Paul O’Neill has announced that he plans to step down as Editor of The Irish Times later this year after more than five years in the role.
He has informed Dan Flinter, the chairman and board of The Irish Times DAC, of his intention to step down as Editor and as a director of the company.
A recruitment process for a new editor will begin immediately and Mr O’Neill will remain in the post in the interim.
Mr O’Neill said that after 40 years with what is now The Irish Times Group, more than five years as Editor and eight years as Deputy Editor, he believed the time was right to depart.
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He joined The Irish Times in 1989 as London Correspondent and later worked as a news reporter, Crime Correspondent, Deputy News Editor and Finance Editor.
Aged 57, Mr O’Neill is originally from Waterford. He had previously worked for the Cork Examiner and the Waterford News & Star, both now part of The Irish Times Group.
“I began my career in a traditional newspaper company which has been transformed into a modern digital publisher which now holds top position in the Irish digital subscriptions market. Change of that magnitude has brought good days and bad. It is a work-in-progress and probably always will be,” he said.
“But I’ve been fortunate during my time in the editor’s office to be surrounded by colleagues who enabled evolution while ensuring our journalism remains true to the objects and ideals of The Irish Times Trust and continues to command the support of readers, subscribers and customers.”
Mr O’Neill expressed his sincere thanks to those he had worked with at The Irish Times, “who on a daily basis in Tara Street, Citywest and beyond, make possible what sometimes seems impossible.”
He thanked his former colleagues in the Irish Examiner, the Echo and the Waterford News & Star “who, long before they became part of The Irish Times Group, played a formative part in the early stages of my career.”
“I have been afforded many opportunities over the years and I will be eternally grateful to those who provide so much support and encouragement along the way,” he said.
“Last but not least, a special word of thanks to Irish Times readers and subscribers whose loyalty remains the defining measure of our success. They are a demanding audience and are as protective of ‘their’ Irish Times as any one of us who works with the company. It is a strong bond and long may it endure.”
Mr Flinter said Mr O’Neill had made “an extraordinary contribution to the Irish Times Group over the past 40 years and, in particular, as Editor over the past five-and-a-half years.
“Under his leadership The Irish Times completed the transformation into a digital publisher while ensuring that we continued to adhere to the core values of the Trust,” he said.
“We received his decision to step down with enormous regret but also with deep gratitude for what he has achieved. His legacy in The Irish Times will be lasting.
“For me, it has been a pleasure to work with him and to observe the commitment, judgment, energy and leadership he displayed as Editor. On behalf of the board and all our colleagues, I wish Paul and his family every good wish for the future.”
