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Ireland's political and cultural magazine
— April – May 2013
H
IBERNIA, for nearly thirty years, was
a Catholic publication, one of many
in Ireland in the mid-th century.
For its last twelve years, up to ,
Hibernia was a secular, dissenting voice in Irish
media and it is in this guise that it is most often
recalled.
The magazine is also remembered as irritat-
ingly difficult to define. In his recently-published
history of Ireland in the s, ‘Ambiguous
Republic’, Diarmuid Ferriter relies as heavily on
Hibernia for information and comment as on any
other Irish media. But even as he acknowledges
Hibernia’s distinctive contribution, he distances
himself from its “strident tone” in relation to
republicanism and Irish unity.
Hibernia has in its own time and since been
described as “a cross between the Good Wine
Guide and Republican News” (Conor Cruise
O’Brien), “liberal and sometimes radical”
(Vincent Browne, Sunday Independent), “irrev-
erent”, “eclectic”, “crusading” and “investigative”
(John Horgan, ‘Irish Media – a critical history’)
and “much-loved” (Ranelagh Arts Festival pro-
gramme, ).
All of these labels – and several more – fit at
least part of what Hibernia represented from the
late s. Its business coverage was targeted at
stock market players and its extensive books and
arts coverage at the cultural elite, though these
sections were also characterised by a restless
unwillingness to take the relevant authorities
at face value.
John Mulcahy became a regular contributor
to Hibernia’s business pages in the mid-s.
The monthly magazine had needed several injec-
tions of funds to keep it going and when editor
Basil Clancy could no longer sustain the effort,
Mulcahy bought the company.
He brought in young graduates as reporters
and section editors, recruiting them more for
their curiosity and their critical acumen than for
their journalism skills. Many regular contrib-
utors, particularly on cultural topics, survived
from Clancy’s Hibernia to Mulcahy’s. But as a
fortnightly from October , Hibernia sold
itself more and more on its critical take on cur-
rent affairs.
Uniquely for that time, Hibernia published
multi-page investigations of social and political
topics and provided a platform for a wide range
of radical views. Through bold headlines and
strong front-page graphics, Hibernia presented
angles on the topics of the day largely ignored in
other media. It constantly reminded its readers
of the injustice inscribed into the Northern state
and it decried many of the Republic’s responses
to the deepening crisis.
Hibernia’s efforts in this regard and the sen-
sitivities raised are illustrated by the edition
of September , whose powerful front
page bore the headline: The Strasbourg Report
– the men behind the torture. Inside, a short
statement was printed on otherwise blank fac-
ing pages that the magazine’s printer, The Irish
Times, had advised that it would not print the
material for those pages because they consid-
ered it defamatory.
Reporter Jack Holland had access to affida-
vits of prisoners mistreated by the RUC and he
named individual police officers in the unprinted
article. The thrust of his piece was supported by
a subsequent judgment of the European Court
of Human Rights. But the mainstream media in
the Republic were not exploring the conflict in
this detail.
Precisely because it was better-informed in
this regard than the daily and Sunday newspa-
pers, Hibernia also published critical accounts
of republican-movement activities, notably
the factional wars, and the blundering efforts
of republicans to develop coherent political
strategies.
Political patronage, the radical left, indus-
trial disputes, housing campaigns and company
closures all received more extensive coverage
in Hibernia than elsewhere. Edition after edi-
tion, there were stories arising from the largely
uncontrolled spread of Dublin city over most of
the county. Twenty years before tribunals on
the subject were mooted Hibernia reported fla-
grant conflicts of interest among councillors and
hinted at corruption. It pursued named devel-
opers for illegal demolitions and many other
planning-law breaches.
In Hibernia moved to weekly publica-
tion and production was taken in-house. It soon
became evident that Hibernia could not carry the
heavier overheads. By this time, In Dublin and
Hot Press were competing for younger, culturally
curious readers and Magill was doing longer-
form political and investigative journalism in
an attractive full-colour magazine format.
Dealing with frequent libel actions and threat-
ened actions was an additional load and in
Hibernia closed. John Mulcahy became editor
and shareholder in the first version of the Sunday
Tribune and the editorial and production staff
moved over to the new paper. In the s New
Hibernia was published for a short period. But
the media and political contexts had changed.
Hibernia had run its course when it closed in
.
Brian Trench was a Hibernia journalist, 1973-
78. He is contributing a chapter on Hibernia to a
forthcoming book on 20th century Irish periodicals.
media
brian trench
Hibernia, Ireland under
investigation 1968-1980
It covered political patronage, the radical left, industrial disputes, housing
campaigns, company closures and sprawling, corruptible Dublin
Hibernia, 1971: another political crisis analysed
