The Republic's longest-serving newspaper editor, Vincent Doyle, has stepped down as editor of the Irish Independent after 24 years. He will be replaced immediately by Gerry O'Regan, editor of the Evening Herald.
Mr O'Regan said he hoped to build on the strengths of the existing paper, but had no intention of scrapping the broadsheet edition.
Mr Doyle (68) said it was time to make way for a younger man. "Journalism is a young man's game and there is a hectic period ahead." He will continue in an advisory capacity as editor emeritus.
He said he was stepping down with no regrets and the paper had never been in better shape. "Circulation is going well and morale is very good," Mr Doyle said. However, he said the paper faced considerable competitive challenges from a new Metro product and also from an Irish edition of the Daily Mail.
Asked why he was stepping down now, he said: "I think you should know yourself when it's time to move on."
The Irish Independent is currently printed in both compact and broadsheet formats. In recent weeks, the compact has taken precedence in the production cycle over the broadsheet.
Some journalists have suggested Mr Doyle was unhappy about this, but he denied yesterday there was any acrimony behind his decision to step down.
"My attitude to the two formats is put them out there and let the market decide. There is no doubt that around the world compacts are the way to go, but we'll just have to see how things work out in Ireland."
Sir Anthony O'Reilly, chief executive of Independent News & Media, said Mr Doyle was one of the most remarkable editors of the past century. "He has presided over a generation of unprecedented change in the newspaper industry while retaining the core ethos of the Irish Independent," he said.
Mr O'Regan (55) joins the Irish Independent after six years editing the Evening Herald. A native of Co Kerry, Mr O'Regan is a former editor of the Irish Daily Star. Some observers are tipping former security correspondent and current news editor Stephen Rae to become Evening Herald editor.
The Irish secretary of the National Union of Journalists, Seamus Dooley, wished Mr Doyle well and described him as an "extremely hard-working editor". He said Mr Doyle's successor had a "vigorous style" but was well known to staff at the paper, which was an advantage.