The Leinster Express

Logo of The Leinster Express

The Leinster Express is a weekly local newspaper published in Portlaoise, County Laois, in the Midlands region of Ireland. The Express was founded by businessman Henry W. Talbot in 1831, making it one of the oldest provincial papers in Ireland and the first in County Laois (then known as the Queen’s County). In contrast to many other provincial Irish newspapers, especially those founded in the late 19th century, the Leinster Express adopted a decidedly conservative, pro-British stance. Its early motto was “The Law - the King- the People”.
 
Following Talbot’s death, his family sold the paper to Michael Charles Carey who, along with his son (also Michael Charles Carey), managed and edited the paper until 1943. Remarkably, the Careys maintained the conservative/loyalist editorial stance into the 1940s, at a point when it was somewhat misaligned with the prevailing mood of what was by then an independent Irish state.
 
After the death of Michael Charles Carey junior, the paper passed to his niece, Mrs Tisdall who entered a partnership with PT Montford. However, after Montford’s death in 1947, the paper was acquired by Freddy and Rose Townsend, who ran the paper until their son Freddy Jr took over at the start of the 1970s.
 
Under Freddie jr, the Express switched from a broadsheet to a tabloid format in 1970 (one of the first local papers to do so). However, such innovations were not enough to stabilise the paper’s finances, and in 1972 the paper was sold to the PMPA Insurance Group.  
 
Following a capital injection from PMPA, the paper was sold on again to Derry Quinn and Teddy Fennelly. As Managing Director, Quinn introduced more innovation, acquiring the Kilkenny Standard in 1980 and launching a sister paper, the Offaly Express, in 1984. He oversaw the merger of the Express with the Leinster Leader Group in 1999 and remained as managing director of the Express until 2005.
 
The Leader Group’s holdings were purchased by UK-based Johnstown Press in 2005, and then in 2014, were acquired by Iconic Media.
 
The Leinster Express is currently operated by Formpress Publishing Ltd., which is owned by Iconic Media. Iconic is owned by Media Concierge (Holdings) Limited, which is wholly owned by The Denmark Family, with UK businessman Malcolm Denmark as the controlling shareholder.
 
Today, the Leinster Express publishes a print edition on Tuesdays and operates laoislive.ie, which provides similar content to its print edition. The Express has a print circulation of approximately 8,000.

Key Facts

Audience ShareMissing Data
Ownership TypePrivate
Geographic CoverageLocal
Content TypePaid
Data Publicly Available
ownership data is easily available from other sources, e. g. public registries etc.

Ownership

Ownership Structure

The Leinster Express is operated by Formpress Publishing Limited, which is owned by Iconic Newspapers Limited. The parent organisation of Iconic Newspapers Limited is Media Concierge (Holdings) Limited (previously Mediaforce (Holdings) Limited). The Denmark Family is the sole owner of the media group. Malcolm Denmark, who owns 75% of shares, is identified as the controlling shareholder in accounts filed with Companies House in the UK for Media Concierge (Holdings) Limited. The remaining company shares are owned by C.N. Denmark (15%), T.C. Denmark (9%), and V.M. Denmark (0.76%).

Voting RightsMalcolm (M.C.) Denmark is identified as the controlling shareholder in accounts filed with Companies House in the UK for Media Concierge (Holdings) Limited.
Individual Owner

Media Companies / Groups

Facts

Founding Year1831
Founder
  • Henry Talbott

    Henry W. Talbot was a Dublin-based businessman and founder of the Leinster Express, which appears to have been his primary enterprise. He founded the Express in 1831 and remained its proprietor until his death in 1859. In his first editorial he wrote: “Bound to no party, the partisans of no faction, we pledge ourselves to perform the arduous duties of a public journalist fearlessly and impartially, neither aspiring to the patronage of the great and powerful, or courting the smiles of an ephemeral popularity.” Despite Talbot’s claim that the paper was ‘impartial’, a clear conservative leaning was reflected in its motto, “The Law – The King – The People”.

CEO
  • Malcolm Denmark

    Malcolm Denmark is an advertising executive who established Mediaforce UK in 1985 as an advertising agency which represented media owners to advertising agencies, focussing mainly on regional outlets across the UK. The business also includes the production and distribution of inserts in local and national titles and has expanded into print and online outlet ownership through an aggressive acquisition policy focusing on regional and local media publishers in the UK and Ireland. 

    Since the establishment of Mediaforce, Malcolm Denmark’s business interests have expanded in this sector and he has established Media Concierge (Holdings) Ltd. This company includes a number of subsidiaries including Mediaforce and business activities include a full range of advertising services from representation, and marketing to publishing and distribution, Iconic Media in Ireland (Mediaforce Ireland/Formpress) the news publishing section of his business interests. Outside his media interests (advertising, publishing, print production and distribution) Malcolm Denmark also has interests in property and is the owner of multiple race horses.
     
    Malcolm Denmark owns 75.2% of Media Concierge, alongside his son Callum Nicolas Denmark’s 15%, his daughter Tara Clare Denmark’s 9% and Valerie Mary Denmark (born 1957) 0.76%.

Editor-In-Chief
  • Laura McLoughlin

    Laura McLoughlin has served as the managing editor of the Leinster Express 2024, when she replaced long-time editor Pat Somers (now a barrister at law). McLoughlin is the first female editor in the paper’s history. She previously worked for six years as editor of Donegal News, based in Letterkenny.

Contact107 Lower Main Street
Portlaoise
Co. Laois
Ireland
news@leinsterexpress.ie
057-8621666
www.laoislive.ie
RevenueMissing Data
Operating ProfitMissing Data
Advertising (in % of total funding)Missing Data
Market ShareMissing Data
Headlines
Meta Data

Historical Information about the Leinster Express from the paper’s website, as well as from the Irish Newspaper Archives. Information about circulation was gathered from www.medialive.ie.

Ownership and financial information was gathered from the FAME Database (Moody’s) regarding Formpress Publishing Limited, Iconic Newspapers Limited, and Media Concierge (Holdings) Limited. 

Information regarding managing editor, Laura McLoughlin, was sourced from laoislive.ie and her LinkedIn profile. 

An average 2023 exchange rate of EUR 1 = GBP 0.8629 and EUR 1 = USD 1.181 was used (European Central Bank).

Accurate estimation of outlet market share was not possible because reporting on income levels in Ireland is typically done at the group level rather than the individual title level. Additionally, overall revenue details for the market as a whole are not available. 

Accurate estimation of audience share is not possible. Although Kantar collects publicly available figures on readership for national titles, parallel figures are not available for regional and local newspapers. Individual outlets may publish data on readership or users; however, measurement parameters and sources vary between organisations, thereby limiting opportunities for comparison.

Sources
Documents (PDF)
  • Compiled Financial Data Formpress Publishing Limited
    Link File
  • Financial Statement Formpress Publishing Limited (2023)
    Link File
  • 150 Years Serving the Midlands
    Link File
  • Financial Statement Bauer Media Audio Ireland Ltd. (2023)
    Link File