Pressure of Truth
Exposing the spin on all sides of the news.
Outlet profile

Irish Star

Irish center-left tabloid

Owned byReach plc (UK-based newspaper group), which acquired full ownership in November 2020 by buying out Mediahuis Ireland's remaining 50% stake
FundingCommercial revenue from print and digital advertising and circulation sales, as part of Reach plc's broader newspaper portfolio
On the administrationbroadly critical

Background

The Irish Daily Star was founded on February 29, 1988, as an Irish-specific tabloid modeled on the UK's Daily Star but carrying substantially more Irish content. For most of its history it operated as a 50/50 joint venture between UK publisher Northern & Shell (owned by Richard Desmond) and Independent News & Media (later Mediahuis Ireland). In September 2012, the paper sparked a major controversy when it published topless photographs of Catherine, Princess of Wales; editor Michael O'Kane was suspended and later resigned, and owner Desmond threatened to close the Irish operation. Reach plc acquired Northern & Shell's stake and ultimately bought out Mediahuis Ireland's share in November 2020, becoming sole owner. The paper, now branded simply as the Irish Star, operates as a populist, left-leaning tabloid with a track record of sensationalist headlines and mixed factual accuracy ratings from media watchdogs. It covers Irish, UK, and international news and has been characterized by media analysts as relying heavily on volume-driven content production.

Sources

  1. Irish Daily Star – Wikipedia
  2. Reach completes acquisition of Irish Daily Star – News Brands Ireland
  3. Irish Star – Bias and Credibility – Media Bias/Fact Check
  4. Irish Daily Star profit climbed to €1.45m – Irish Times
  5. Media Ownership Monitor Ireland – Irish Daily Star

Profile compiled 2026-09-22; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

← Back to track record