February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Brady, who held the position for 16 years, takes the title of editor emeritus and will remain on the board as an executive director “for a period.”
Kennedy takes the top job as a drop in earnings from advertising has hit all media and another daily newspaper appears to be about to enter the market, primarily aimed at building up circulation in the greater Dublin area.
Many of those reported to be behind the new paper, to be called the Dublin Daily News, were previously involved with Ireland on Sunday. A plan for the project is understood to have been put to banks and venture capitalists with a euro 3 million budget to have it up and running by January.
Kennedy, who’s 51, was previously political editor and duty editor, political correspondent and public affairs correspondent of the newspaper. She was political correspondent at The Sunday Tribune from 1980-82 and she was political correspondent of The Sunday Press from 1982-87.
She successfully ran for the Dail in 1987 and was elected TD for Dun Laoghaire. She was Progressive Democrat’s spokesperson on Foreign Affairs and Northern Ireland but fail to get reelected.
With Irish Independent political commentator Bruce Arnold, she successfully sued the State for invasion of privacy in 1987. Their phones had been tapped on foot of a warrant signed by Fianna Fail Justice Minister Sean Doherty in 1982. The High Court ruled that the tapping was unconstitutional and an abuse of power by the State.
The scandal later returned to haunt former Taoiseach Charles Haughey. When it resurfaced in 1992, he resigned.
From Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary, Kennedy is married and has two daughters.
During Brady’s editorship, the Times’ circulation grew from 80,000 to almost 120,000, but in recent months the paper has had to sharply retrench as it was hit by a financial crisis. The paper lost euro 21.7 million last year and a major restructuring led to the elimination of 250 of the 470 staff.
The company has budgeted for a modest loss this year and a return to profitability in 2003.