Renmore native, Máire McCarthy Kyne, has been appointed CEO of The Galway Advertiser.
Máire succeeds Peter Timmins, who has held the position since the year 2000, and she becomes only the third person to lead Ireland’s most successful local newspaper since its foundation in 1970.
Founder Ronnie O’Gorman established Ireland’s first free local newspaper, The Galway Advertiser, in 1970, from the rear of the then O’Gorman’s bookshop on Shop Street in Galway. In the early years, Ronnie had responsibility for all aspects of the publication and performed the roles of Managing Director, Editor, Head of Sales, Distribution Manager and troubleshooter for everything that went awry.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the paper became a staple of Galway life, and Thursday was known as ‘Advertiser Day’ throughout the city and county.
As the paper grew to become Ireland’s largest circulation local newspaper, a series of appointments were made to prepare the company for further expansion.
In the year 2000, after three decades at the helm, Ronnie decided to take a back seat from the day-to-day running of the company. He continued to write his very popular weekly Galway Diary page in the paper and also now had more time to devote to his other passions, which invariably involved making a positive contribution to many aspects of Galway life. His weekly Galway Diary, along with Tom Kenny’s weekly Old Galway page, have recently been published twice in book form in The Old Galway Diary, and The Old Galway Diary Vol 11.
Peter Timmins, the company’s Financial Controller, took on the role of Managing Director, and has held the position for the last twenty five years.
The torch is now to be passed on again, this time to the company’s Head of Sales, Máire McCarthy Kyne.
The Galway Advertiser continues to play a significant role in the life of Galway city and county. With a weekly print circulation of 40,000 papers, and an additional 20,000 papers distributed digitally, it remains by far the highest circulation local newspaper in the country. Indeed, the paper’s circulation now exceeds that of a number of national newspapers.
As he steps down from the role of Managing Director this week, Peter describes his overwhelming feeling as one of gratitude for his time at The Galway Advertiser. “From those early meetings with Ronnie in 1996, I always felt The Galway Advertiser would be a great place to work, and thankfully that proved to be the case.
"When I first met Ronnie, I was struck by his charisma, humour, charm and generosity, and in the subsequent years it was always a pleasure to work alongside Ronnie. I made many mistakes in my twenty five years at the helm of The Galway Advertiser, but from Ronnie, never a cross work, never a raised voice, never a hint of criticism, nothing but support, support, support. He was a remarkable man, and we were all very saddened when he passed away in May 2024.
“But now the company must look again to the future”, according to Peter, as he wished incoming CEO Máire every success in her new position.
“This industry faces a challenging time, but I am very confident and optimistic for the future of The Galway Advertiser. Máire is ideally placed to lead the organisation in the coming years. She has worked for over thirty years at the newspaper, and no-one knows the paper, or the industry, better then she does. Having worked in various departments, she has an intimate knowledge of all aspects of the business. This, allied to her interest in developing the paper’s digital offering, ensures the paper’s future is in safe hands.”
As he steps down from his role of Managing Director, Peter expressed his appreciation to the staff of The Galway Advertiser for the help and support they have given him over the years, and for their commitment to The Galway Adveritser. He is also grateful to the Galway business community for their unwavering support of the paper for over half a century and, most importantly, to the people of Galway for their loyalty to, and trust in, The Galway Advertiser.
“For many, many Galwegians, it remains the bible of Galway life and I am sure it will continue to be so for many years to come, Thursday will remain ‘Advertiser Day’, just as it was in 1970, in 2000 and will be in 2030 and beyond.”
