Today's edition of the Irish Post, which returns after a two-month closure
Irish community newspaper the Irish Post returns to Britain's newsstands today after being closed by its former owner two months ago.
The title, which was first published in 1970, was rescued in September by Irish businessman Elgin Loane, whose publishing company Printing Investments Ltd also publishes classified advertising title Loot.
Loane stepped in to purchase the title after it was closed in August by former owner Thomas Crosbie Holdings with the loss of ten jobs. He reportedly beat four rival bids for the paper, striking a deal at the end of September for an undisclosed sum.
The closure of the title prompted a campaign to rescue it which won the support of the all-party parliamentary group on the Irish in Britain and collected the signatures of 75 MPs.
Chair of the campaign to save the title, Fiona Audley, told Journalism.co.uk: "It's the day we've all been waiting for".
"It's a fantastic day today obviously, and a great relief too to be back at work.
"Now we get to go back to doing what we wanted to do all along, bring the paper back to the readers and fill it with the stuff they want to read."
Today's "bumper edition" is larger than normal at 72 pages, and has been "received really well", Audley said.
The front page proclaims: "The voice of the Irish in Britain is back".
Eight of the 10 staff who lost their jobs when the title closed have returned to the paper, which now has a total of nine full-time staff. It is also based in new offices in London's Barbican area.
Irish Post chief executive Niamh Kelly thanked those who had supported the campaign to save the title.
"We could not have got here without the support of the community as a whole and I’d like to thank everyone involved for that. We’d also like to thank all our advertisers who helped make this comeback edition one of our finest.
"The paper has been the voice of the Irish in Britain since 1970 and has a proud history of campaigning on the issues affecting the community here.
"With more young economic migrants than ever before now coming to Britain from Ireland, there is as great a need as ever for such a publication as the Irish Post.
"The Irish Post is back for good."
When Thomas Crosbie Holdings bought the Post in 2003, for £1.7 million, it had an average circulation of 31,500, but that figure had nearly halved to 17,100 by the time it was closed.
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