The Irish Times

• 1. Founding And Early History

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  The first edition of The Irish Times appeared on the 29th of March 1859. Lawrence E. Knox, a twenty-two-year-old army officer, launched the publication from offices at 4 Lower Abbey Street in Dublin. Knox envisioned a moderate Protestant newspaper that would serve as a new conservative daily for Ireland. Initially, he published the paper three times weekly before shifting to a daily schedule within months. His main competitor during these early days was the Dublin Daily Express. Knox died in 1873, and the paper was sold to the widow of Sir John Arnott for £35,000. This sale moved headquarters to 31 Westmoreland Street, where the newspaper operated until 2005. Under Arnott ownership, the political outlook shifted dramatically toward Unionism. The paper became closely associated with the Irish Unionist Alliance and supported the execution of leaders following the failed 1916 Easter Rising.

• 2. Ownership And Governance Evolution

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  In 1974, ownership transferred to a non-charitable trust known as The Irish Times Trust. Major Thomas McDowell, an ex-British Army officer and MI5 agent who had previously owned the paper, became president for life of the trust. He received a large dividend while holding ten preference shares and one additional vote over all other directors combined. Several years later, the articles of the Trust were adjusted to give McDowell even more control. He died in September 2009. The Trust is regulated by a legal document called the Memorandum and Articles of Association. It has no beneficial shareholders and cannot pay dividends. Any profits must be used to strengthen the newspaper directly or indirectly. As of March 2023, John Hegarty chairs the Trust alongside governors including Edmond Harty, Maeve Carton, Catherine Day, Bernard Harbor, David Sterling, Fiach Mac Conghail, and Marguerite Sayers. These individuals are predominantly from an Irish public sector background. In 2015, The Irish Times Trust Limited joined as a member organisation of the European Press Prize.

• 3. Political Stances And Controversies

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  R. M. Smyllie served as editor during the 1930s with strong anti-fascist views that angered the Irish Catholic hierarchy. He opposed General Franco during the Spanish Civil War. During World War II, The Irish Times faced problems with Irish Government censorship while remaining largely pro-Allies. Douglas Gageby, the longest-serving editor, was allegedly called a white nigger by company chairman Thomas Bleakley McDowell in 1969 due to coverage of Northern Ireland at the outset of the Troubles. John Waters, a columnist who spoke out about perceived vast salaries of top executives, was sacked and re-hired a week later in November 2003. On the 23rd of December 2004, The Irish Times ran a front-page story denying Provisional IRA involvement in the Northern Bank robbery while refusing to print a column by Kevin Myers claiming they were responsible. Myers left the paper in May 2006 after this incident. On the 31st of July 2010, an article titled The fighting Irish featured interviews with members of the Royal Irish Regiment and the Irish Guards but was subsequently criticised for romanticising the War in Afghanistan.

• 4. Notable Columns And Contributors

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  Myles na gCopaleen wrote the biting and humorous Cruiskeen Lawn satire column from October 1940 until his death in 1966. Originally written in Irish, it later appeared in English under the anglicised spelling meaning little full jug. Brian O'Nolan used this pen name while also writing books as Flann O'Brien. An Irishman's Diary began in the forties under Patrick Campbell using the pseudonym Quidnunc. Seamus Kelly wrote it from 1949 to 1979, also as Quidnunc. In the early 2000s, Kevin Myers took over before moving to the rival Irish Independent. Frank McNally has usually written the column since then. Other regular columns include Backbencher by John Healy, Drapier produced weekly by a politician, Rite and Reason edited by Patsy McGarry, and Another Life written and illustrated since 1977 by Michael Viney. Senior international figures including Tony Blair and Bill Clinton have written for its op-ed page. The late Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald was once a columnist. Philip Reid serves as the paper's golf correspondent on sports pages.

• 5. Digital Transformation And Financial Challenges

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  The Irish Times launched an online edition of its newspaper in 1994 through IEunet.ie, which moved to Irish-times.ie in 1995. It became one of the first thirty newspapers globally to establish an online presence. Charges and registration fees were introduced in 2002 for access to most content. On the 30th of June 2008, the company relaunched ireland.com as a separate lifestyle portal while publishing the online edition at irishtimes.com. Access to news remained free but subscription charges applied to view archives. On the 15th of October 2012, John O'Shea announced that the ireland.com domain had been sold to Tourism Ireland for €495,000. The ending of the email service affected about 15,000 subscribers. Beginning in 2015, the paper reintroduced a paywall for its website starting the 23rd of February with costs up to €50 a month. In December 2025, it announced that for the first time, its journalism was fully funded by subscribers. The paper suffered considerable financial difficulty in 2002 when advertising revenue dropped alongside investment in a new printing plant. After posting losses of almost €3 million in 2002, the paper returned to profit in 2003.

• 6. Cultural Impact And Literary Prizes

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  The Irish Times Literature Prizes were established in 1988 with the inaugural International Fiction Prize awarded in 1989. The prize was worth £7,500 in 1998 and later became known as the Irish Times/Aer Lingus International Fiction Prize until Aer Lingus ceased sponsorship in 1992. Winners included Libra by Don DeLillo in 1989, Possession by A. S. Byatt in 1990, Wartime Lies by Louis Begley in 1991, Mating by Norman Rush in 1992, The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx in 1993, The Master of Petersburg by J. M. Coetzee in 1995, Reading in the Dark by Seamus Deane in 1997, Birds of America: Stories by Lorrie Moore in 1999, and Anil's Ghost by Michael Ondaatje in 2001. In 1998, a separate prize for works in the Irish language was first awarded. The paper also publishes residential property supplements every Thursday and entertainment supplements called The Ticket featuring film, music, theatre reviews, interviews, articles, and media listings. Three Sudoku puzzles and two crosswords appear daily including a cryptic crossword compiled by Crosaire and a Simplex crossword.