trust also sit on the Board of Directors.
Both the Trust and The Board of Directors are responsible for ensuring editorial independence and financial viability of The Irish TImes Group interests but they do not interfere with the day to day activities of the other, either editorial or commercial. The Board of Directors is responsible for the operational management of The Irish Times and it’s interests while the Trust is responsible for securing and maintaining the independence of The Irish TImes and protect it against a takeover. The core objective of the Trust is established in the Memorandum and Articles of Association, to ensure that The Irish Times remains::
“an independent newspaper primarily concerned with serious issues for the benefit of the community throughout the whole of Ireland, free from any form of personal or party political, commercial, religious or other sectional control.”
Voting Rights
All directors have a single vote in any decisions made. In the event where there is a disagreement, the three directors nominated to the board by the Trust have an effective veto where they have 50% of all votes plus 1. However, this can only be used in exceptional circumstances where a Board of Directors proposal contravenes the objectives, principles and standards set out in the Memorandum and Articles of Association for the Trust. In this event lawyers for the Trust and the Board must agree that the proposal constitutes a ‘significant policy’ under the Memorandum and Articles of Association for the Trust.
Individual Owner
General Information
Founding Year
1994
Affiliated Interests Founder
was the Editor of The Irish Times from 1986 to 2002. He originally joined the paper in 1969 reporting from Belfast and London. He left the paper to edit the Garda Review and subsequently worked at RTÉ as a radio reporter. In 1976 he returned to The Irish TImes as news features editor, before leaving again to edit the Sunday Tribune. He rejoined in 1983 as assistant editor and became deputy editor in 1985. His appointment as editor in 1986 was the first time there had been a catholic editor of The Irish Times in the paper’s history.
Affiliated Interests Ceo
Became Managing Director of The Irish Times Group in 2022, prior to this she was Deputy Editor of The Irish Times and a member of The Irish Times DAC Board since 2017. She joined The Irish Times in 1996 and held a number of journalistic roles, including as online editor and was a key figure in the development of The Irish Times online platform. Originally from Letterfrack, Mayo she studied in University of Galway and is now a member of the editorial advisory board at the School of Journalism.
Affiliated Interests Editor-In-Chief
Was appointed editor of The Irish Times in 2022 taking on the role vacated by Paul O’Neill. He joined The Irish Times in 2007 when he was awarded the Douglas Gageby Irish Times fellowship for young journalists. He has held various roles within The Irish Times including migration correspondent, Paris correspondent, legal affairs correspondent and foreign affairs correspondent. In 2017, he became an assistant editor. He is a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, University of Strasbourg and Cambridge University. In 2016, he wrote The Supreme Court, a book examining the history and role of this institution in Irish society. He has also won a number of awards for his journalism.
Affiliated Interests other important people
Chairman of the Board of The Irish Times Trust CLG, Fellow Emeritus and former Provost of Trinity College Dublin
Shay Garvey
Contact
Financial Information
Revenue (in Mill. $)
Missing Data
Operating Profit (in Mill. $)
Missing Data
Advertising (in % of total funding)
Missing Data
Market Share
Missing Data
Further Information
Meta Data
The latest Google Analytics data available on The Irish Times website records monthly user numbers of 10.8 million and 58 million monthly page views (October 2018). This figure includes Irish and International readers.
Historical data for growth of The Irish Times online readership is based on data from ABC (associated Bureau of Circulation) and Irish Times reported analytics data - monthly users increased from 396,000 October 1997 to 1,185,000 monthly users in March 2007.
Sources
O’Brien, M. (2008) The Irish Times: A History. Dublin: Four Courts Press.
Ellis, G. (2014) Trust Ownership and the Future of News: Media Moguls and White Knights. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.
Horgan, J. & Flynn, R. (2017), Irish Media A Critical History, Four Courts Press, Dublin
