Northern Standard to cease publication in Monaghan

The Northern Standard has announced that it will print its final edition next week ending a near 200-year history in County Monaghan.

Owned by the Smyth family, the paper has been covering news largely in the Farney County for 186 years.

The owners, one of the few remaining family-owned newspapers in the country, confirmed the closure on their front page today (Thursday).

Next Thursday, December 18th, will be the last Northern Standard to be published.

The paper confirmed this morning: “It is with great sadness that the management of The Northern Standard Ltd announce that the final edition of the newspaper to be published in 2025, on December 18 next, will also be our last."

The decision, they say, is due to a "steady decline in readership and advertising in recent years".

It continues: "As the consumption of news has increasingly shifted to online media, print newspapers have struggled to compete with digital platforms and social media outlets.

“The challenging circumstances created by this radically altered and irreversible commercial environment has seen The Northern Standard struggle to sustain its long-term viability. The point has been reached where the regrettable decision to cease publication has been taken."

The Northern Standard is the longest established newspaper circulating in County Monaghan, having published its first issue on January 10, 1839.

The prominent Irish nationalist Charles Gavan Duffy briefly served as the newspaper's editor shortly after its founding.

In 1872, the newspaper was purchased by the Swan family, who ran it until 1924.

Paddy Smyth later took over the stewardship, becoming its proprietor and editor and the paper has remained in the Smyth family since.

It concludes: “We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have contributed to the publication over the years. We are deeply grateful to our businesses and organisations who have supported us. We are deeply thankful to our readership who, each week, afforded us the cherished privilege of admitting us into their homes.

“We have always endeavoured to repay the support of our advertisers and readers with the highest possible quality of service and have been successful in that goal.”