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The Sunday world was Ireland’s first tabloid newspaper, and is currently Ireland's second-best selling Sunday Paper. It describes itself as “The People's Paper”, with each issue garnering a readership of about 114,000 (2020).


The Sunday World was launched by Hugh McLaughlin and Gerry McGuinness on 25 March 1973, via The Creation Group, which had been launched by McLOughlin in 1956. Upon its initial publication, the Sunday World broke new ground in layout, content, agenda, columnists and use of sexual imagery. Being a tabloid newspaper, The Sunday World is characterized by bold, attention grabbing headlines and stories, often focusing on high profile criminal cases and court proceedings, and other sensationalist stories, which may not receive as much coverage elsewhere. The publication also includes celebrity news and gossip, as well as lifestyle and human interest content, and horoscopes and puzzles.


The Creation Group went into liquidation in 1977 and were forced to sell off titles, until Independent Newspapers and Media (INM) bought a 54% stake in the company. Today, The Sunday World is owned by Mediahuis Ireland (formerly Independent News and Media), a subsidiary of Mediahuis NV, whose shareholders comprise Mediahuis Partners NV (50.6%), Concentra (32.7%) and VP Exploitatie (16.7%)

Key Facts

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

Ownership

Ownership StructureThe Sunday World is owned by Mediahuis Ireland (Formerly Independent News and Media), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. Mediahuis' largest shareholders include the Belgian Baert Family (29.5%) via their 90% ownership Concentra, the Dutch van Puijenbroek Family (16.7%) via their 100% ownership of VP Exploitatie, and the Belgian Thmoas Leysen (13.25%) via his 26.5.% ownership of Mediahuis Partners NV.
Voting RightsMissing Data
Individual Owner

Media Companies / Groups

Facts

Founding Year1973
Founder
  • Hugh McLoughlin
    Established a tailoring business with his sister in 1935, before becoming involved with a printing company called Fleet, who published publications for Greyhound owners. In 1956 he started The Creation Group, which published a number of magazines, including Creation, a fashion and decor magazine edited by his wife, as well as The Farmers Journal, Women's Way and Business and Finance. Hugh McLoughlin went on to launch the Sunday Tribune in 1980 and the Daily News in 1982. In retirement McLaughlin invented a machine, the Water Hog, that removed water from cricket pitches and putting greens.
  • Gerry McGuinness
    Managed Dublin’s Carlton Cinema in the early 1960s, before becoming Managing Director of The Creation Group. For a brief period was next door neighbours with former Taoiseach Charles Haughey. The two houses are allegedly connected by an underground tunnel.
CEO
  • Peter Vandersmeersch
    Former editor of Flemish daily newspaper De Standaard from 1999 to 2010. Subsequently the editor-in-chief and director of Amsterdam-based daily NRC Handlesblad from 2010 to 2019. A well-known commentator on Belgian and Dutch radio and television, has authored books on the French president François Mitterrand and former U.S. President Bill Clinton. His wife, Francine Cunningham, works in Brussels as a regulatory and public affairs director for international law firm Bird & Bird, advising companies on EU regulation in the technology, content and media sectors.
Editor-In-Chief
  • Brian Farrell
    The Editor-in-Chief of Sunday World
ContactIndependent House
27 - 32 Talbot Street
D01 X2E1 Dublin 1
news@sundayworld.com
+353 (0)1 705 5333
www.sundayworld.com
RevenueMissing Data
Operating ProfitMissing Data
Advertising (in % of total funding)Missing Data
Market ShareMissing Data
Headlines
Meta DataCIrculation of 114,854 taken from publishers statement , reflects average sales from January to June 2020.

No information about voting rights of shareholders available.

Revenue, operating Profit and Advertising not available at level of Publication.

Within the media industry in Ireland reporting on income levels are generally at group level rather than individual title level. On top of this, overall revenue details for the market as a whole are unavailable. Due to these factors it is not possible to report accurately on market share for individual titles or groups.

There is currently no standard audience measurement available for print and online news titles in Ireland. Individual titles publish data on readership or users but measurement parameters and sources vary between organisations, therefore it is not possible to report an accurate audience share for the purposes of this project.
Sources