New Managing Director & new Editor for the Kerryman

Donagh O'Doherty, FCMA, was previously Managing Director of the Drogheda Independent Company Limited and before that Circulation Manager of Independent Newspapers. He negotiated and implemented the full digitisation of the Drogheda Independent and planned and directed the launch of three new titles, including the Dundalk Argus and the Fingal Independent, in his period as Managing Director. Donagh (40) is a graduate of the Marketing Institute and is married with four children. He is also a director of RMBI, the company set up to run the online activities of all of the regional titles in Ireland on the Unison platform. During his time at the Drogheda Independent, circulation increased from 22,000 to 29,000 copies per week.

Declan Malone (37) was previously Deputy Editor of the Kerryman, and has been with the paper for eleven years. A native of Dingle, he is the first Kerry born editor of the paper in over a quarter of a century. He graduated with a B.A. from University of Dublin, Trinity College in 1985.

The Kerryman is Ireland's most successful regional paper with over 90% of the adult population of the county reading it on a weekly basis. Founded in 1904, the Kerryman is growing from strength to strength, in recent years adding over 4,000 copies to its weekly sales with the combined Kerryman and Corkman now selling some 37,000 copies per week.

Announcing the new appointments, the Managing Director of Independent Newspapers (Ireland) Gavin O'Reilly said: "I believe that Donagh and Declan will be an unbeatable team at the Kerryman. Donagh has achieved impressive successes at the Drogheda Independent and will bring this winning formula to the Kerryman. With his local knowledge and experience, Declan as the new Editor will help the paper to become even more relevant to its discerning readership".

Ends. Tuesday, 9th May 2000 For Reference: Jim Milton
Murray Consultants Limited
Tel: +353 - 1 - 632 6400 +353 - 86 - 255 8400