The Irish Post has closed after serving the Irish community in the UK since 1970
The Irish Post, the UK's largest newspaper for the Irish community, has been closed, resulting in the loss of 10 full-time jobs.
Staff at the Post, which was first published more than 40 years ago, were told on Friday that the previous Wednesday's edition was to be the last.
All 10 staff will lose their jobs, Cork-based publisher Thomas Crosbie Holdings (TCH) said in a statement.
TCH, which also publishes the Irish Examiner and the Sunday Business Post, said the closure was "the result of the severe economic downturn and significantly reduced advertising revenues" at the title.
Dan Linehan, TCH's regional newspapers chief executive, paid tribute to the newspaper's staff: "They have been part of our group for eight years and they have tried very hard to make the newspaper work. Regrettably, persistent trading losses and the current economic climate have made the title unsustainable."
Barry Fitzpatrick, NUJ head of publishing said the publisher should take more time to consider alternatives to closure.
"The Irish people living in Britain are losing a treasured expression of their community. Once again we seem to be losing another valued part of our media due to the failure of its ownership to work together with the journalists and find solutions to the challenges that it faced.
“The abrupt closure should be reconsidered to allow more time to consider alternatives."
The Irish Post was established in 1970 by journalist Breandan Mac Lua and accountant Tony Beatty. The title was later sold to Jefferson Smurfit and then to TCH which paid £1.7 million for it in 2003. At the time of the TCH deal the newspaper had an average circulation of 31,500 but that figure had nearly halved to 17,100 by the time it was sold.
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