Derry Journal

About Derry Journal

The Derry Journal is not just a newspaper; it is a witness to history. Founded on 3 June 1772 — before the American Declaration of Independence — it is the second oldest newspaper still in existence in Ireland and the oldest regional paper on the island. Published twice weekly on Tuesday and Friday in Derry, Northern Ireland, and read on both sides of the Irish border, it has documented the French Revolution, the 1798 rebellion, the Famine, the partition of Ireland, the Troubles and the peace process. Today it is operated by Media Concierge and publishes online at derryjournal.com.

History and Founding

The Derry Journal and General Advertiser was launched on Wednesday 3 June 1772 by founding editor George Douglas, printed in the Diamond area of Derry. It was a four-page paper costing one penny, initially published on Wednesday and Saturday. In October of its launch year, publication days were changed to Tuesday and Friday; in 1877 it became a daily paper for a brief time, but this lasted just three months before it became a tri-weekly publication (Monday, Wednesday and Friday). In January 1958 the paper reverted to its current publishing schedule of Tuesday and Friday.

In its early days the paper's editorial policy reflected the Protestant community who would become known as Unionists. But in 1829 the paper endorsed Catholic Emancipation — equal rights for Catholics — leading the then editor, William Wallen, to resign in protest and found the rival Londonderry Sentinel and North West Advertiser. The paper's position became more nationalist throughout the nineteenth century, and it was renamed the Derry Journal in 1880 — adopting the nationalist name for the city.

The paper celebrated its 250th anniversary in 2022 with a special edition featuring the memories of veteran staff and local people, and an exhibition of its front pages — from the very first edition of 3 June 1772 to the present day — at Ulster University's Magee campus, showing "how events and people have shaped" the North-West of Ireland.

Coverage Area and Readership

The Derry Journal is based in Derry, Northern Ireland, and its patch straddles the border of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, covering County Derry/Londonderry as well as County Donegal in the Republic. Few newspapers in these islands serve a cross-border community so directly, and the paper's journalism reflects the intertwined life of the North-West: Derry City Council politics, Donegal County Council, cross-border health and transport issues, the courts on both sides of the border, education, and the cultural life of a region with a distinct identity.

Sport coverage follows Derry City FC at the Brandywell, Donegal's Gaelic games teams, and the area's rich sporting life across both codes. Circulation is audited separately for the two editions: Tuesday 3,288 and Friday 3,936 — modest print figures that belie the title's historic significance and its wider digital reach.

Ownership

The Journal's modern ownership history tracks the consolidation of the Irish and UK regional press. In 1998, the Mirror Group bought the Derry Journal for £18.25 million, acquiring a group that also included the Donegal Democrat, the Donegal People's Press and the free Journal Extra — a combined paid-for circulation of 75,941 copies a week at the time. Mirror Group chief executive David Montgomery said the acquisition fitted the group's strategy of buying strong regional titles, pledging to "respect its traditions and editorial ethos". The McCarroll family, then majority shareholders, agreed to resign their directorships while the management team remained.

The title passed through the Trinity Mirror era and then into the Johnston Press/JPI Media group, operated by a holding company entitled Derry Journal Newspapers. JPI Media was acquired by National World in January 2021, and in May 2025 National World was itself acquired by Media Concierge — the company led by Malcolm Denmark — in a £65.1 million deal, after which the business was rebranded as Iconic Media. The Derry Journal is today operated by Media Concierge.

It is a sister paper of the Sunday Journal, described as the only local newspaper published in Ireland on a Sunday.

Editorial Approach

The paper's political alignment is Irish nationalism — a position it has held since the 19th century, when it changed course from its Presbyterian origins to support Catholic emancipation and Irish nationalism, and it remains a strong voice of nationalism today. Within that tradition, its journalism follows the classic local-paper model: rigorous reporting on councils, courts, health and education, campaigning on local issues, and serving as a forum for the community's debates.

The editor is Brendan McDaid, who oversaw the 250th-anniversary edition and exhibition; the editor-in-chief is William Allen. A former editor, Arthur Duffy, was honoured in 2017 after 40 years with the newspaper — having started as an apprentice compositor on 31 January 1977, worked his way up to reporter in 1988, spent 25 years as sports editor, and taken the editorship in 2015.

Print and Digital Presence

In print, the Derry Journal is a twice-weekly tabloid, published on Tuesday and Friday from its headquarters in Derry. Online, derryjournal.com carries news throughout the week, extending the paper's reach to the Donegal and Derry diaspora around the world — a significant audience for a region shaped by emigration, whose departing generations the paper itself once documented by name.

The website carries breaking news, sport, community content and death notices, with social media distribution and digital subscriptions supporting the print editions. Like other Media Concierge/Iconic Media titles, it is adapting the twice-weekly print rhythm to a 24/7 digital news cycle.

Notable Coverage

No regional newspaper in Ireland has a deeper archive of historic events. As editor-in-chief William Allen noted at the 250th anniversary, the Journal's history is intertwined with the history of the North-West of Ireland: "Its establishment pre-dated the American Declaration of Independence, it documented the names of many Irish people who emigrated to that country when it was new; it reported on the French Revolution, the United Irish rebellion of 1798, the Famine and, of course, the various political and military struggles for self-rule for Ireland, and the reunification of the country, including the most recent 'Troubles' and peace process."

The paper reported Derry's transformation from a walled merchant city to an industrial centre, the shirt factories and the docks, the civil rights era and the darkest years of the Troubles — including Bloody Sunday in 1972, when 14 civil rights marchers were killed in the city — and the long road to the Good Friday Agreement and power-sharing. Its front pages, displayed at the Magee exhibition, form a visual history of Ireland's North-West across two and a half centuries.

Community Role

"Our story is very much your story," editor Brendan McDaid told readers at the 250th anniversary — and for Derry and Donegal, that is literally true. The Journal's birth, marriage and death notices have recorded the milestones of local families for generations; its sports pages have celebrated the triumphs of Derry City, Donegal GAA and the area's clubs; and its campaigns have championed causes from the expansion of Ulster University's Magee campus to cross-border infrastructure.

In a city where identity itself — Derry or Londonderry — is contested, the paper's 1880 decision to adopt the nationalist name for the city was a defining statement, and its continued presence as a nationalist voice makes it an essential part of the region's media plurality.

Recent Developments

The 250th anniversary in 2022 was both a celebration and a statement of intent: a quarter of a millennium in print, marked with a commemorative edition full of testimonies from political and community leaders and the memories of staff past and present. The Magee campus exhibition brought the paper's front pages to a new generation of readers.

The 2025 acquisition of National World by Media Concierge placed the Journal within a new publishing group that has pledged to build on the strength of its titles and the trust they hold in their local communities. For a newspaper that has survived the penal laws' aftermath, the Famine, partition, the Troubles and the digital revolution, the next chapter is simply the latest in a story that began with George Douglas's four-page penny paper in the Diamond, one Wednesday in June 1772.