Ireland's press: dailies, broadcasters and news websites

Irish news is read mainly in English: The Irish Times, the Irish Independent and the Irish Examiner lead the dailies, RTÉ is the public broadcaster, TheJournal.ie leads digital news, and outlets such as TG4 and Raidió na Gaeltachta serve Irish speakers.

From the Cork Examiner to the digital age

Irish newspaper history goes back to the eighteenth century, but today's leading titles were born in the nineteenth: the Cork Examiner in 1841 and The Irish Times in Dublin in 1859. The Irish Independent followed in 1905, before the Free State in 1922.

Which national dailies to read in Dublin?

The Irish Times, owned by a trust, is known for its political and international coverage. The Irish Independent, owned by the Belgian group Mediahuis, targets a broad readership. The Cork-based Irish Examiner keeps strong roots in the province of Munster.

English dominates while Irish holds its ground

Almost all news is published in English. Irish, an official language, still has its own outlets: the TG4 channel in Connemara, the Raidió na Gaeltachta station and the Tuairisc.ie website, all useful for following the Gaeltacht regions closely.

County weeklies and the local press

Every county has its weeklies, such as the Connacht Tribune in Galway, the Limerick Leader and The Kerryman. They cover council meetings, farming, local courts and GAA clubs with a level of detail that the Dublin dailies simply cannot match.

TheJournal.ie and other digital-native outlets

Launched in 2010, TheJournal.ie has become a leading free news site, complete with a fact-checking section. The big dailies also offer mobile apps, morning newsletters and podcasts, with The Irish Times a good example of that wider digital offer.

No national agency: who supplies the wire copy?

Ireland has no public news agency comparable to AFP. Newsrooms rely on PA Media, which runs a Dublin bureau, on Reuters and on their own correspondents at the Dáil, the parliament that sits in Leinster House in the capital.

RTÉ, the backbone of public broadcasting

Raidió Teilifís Éireann runs the RTÉ One television news, the RTÉ Radio 1 station and a heavily visited news website. The RTÉ Player lets you listen live from abroad, although some television programmes remain subject to geographic restrictions.

A diaspora with newspapers of its own

Millions of people of Irish descent live in Britain and North America. The Irish Post in London and the Irish Echo in New York relay news from home, and readers can widen the picture with the British press and American newspapers.

Business, tech and Gaelic games

The Business Post, published on Sundays, tracks finance, property and the multinationals based in Dublin. In sport, hurling and Gaelic football take up plenty of space in the Irish Independent, while The42 website covers rugby, GAA and soccer.

How is the Irish press regulated?

The Press Council of Ireland and its Ombudsman, both set up in 2008, examine complaints against member newspapers. Broadcasting has fallen under Coimisiún na Meán since 2023. Defamation law, long considered harsh by publishers, has been reformed by the legislature.

Belfast and the papers across the border

In Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, the Belfast Telegraph, the Irish News and the News Letter reflect different communities. Reading them helps explain the debates over Brexit, the trade protocol and power-sharing at Stormont.

Subscriptions, free access and cross-checking

The Irish Times and the Irish Independent keep part of their journalism for subscribers, whereas RTÉ and TheJournal.ie stay free. Checking these sources against other titles in the European press gives a more balanced view of Irish news.

Following Irish news from abroad

1. Pick a reference daily, The Irish Times or the Irish Independent, and add the free TheJournal.ie site.
2. Listen live to RTÉ Radio 1, especially the Morning Ireland programme, for the day's main headlines.
3. Add a weekly from the county you care about, for example in Cork, Galway or Donegal, for local news.
4. Turn on alerts in the RTÉ News app or sign up for the morning newsletters of the Dublin dailies.
5. Compare how a Dublin title and a Belfast paper cover the same Northern Ireland story.
6. Check the publication date and byline before sharing an article, particularly during election campaigns.

Reading the Irish press: free or paid?

Key facts for reading Irish media

• Languages: mostly English; Irish (Gaelic) for TG4, Raidió na Gaeltachta and Tuairisc.ie
• Public broadcaster: RTÉ (Raidió Teilifís Éireann)
• Wire copy: no public agency; PA Media and Reuters cover Ireland
• Reference daily: The Irish Times; business: Business Post; sport: The42
• Time zone: Dublin time, the same as London
• Subscription currency: euro (EUR)

Traps to avoid in the Irish press online

• Mistaking the Irish Daily Mail or The Irish Sun, local editions of British tabloids, for Irish papers of record.
• Treating a British site covering Northern Ireland as a Dublin outlet, even though the two jurisdictions have distinct laws and institutions.
• Sharing an old Brexit or border story without checking whether it predates the agreements reached since.
• Trusting sites that copy the layout of RTÉ or The Irish Times in order to spread false information.
• Using paywall-bypass services, which often expose readers to malware and deprive newsrooms of revenue.

Common questions about Irish newspapers