Limerick Independent gets first print tomorrow

The first edition of a new weekly newspaper in Limerick will be printed tomorrow. The Limerick Independent is a sister paper of the successful Galway Independent and Cork Independent freesheet titles.

The Independent Free Newspapers (Ireland) Group anticipates an initial circulation of 35,000 in Limerick bringing the group's overall circulation for its three weekly titles to 143,000.

Limerick already has two established newspapers: The Limerick Leader, which is published five days a week, and the Limerick Post, which is a weekly freesheet.

The founders of Independent Free Newspapers, Declan Dooley and Jarlath Feeney, established The Galway Independent in 2001, and it won the award of Best Regional Newspaper at the 2003 Irish Print Awards.

Last year, they acquired the Inside Cork freesheet from UTV Plc for an undisclosed six-figure sum and relaunched it as The Cork Independent.

Their decision to expand into Limerick follows a recent investment from prominent Galway businessman Joe Higgins, who has joined the group as chairman.

Mr Higgins is a former chairman of Galway Airport and a former chairman of Galway Technology Centre.

It is understood that the financial investment in the new Limerick operation will be in the region of €500,000.

Managing director of the Independent Free Newspapers (Ireland) Group Declan Dooley said the Limerick launch was another step forward as part of an ambitious expansion plan.

He conceded that The Limerick Independent would face stiff competition from the existing Limerick Post newspaper but said that it would be a different type of operation.

"We are aiming to complement our existing papers in Cork and Galway and with that in mind our primary goal will be to target major advertisers.

"We will not feature a classifieds section and we expect to attract advertising revenue from agency business," said Mr Dooley.