Evening Herald executive editor Claire Grady will replace Stephen Rae as editor of the newspaper, Independent News & Media announced yesterday. She is to take over immediately.

The vacancy arose after former Evening Herald editor Rae took over as editor of the Irish Independent, earlier this month. In a change at the newspaper group’s editorial hierarchy, Rae will continue to have oversight of the Evening Herald.

Grady held the position of executive editor at the Herald for the past six years. Early in her career she worked for the Mayo News, the Connacht Telegraph and the Tallaght Echo.

She was a staff reporter at the Irish Independent and the Evening Herald for more than a decade. She is also a former deputy news editor at the Sunday Tribune.