The Irish Post is the biggest selling national newspaper for the Irish community in Great Britain. It is published every Wednesday and is available in stores all across Britain and in selected stores in the Republic of Ireland.
History
The first print edition of The Irish Post was published on Friday, February 13, 1970. It was founded in February 1970 by journalist Breandán Mac Lua and Tony Beatty, a businessman from County Waterford in Ireland. Thomas Crosbie Holdings acquired the paper in 2003. It went through a brief period of uncertainty in August 2011 when TCM put the paper into voluntary liquidation, citing five years of financial losses as the reason. Following a period of more than six weeks off the shelves, during which staff and supporters of the title launched the 'Save the Irish Post' campaign, the title was bought by Cork-born, London-based businessman Elgin Loane as a going concern. Loane, a publisher who owns a number of titles in Britain and Ireland, including Loot and Buy&Sell, re-employed the majority of former staff of the paper at his Loot offices in Smithfield, London. The first edition of the re-launched title was published on 19 October 2011. The Irish Post website was relaunched in early 2013 as a daily news site for the Irish in Britain and saw 1,000% growth the same year. The Irish Post launched a business-focused glossy magazine series in 2013. It has grown year on year, and includes titles such as Building Britain, Companies100 and In Business. The Irish Post is particularly popular in areas of Britain with large groups of Irish expatriates such as Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds and London. On 2 February 2017, The Irish Post announced that it intended to acquire the Irish TV channel. Founder Breandán Mac Lua was the first editor other editors of the paper have included Donal Mooney who joined as a journalist in 1973, Frank Murray, Mal Rogers and Siobhan Breatnach became editor in 2012.
''Irish Post'' Awards
The Irish Post hosts the annual Irish Post Awards in October each year, bringing together notable Irish individuals from across Britain to celebrate their successes in the fields of business, entertainment, sport, technology and design. Eamonn Holmes acts as the Master of Ceremonies for the largest event of its type, which brings 700 people together at The London Hilton on Park Lane. High-profile award winners in recent years include Michael Flatley who accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013 and Golden Globe winning Irish actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers accepting the Legend Award in 2014. The Irish Post Awards in 2015 honoured Hollywood actress Fionnuala Flanagan, impresario Louis Walsh and football legend George Best. The 2016 Irish Post Awards ceremony increased significantly in size, being held in the Great Room at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane, London. The keynote speaker was the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan. There were over 1,000 guests in attendance to see Ireland Football Manager Martin O'Neill, EastEnders actor Shane Richie and Premier League winners' Leicester City CEO Susan Whelan among other take to the honours. In 2017, the Awards ceremony was televised live to Ireland on national broadcaster TG4 and Bob Geldof picked up the Lifetime Achievement Award. The Awards received fantastic approval as a wonderful Irish diaspora event. The Irish PostCountry Music Awards were broadcast live from the Millenium Forum in Derry on 11 September 2018, to widespread acclaim.
